Rebirth of the Phoenix from Ashes

[holtzchick]

Hahaha. I just saw on Katie's blog about the Canadian stereotype of the "eh", but I thought it was more of an "aaye"? I don't know where that came from, I wonder if one guy happened to say it and then it stuck? Its like for us, with the "yous guys", well people actually say that, because my husband says it and his friend, they're both from Pennsylvania and apparently thats normal there. I only say it to make fun of them, but when he friend sees me after a while, he's like "hey, how yous doing?" I'm like, thats not even close to correct since I am only ONE person. And "y'all", well we do say y'all because I say it and lot of people do too!
There is a joke that your Army is made up of Canadian Geese, which seems a little ridiculous if you ask me. They don't even have thumbs. .... LMAOOOO!!!


I would also like to talk about those geese. We have a TON of them here, do they actually live in Canada? Because there are a lot of them here and they're breeding here so the offspring are "naturalized citizens", haha. Anyway, they're protected here because they're "borrowed" geese or whatever. Its like a $10,000 fine to kill them. Not that I'm killing them or anything, but you get in big trouble if you get caught killing them or even if you hit one with your car and don't call the police its like a hit-and-run-goose-assault-with-a-vehicle. They're special to us. haha. Actually I quite like them, except they're loud and a little mean.

Geese do live in Canada, and I don't care much for them! They poop everywhere


Well, in Canada you guys have better health care than we do, lol. But I wouldn't come there if I were, say...running away from the draft here. I would go to Mexico. Its warmer and I have a better chance of growing crops rather than freezing my ass off. lmao. (but shhhh don't tell anyone I would go to Mexico! You're not supposed to dodge the draft)
Sorry, just went on a crazy Canada thing. I don't talk about Canada much, I guess because its pretty neutral. And who really has a problem with Canada? No one, thats who.

Oh I meant to ask you in the middle of that rambling on, if you are in a French speaking area of Canada? Do you speak French?

I do not live in a French speaking area of Canada, it's mostly just Quebec that speaks French and it's not that close to real French. Atleast in France they don't think so. My Luke speaks fluent French that he learned in Belgium and he makes fun of Canadian French which is also known as Quebecois.... All his snotty friends from Belgium all make fun of my accent lol!

I think that part of Canada is pretty cool, being in the mostly French speaking part and still speaking English too, being bi-lingual from birth I guess. Here, its English and then slang English because people like to chew up the English language and dribble it out in the form of...ebonics. Yes, I went there. I hate it. And now I'm definitely done before I get HIGHLY inappropriate.

I would really have to agree with you on that one... I think the English language is destroyed and it's really a shame!!

Do you know the Canadian anthem and do you like hockey? Because I personally LOVE hockey.

I do know the Canadian anthem, it's required in schools and is sang every morning... Good Ol' Canadians EH?

Also, I do enjoy hockey, I used to enjoy it more until the Toronto Maple Leafs started to SUCK and then the lock out or whatever happened last year just kind of ruined it..

Anyways, hope this answers all of your Canada questions LOL feel free to ask any more

////

 

[holtzchick]

Your updates keep getting more positive every time! So happy it's working out for you guys. I understand about not having hands for pictures, too, even though Doc and Rory are just sitting in their carrier doing nothing when I work with them, I want to take pictures! I took a couple when they were on the dryer, but Doc's big butt was in the way.

Morgan, your very Canadian-centric post made me giggle because of Luke. HE LOVES HOCKEY. I also really enjoy hockey, it's definitely an entertaining sport. Also, he totally says "Eh" even though he's been living in the US for about ten years. It'll randomly slip out. He likes to say it's much better than the American "HUHH??" For the most part, he has a pretty American accent, but if we're hanging out with his family, he'll sound more and more Canadian. He's actually from the same exact place Michelle is from! He had to take French in school, but I don't think Toronto is officially bi-lingual. We went to Europe a couple years ago and stopped in Paris for awhile, some of the people there did not appreciate his Canadian French!

I agree! Last night they didn't have the best date but I think it's because Hipster was just grumpy!! hahah.. still makes me laugh that you're dating a Luke

 

[holtzchick]

Keep up the good work, sounds like you´re making progress slowly but surely. That´s great news.

Thank You

 

[whitelop]

hahaha. Thanks Michelle! That does answer all my Canada questions. Part of my family is from Belgium, but I don't know any French other than like three basic words. lmao. So whats wrong with the Quebec version of French? Is it just the dialect or whatever its called when different areas speak a slightly different variation of the language, is that dialect or vernacular? God, I need to go back to school. haha. Is it like French slang? I didn't realize it was like rubbish french. haha.
And I meant to put in the other post with all my canadian questions, was that most of the american stereotypes are pretty true, lmao. Its pretty bad. I'll be honest, this is probably not my first choice in countries to live, if it were up to me we would have moved to central or south america years ago, but my husband keeps saying no. **** him.

