making friends

[hotchocolatewithsmarties!!!!!]

about 5 weeks ago i got a new rabbit arthur, hesabsoloutly gorgeous and loves being petted however if i walk up to himhe will always run away and hide, he seems genuinly scared of me and idont know if im making the problem worse by having to chase after himso i can catch him to put him away. its hard to approach him but onceyou start petting him he enjoys it. its like he doesnt associate mecoming towards him as me petting him.

does anyone have any ideas on how to earna bunniestrust quickly

thx xxxx

 

[Cazarty]

Hi there, i sometimes get that with my 6 mth oldSammy. I tend to sit on the floor and wait for her to come tome. I wouldnt recommend chasing her this will probably makeit harder and take longer for you two to bond.

Sammy is going through her hormonal stage and hope to get her spayedsoon but over the last month or so she has become less loving and moreof the racing around the room and when i go into her room she jumps upand races around her room as if scared. so before i actuallyenter her room i bend down and talk to her as i slowly go in she thenalways comes over to me.I would suggest you try laying on the floor soyour at his level (and he will then feel less threatened) and talk tohim and maybe hold a treat for him, hopefully then he will wander overforhis treat and acuddle.

Hope this helps but im sure other people will give you some good tips x

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Try and spend a lot of time just sitting quietlynear him, reading a book or something. Rabbits are very curious animalsand he'll soon come up to you to see what your doing. You couldalwaysreward him with treats at first, but if he likes beingpetted then you could pet him when he comes up to you so he associatesyou with good things. You could also hand feed him his food, becausethen he'll learn that he has to be near you to get his food. I'd alsotry and not walk up to him or pick him up if it frightens him, buttrain him to go into a pet carrierso you can put him away asthat will be much easier and less stressful for him. Then as he startsto trust you, you can start handling him more, but never push him toofar so he gets frightened. I hope heimproves soon.

 

[Haley]

^^^ This is all good advice!

I have a new little guy in my home too (Mr. Tumnus). Hes a bit skiddishbc he was a rescue. He still doesnt totally trust anyone.

As was suggested, just laying down with him when he's out and aboutwill help. Having a few treats on hand works great too. If he comes upto you to explore, give him a little reward. Basically, you just wanthim to associate good things with you.

Also, chasing him down and catching him will probably only make himless likely to want to come to you in the future. What I do is schedulehis feeding time at the time he needs to go in his cage. Usually if Irattle the food and call him he'll usually come running. Give it time,but this should work.

Good Luck!

-Haley

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

My newestrabbit is also a real pain tocatch. I basically plan to give myself at least 20 minutes to catch herso I can do it in a fashion that will not make matters worse. Igenerally go and sit down and wait for her to come to me at which pointI stroke her until she calms down. Then I simply pick her up withoutthe hassle.

 

[Smelly]

Well I was so young when I got my rabbit that Ididn't much care for him running away. Even when he clearlydidn't want to be picked up I forced it on him lol (hey I was11). After a few weeks he actually would walk up to be to becarried and I could throw him in the air (I didn't) and catch him andhe probably wouldn't care.

That miiight not be the way to go though (lolz). Rabbitsgetting used to their owners is usually just a matter oftime. Smelly went from squirming around when I carried him tothe absolute most mellowed out rabbit would would let me put him on hisback and any which way. I put him on his back where he'd stayfor a long time and tell my mom he died to scare my mom manytimes. Then he did die but that was like 10 yearslater.

 

[hotchocolatewithsmarties!!!!!]

yer i was 8 when i got my last rabbit and imsure i must of acted very simular and tho he did tame i dont think icould of made it the nicest experience for him!

anyway thanks for all the advice guys i jst need to put it in to action now!

much lovexxxxx

 

[missyscove]

I would definately reccomend the sit on thefloor method, I find that if I sit in her run with a book of something,ignoring her, my bunny comes running over after a littlewhile. The other day I was in there with my laptop and shetried to steal my wireless mouse, not good, but entertaining.She will also jump up onto the keyboard. silly rabbit

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

missyscove wrote:

I would definately reccomend the sit on the floor method, Ifind that if I sit in her run with a book of something, ignoring her,my bunny comes running over after a little while.

It does work! I have teeth marks and paw prints on nearly all of mybooks because this is the method I used. Rabbits are curious by nature.

 

[ec]

This might sound strange (well, maybe not), butI sat and read *aloud* to my new bun for some time after she first gothere (around 4-6 weeks). She apparently liked the sound of my voice,and felt quite safe playing and exploring around me, knowing that Iwasn't going to try and pet or chase her. I even (for my own enjoyment)did some voices for different characters, and she would perk up when Iread in a very bad fake Cockney accent.

The whole bit of hearing my voice really seemed to help. I also talked to her a lot; still do.