Pleeeeease love me, bunny

[BabyMiyo]

Yep. This is another one of those "how do I get my bunny to love me?" posts.

Miyo was a thin little black and white thing I found on the roadside while jogging one day. I took her home and we've basically been chill roommates for the past month or so. I got her spayed last week, and I've since just been waiting for her to stop peeing and pooping all over my apartment. (How long would that take?)

Anyways, since we've been living together for a month now, I've been thinking I would quite like to develop a bond with Miyobubby. Her vet suggested that "the more handling the better", and that I should just keep holding and cuddling and petting her until she's used to it. But then I was reading some HRS articles that said it's better to respect your bunny's need for space... keeping interactions down on the floor and not forcing cuddles on your bunny, whatnot. Accepting that the extent of your bunny's affections might just be the occasional sniff now and then.

What do yall think? Miyo ignores me much of the time, unless I wander near the cupboard where she knows I keep her food. She's comfortable enough around me, does flops and stuff and lets me hand feed and pet her. But she doesn't seek out my company and usually hops away if I park myself next to her for longer than a minute. I don't hold her much because I can tell it stresses her out. On a good day, she might come and nudge my foot with her nose before flouncing away.

How do I develop a closer relationship with her? Should I even be trying to?

:bunny19

 

[Troller]

Handle her when you need to, and do so often enought. Like training once a day to pick her up so she gets used to it, every once in a while to check on nails and teeth, and to take her ot of the enclosure (if she can't come out herself). The rest of the time stay close to the bunny and let her come to you by having treats near you. Eventually a bond will develope and then you can force your attentions on them like I do

That's my approach, though in truth my rabbits are only so friendly. It truly depends on personality. One of my buns is far more friendly then the other, but even the friendly one is far behind the stories I read about cuddly lap bunnies.

 

[Apebull]

If she know where the food and treats are you can work with that. Twigs know where he's treat (banana chips) are kept and if we go anywhere near that then he'll run over for one. I'll let him see me get them and then go sit down and call his name, if he comes over I'll give him the treat with one hand while petting him with the other. I'm working on getting him to sit on my lap for pets not the ottoman. But you could us the same method to get her used to being next to you. I would start with sitting on the floor. I think it's better to let them come to you then to keep picking them up and making them snuggle. I know with Twig's anyway that if we even try to pick him up we get the foot flick and off he runs.

 

[whitelop]

I think you're doing pretty well and it sounds like your bun is bonding well to you! I don't have a lovey bun, actually she's a little devil.
BUT she knows where the food is and comes to me when I open her pellet tin, if she hasn't already opened it herself.
I think that since you're able to feed her by hand, you're making huge steps. When they eat from you, they trust you.

I sit in the floor a lot with her and she comes up to me when she wants and if she doesn't, then no hard feelings. She is free range in my kitchen a lot of the time, and as a stay at home mom, I'm always in the kitchen! So we spend a good amount of time together. I let her come up to me when she wants to, I don't always pet her but when I do now, she lays down and lets me pet her. But it took a while to get to that point. For a long time when I would go to pet her, she would run off and foot flick at me. I would put my hand down and she would run back to me. She was such a tease!

I agree with Michael though, you should try to get her used to being picked up. My rabbit does OKAY with being picked up, but she's not a huge fan. Like he said, you could pick her up once a day and eventually she'll get used to it. Make sure you give her treats! Treats go a really long way with rabbits.

I'm sure she does love you, but rabbits aren't (always) cuddly animals. Some of them are, some aren't. It really depends on the rabbit. You're doing the right things though, so it just takes time. Patience is key! And treats!

 

[BabyMiyo]

I've been trying to do what you guys said and pick her up more, but she really hates it! When I slide my hand under her chest she hops away, and if I try to pick her up, she just starts kicking until I let go. I'm full of scratches all over!

So far the best I can do is lure her onto my lap with a handful of pellets, but I haven't actually been able to lift her. I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right - one hand under the chest and the the other supporting her hiney? Once she figures out I'm trying to pick her up, she just starts panicking and trying to get away though. I don't think she trusts me that much.