I think I would like to visit Canada, in the summer time when its not too cold. Here's the strangest question yet...is it always gray there? Because in Pittsburgh and Ohio, its always gray. Its gray pretty much year round and its horrible. I don't know how people live there. I always have sunshine, even in the freezing cold, there is sun at my house. I guess why they call it "carolina blue skies". haha. I like learning about different places and weather is always a huge factor for me! I'm a wimp when it comes to cold and snow.

I also love hockey! My favorite part of it is when the fights break out and they throw their gloves off. The WAY they throw them off is the BEST. THING. EVER. Other than a properly executed P.I.T. maneuver. Anyway, the way they throw the gloves off is amazing and the way they mush each others faces into the glass is pretty great too. So much better than watching football. I hope my son plays hockey, then I won't have to shell out $4000 for braces!

And now I'm super done. Apparently Canada takes my mind to the crazy place.

 

[agnesthelion]

Je peux parler Francais mais pas courement. j'etude francais pour cinq annees!

Haha, I just tried to say I can speak French but not fluently. I studied French for 5 years. Sadly, I have forgotten it all so that's probably not even a correct sentence and I can't remember spelling. But I did study French for 5 years and had a foreign exchange student stay with me so I learned quite a bit from her. It depresses me that I didnt use it so now I've lost it how sad.
Canada is beautiful and awesome and I would love to visit. I envy your healthcare and such. There's alot America could learn from you guys!

 

[Chrisdoc]

I´ve a few friends who´ve been to Canada and they all loved it, once place I would love to visit. I love ice hockey as well, such a contact sport and you´re right, they get into some real fights and when gloves are off...OMG.

I did French for longer than you Lisa, 8 years but I can still ready pretty well and I had to talk quite a bit last year as I had quite a few french clients over and boy was it difficult trying to remember my schoolgirl French.

 

[holtzchick]

hahaha. Thanks Michelle! That does answer all my Canada questions. Part of my family is from Belgium, but I don't know any French other than like three basic words. lmao. So whats wrong with the Quebec version of French? Is it just the dialect or whatever its called when different areas speak a slightly different variation of the language, is that dialect or vernacular? God, I need to go back to school. haha. Is it like French slang? I didn't realize it was like rubbish french. haha.
And I meant to put in the other post with all my canadian questions, was that most of the american stereotypes are pretty true, lmao. Its pretty bad. I'll be honest, this is probably not my first choice in countries to live, if it were up to me we would have moved to central or south america years ago, but my husband keeps saying no. **** him.

I think I would like to visit Canada, in the summer time when its not too cold. Here's the strangest question yet...is it always gray there? Because in Pittsburgh and Ohio, its always gray. Its gray pretty much year round and its horrible. I don't know how people live there. I always have sunshine, even in the freezing cold, there is sun at my house. I guess why they call it "carolina blue skies". haha. I like learning about different places and weather is always a huge factor for me! I'm a wimp when it comes to cold and snow.

I also love hockey! My favorite part of it is when the fights break out and they throw their gloves off. The WAY they throw them off is the BEST. THING. EVER. Other than a properly executed P.I.T. maneuver. Anyway, the way they throw the gloves off is amazing and the way they mush each others faces into the glass is pretty great too. So much better than watching football. I hope my son plays hockey, then I won't have to shell out $4000 for braces!

And now I'm super done. Apparently Canada takes my mind to the crazy place.

lol yeahh, crazy place... You sound alot like my co-worker. She loves her sports, it's all good though

No the French in Quebec is spoken more through the nasal passage and people that can speak real French make fun of it by plugging their nose when they speak

I agree, I told my boyfriend that we should move to Panama... Apparently according to a survey, the people in Panama are among the happiest in the world. He totally agreed but we're too scared to move the bunnies!

 

[holtzchick]

Je peux parler Francais mais pas courement. j'etude francais pour cinq annees!

Haha, I just tried to say I can speak French but not fluently. I studied French for 5 years. Sadly, I have forgotten it all so that's probably not even a correct sentence and I can't remember spelling. But I did study French for 5 years and had a foreign exchange student stay with me so I learned quite a bit from her. It depresses me that I didnt use it so now I've lost it how sad.
Canada is beautiful and awesome and I would love to visit. I envy your healthcare and such. There's alot America could learn from you guys!

Lisa your French is good written if you ask me, then again, IDK.

A lot of places in Canada are gorgeous, I just don't find that Toronto is one of them. I would love to see the Rockies though!

 

[holtzchick]

Your updates keep getting more positive every time! So happy it's working out for you guys. I understand about not having hands for pictures, too, even though Doc and Rory are just sitting in their carrier doing nothing when I work with them, I want to take pictures! I took a couple when they were on the dryer, but Doc's big butt was in the way.

Morgan, your very Canadian-centric post made me giggle because of Luke. HE LOVES HOCKEY. I also really enjoy hockey, it's definitely an entertaining sport. Also, he totally says "Eh" even though he's been living in the US for about ten years. It'll randomly slip out. He likes to say it's much better than the American "HUHH??" For the most part, he has a pretty American accent, but if we're hanging out with his family, he'll sound more and more Canadian. He's actually from the same exact place Michelle is from! He had to take French in school, but I don't think Toronto is officially bi-lingual. We went to Europe a couple years ago and stopped in Paris for awhile, some of the people there did not appreciate his Canadian French!

