How long did it take you to know your bun?

[juliew19673]

Its funny that I find myself constantly re-assessing my relationship w/Baxter! After having him for 3 days and finding out what he needed to eat - I thought I was golden. Then I quickly figured out he need certain housing needs (along w/the medical needs) so after a month, thought I was golden again.. Then found out he needed more attention/room to romp about so after 2 months, I thought Iwas golden again..

Now 4 months later and he has the proper food, room to run about and best medical care, he pushes the envelope and wants more and/or does not trust me 100%.. Dislikes being picked up off the ground (ok - easily enough to understand) but he LOVES to be petted and held as long as your on the ground with him.. Baxter! is constantly under my feet when he is out of his pen - as if he can't get enough love and affection (FYI he was neutored 6 weeks ago). Curious if the trust issue is a bun thing or, if it take years to gain the trust of bun.. He just seems to be the 2 year old child and keeps pushing with an attitude to have "his own space" w/out barriers and will chew threw any wire, door, carpet, unless he gets his way, and I'm trying out the fun task of "to bad - tough love". He has toys, chew things and a VERY large NIC pen..

I'm sorry to say it was so much easier when I first found him and he was so anorexic and sickly - he did nothing wrong; now that he is healthy he is trying to push EVERY barrier/rule down - which tells me (I think) that he is a healthy young bun and this is what they do - but not sure how to "train/scold/instruct" a bun on proper behaviour...

I love him to death andhe is a fascinating little guy,perhaps I'm just living out the terrible 2"s?

 

[Little Bay Poo]

It didn't take me too long to understand the basics of each of my bunnies personalities: Billy the troublemaker, and Ronnie the lovemaker. However, I'm still learning little things every day.

What you are saying about Baxter! reminds me of Billy. Billy is a troublemaker and always will be. Watching him is like watching a toddler...I constantly have to make sure he's not getting into trouble. He hasn't changed at all in this aspect and we've had him for over a year. In fact, just the other day I was trying to read a chapter in my textbook and had to get up at least 5 times during the same page to stop Billy from chewing on the wall and carpet. I really think he does it for attention...he HATES when nobody is looking at him and has been known to nip Chris in the back for playing video games

There is one pretty recent Billy discovery I have made: after months of reinforcing petting, he has grown quite tolerant of it. I can poke him, pet him, grab his paw, bop his tail, and he doesn't get scared anymore! That took me over a year to figure out so I guess some bunny things do take a lot of time!

 

[juliew19673]

I'll swap you Baxter! for "Ronnie The Lover" - I'll even throw in allof hisMANYtoys and one very large NIC pen..

Baxter! and Billy could become fast ("Partners In Crime") friends..

 

[Little Bay Poo]

juliew19673 wrote:

I'll swap you Baxter! for "Ronnie The Lover" - I'll even throw in allof hisMANYtoys and one very large NIC pen..

Baxter! and Billy could become fast ("Partners In Crime") friends..

Hah! I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like for me to watch TWO troublemakers...Billy alone keeps me on my toes!

I'm glad we have Ronnie to balance things out. That little guy never gets into anything...walls, carpet, and wires are all untouched. He's content to shred newspaper and occasionally hump his stuffed animal. Ronnie's the kind of bunny that could be free roam all day, except that Chris won't allow it :X

 

[ec]

juliew, I think you answered your own question when you mentioned "the terrible 2s."

My bun, Nibbles, was very much in her "teen" stage when I 1st adopted her 2 years ago. She'd been spayed a week or two before I got her, but the shelter staff were under the impression that she was fully adult. So, lesson 1: how buns act in shelters is quite different than how they act when they have a home.

She was a wild little bunteen for the 1st 6 months - very affectionate and playful, but a little wacko - in short, a more exaggerated version of her fully adult self. There were times she drove me around the bend, but... the more time we spent with each other, the closer we got. And guess what? I now miss some of her crazy antics from that time!

She's still very explore-y, likes to push boundaries, etc. etc. but - that's part of her charm. (Really!) But - she's even more affectionate, continues to enjoy playing games (not just the naughty kind!) and is... well, she's my friend.