 

[Zeroshero]

My bun had gotten difficult to pick up as well, I periodically will pick his front half up when he is sitting on my lap, or just hanging out in his run. I have no intention of lifting his whole body and never cross the line unless I have to pick him up for some reason. It has made him much more relaxed when I do pick him up because he doesn't tense anymore when I place my hand under his front legs and chest. Try breaking down the steps for picking up your bun into smaller steps and grow from there, make it as positive as possible. If there is a bad experience back up a step.

 

[JBun]

It doesn't always necessarily have to do with trusting you. Some rabbits just really hate being picked up. I have a little girl bun that I got at 8 weeks old. She was a little snuggle bun, so I held her a TON. You would think that as she grew up that would make her really easy to handle. Nope. She's about a year old now and is my absolutely worst rabbit to pick up and handle. Sometimes it just comes down to the rabbit and it's personality. But despite whether or not a rabbit likes getting picked up or not, it is something it still needs to get used to since it's necessary to be able to trim nails, check your rabbit over, and move it from one place to another. But how you go about getting your rabbit used to being picked up can sometimes depend on the rabbit and how it responds to your efforts. Every rabbit is different, so sometimes what works for one person and their rabbit, may not work for another. With some rabbits 'the more handling the better' isn't necessarily true(as apparent with my girl bun). With some rabbits it can make them want to avoid being near you if they are always worrying you are going to pick them up. It sounds like your rabbit may be like this. I can make a few suggestions, but then you just have to try different things and if it doesn't seem to be working out, then change your tactics until you find what does work.

First I would suggest keeping your handling and picking up, to a minimum. You still want to pick up so your rabbit does get used to it somewhat, but you don't want to be picking up so much right now that she gets nervous when you get near her. Once, maybe twice a day, if at all possible, and try and keep it associated with what the rabbit would consider a reward. Like picking up to put in an area to play, or picking up to put in front of it's pellet bowl or veggies when it's time to eat. Then gradually, your rabbit will start to associate the picking up with something good and something it likes. All my bunnies hate being picked up, but they have learned to associate it with being let out for playtime, so even though they don't like it, they have learned to put up with it, even the really fussy one. And when you do pick her up, don't hesitate at all. When I do it, I quickly slip a hand under the belly and rump, without any hesitation, and bring the rabbit right to my chest. If you hesitate and do it slowly, this gives them a chance to struggle and squirm away. Just scoop and right to the chest. Then if she is still wiggly while holding her, hold with one hand under the rump and one held firmly over the shoulder area, so she can't squirm loose and get injured by jumping down, or learn that wiggling will result in the reward of getting loose. Sometimes I'll even hold my hand up over the head and cover their eyes if it helps.

As for bonding with her, what I've found works best is sitting with your rabbit in a smaller area. If they are allowed to just run around a larger room, they are busy exploring and playing(and hiding), and don't really have to spend time around you and get to know you. So using a smaller area, like 5x7, still gives them the opportunity to play and run, but they are also right there with you and will eventually get curious about you sitting in their area. So a bathroom or an xpen set up to limit the area, works well. And just sit in there and read or use your laptop, and let your bunny play. Have a litter box, toys, cardboard box, tunnel, dig box, etc, so your rabbit has plenty to do. Then as your rabbit approaches you, don't reach out at first, for petting or anything, just let your rabbit come up to you and smell you, jump on your lap. Then when your rabbit is consistently approaching you, or even nudges you, then you can reach out your hand slowly, but don't pet her. Unless she lays with her head under your hand, that is an invitation to groom and pet her. Otherwise, just reach out to let her smell your hand. Then when you can consistently do that without her hopping away, you can start to throw in a short head rub. Just a little rub, then leave her alone. Gradually you should find her getting more comfortable with you, to the point that she may even want you to pet her more, and even flop down near you, which is usually the best time to also give head rubs. When they are running around playing, they usually aren't too interested in much petting, but when they are tired and flop down, they usually like to get head rubs, or at least will tolerate it. Hopefully one of these ideas will work for your bun. Good luck!

 

[autumnlee7]

Try Nd use a blanket to pick her up! That's what I do with mine and then they don't scratch!


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