All of the love and care you're giving Baxter! is not going by the boards. It might be hard to see at this point in time, but you're building a relationship with him, and I think you'll eventually start to see a "payoff" of sorts. Besides all that - he is testing you because he trusts you. I'm sure he knows that you love him, and that you will not let go of him - which is something I had to remind myself of with Nibbles at times.

To end this on a lighter (but truthful) note, I'm sure glad my parents still loved me through my teen years, and I know there were times it was not easy.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Start using the words "No! Baxter!", believe me, he will come to know them! Snuff does now! Even Hubby uses those words to him and he listens! We try to get him to stay out of the bedroom, cuz if he goes in there, we might not find him, haha.

Now, when he goes around there like he wants in, we say "Snuff, No!" or "No, Snuff" and it has been working well.

It definitely can be a hormonal adjustment thing with him as well.

They can trust you when around their cage, on their terms!

 

[tonyshuman]

Bunnies will trust you after a month or two (unless they have some reason to distrust humans, like my Muffin), like you after ~6months, and maybe be your friend after more than a year together, it seems, from my Tony's behavior. He's still a huge brat, acting just like Baxter!, but he likes me, trusts me, and is starting to be my friend.

Rabbits are way slower to trust humans than cats or dogs are.

 

[slavetoabunny]

It didn't take me long to get the food, housing, and care stuff down; but even after 4 years I continue to learn more and more about my buns.

Lol, AngelnSnuffy - my girls know the "no" word too. And they must know their names, because if I say "No, Sparky!", Sparky stops and Scooter doesn't even look up and vice-versa.

 

[Little Bay Poo]

The problem with "No!" is if you have a really persistent bunny it only stops them for a few seconds :X

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I've had only two of my rabbits fortwo in a halfyears, and I am still learning to know them. When I first got Magic, he was incredibly shy. Now, you can tell he loves me (vice versa) because he loves to give me kisses, and wants my full undivided attention. With all my other bunnies, I'm still learning to know them as well. I know that some are troublemakers (Sippi), some can be nasty (the girls and Ray) and some are so sweet, you cant stop being near them (Lily & Bruce).

It didn't take me long to know what my bunnies needed for their everyday lives such as food, bedding, cages, etc. That was the easy part. The hard part was learning to gain their trust, and form a really strong bond with them - and you can never stop bonding with them, because they change, and you change, so the bond continues to grow.

Emily

 

[slavetoabunny]

Little Bay Poo wrote:

The problem with "No!" is if you have a really persistent bunny it only stops them for a few seconds :X

Yes, I usually repeat myself quite often!

 

[juliew19673]

ec wrote:

juliew, I think you answered your own question when you mentioned "the terrible 2s."

To end this on a lighter (but truthful) note, I'm sure glad my parents still loved me through my teen years, and I know there were times it was not easy.

I have to say I appreciate EVERYONE'S collective advice on buns terrible 2's, 3's, etc. but ec's hit home.. I was a terrible teen and am probably having the payback from Karma w/Baxter! LOL!

Baxter! is not "bad" perse, just acting out for MORE attention, MORE interaction, MORE EVERYTHING... If he feels he is not getting what he wants he throws things in his pens, chews carpet to make ME open his pen, etc.. I've started the "No! Baxter!" and also noticed that he has gained SO much weight in the last 3 weeks that I think he is overweight..

I have not taken him to the office as I started to realize he seemed quite content to spend his day in the NIC pen DBF'ing and napping.. When he would go to the office he was "on guard" and would sleep as long as I was in my office (which was here and there) and then he would come home and nap until 9:00 PM and then want hours outside of his pen to run around but alas, I had to go to bed at 11:00 PM so he was not getting a "good sleep" in my mind.. But now he is "the chunky" kid.. sigh.. so will have to work out a "work out" situation, where he "runs" around and perhaps, is not given so many banana chips and strawberries each day..

Bun education is a GREAT learning curve, and I've been really lucky that he is does not have health problems.. Thanks to you all for the great insight and stories that made me giggle and realize I'm doing the best I know..