Thanks

Yeah you are right, Toronto is not bi-lingual.

I feel like things were so positive however the last few dates I've been slightly more stressed and I think it's stressing them! I just noticed there is more attempt to nip from Hippogryff and then Phoenix is following suit, I don't allow them to, but if they're both trying to nip each other I just don't understand how they will find which one is dominant.

I feel like both are just so freaking dominant and STUBBORN! Maybe it's because Hippo has been GRUMPY these past 2 days, I don't understand what his problem is but I think he needs to man up!

BTW Lisa, you really confused me with your post on another thread. You said that you should at some point allow bunnies to nip/pull fur for them to work it out?! I'm so lost, everytime mine do this they really end up holding grudges and I really don't want to separate again, I'm in a great place right now, which is why I think I'm going to cut down the short dates to 1 a day and very very short. I don't even care anymore lol....

 

[agnesthelion]

BTW Lisa, you really confused me with your post on another thread. You said that you should at some point allow bunnies to nip/pull fur for them to work it out?!

^^^^oh no I don't think I said that,,,,? If I did find the post and I'll reread it and see what I meant, haha. . But thats not something i would say. What I do remember saying is to allow mounting to let them work it out. And even doing that it's about only allowing what you think your bunnies can tolerate. It's still about preventing fighting at all costs. Mounting is how they figure out dominance and if the human is always stopping the humping then it can hinder them figuring out who top bun is. But again, prevent fighting at all costs.

 

[agnesthelion]

I found what you were talking about and no I didn't say to allow nipping. It was mounting. And again I explained to prevent fighting just allow what you think your bunnies can tolerate. Here is what i said:::::::

Just another word of advice with the mounting. You will eventually want to let them mount. It sounds strange, I know, but they need to work it out between them. With constant human interference you could be delaying their bond as they still haven't figured out who is top bun.

Now, with that being said there is still a fine line here. You want to prevent fighting at all costs. So follow your gut as to how long they tolerate the humping. And don't let it go more than a few seconds. I think the article talks about this too.


So to clarify, nipping and mounting are two different thingsm IMO. The article I shared with you talks about allowing mounting but NOT anything about nipping.

I also think allowing mounting works with certain pairs too. If the mounting is always going to start a fight then it might not be to the point in their relationship where mounting can be allowed yet. I allowed it with my two only after I knew thry weren't going to fight and Agnes could tolerate a few seconds of mounting.

Hope I cleared up the confusion for you!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Michelle, buns are just sometimes so complicated and it´s difficult to know what they´re thinking. Yes, full out fighting should be avoided at all costs but sometimes mine niggle each other and then run off so I usually let them go with it unless I see them changing to fight mode. I´m going to post a video on mine later where they were both out ignoring each other and then they niggled but it didn´t go any further. I had to turn the video off to run and make sure they were OK.

I think you know you bunnies so you´ll know the signs. You seem to be doing well now but it is frustrating when it takes so long but it will be worth it.

 

[lyndym]

Something from my thread that was stated was that I shouldn't have separated the buns after just a nip, that it's more important to make sure the nip doesn't turn into fighting. Maybe that is what you're thinking of and remembered it as someone saying it's okay to nip?

The lady at my shelter said mounting is okay, too. I'd like to point out that she said to definitely correct them if they are mounting incorrectly, as mounting a rabbit's face (bahaha) can injure genitals, and the rabbits on the bottom can easily bite the tummy of the rabbit on top. During Doc and Aurora's first couple of dates at the shelter, Doc mounted Aurora and she was fine with it. He actually did it a lot, hahaha. (It was a long few months for him, apparently.) Anyway, he got it wrong a few times, so we'd just lift him off and turn him around. MAN, Aurora had absolutely no problem with him during those dates, what IS her deal??

 

[holtzchick]

I found what you were talking about and no I didn't say to allow nipping. It was mounting. And again I explained to prevent fighting just allow what you think your bunnies can tolerate. Here is what i said:::::::

Just another word of advice with the mounting. You will eventually want to let them mount. It sounds strange, I know, but they need to work it out between them. With constant human interference you could be delaying their bond as they still haven't figured out who is top bun.

Now, with that being said there is still a fine line here. You want to prevent fighting at all costs. So follow your gut as to how long they tolerate the humping. And don't let it go more than a few seconds. I think the article talks about this too.


So to clarify, nipping and mounting are two different thingsm IMO. The article I shared with you talks about allowing mounting but NOT anything about nipping.

I also think allowing mounting works with certain pairs too. If the mounting is always going to start a fight then it might not be to the point in their relationship where mounting can be allowed yet. I allowed it with my two only after I knew thry weren't going to fight and Agnes could tolerate a few seconds of mounting.

Hope I cleared up the confusion for you!

Thank you that totally did clear it up.

 

[holtzchick]

Michelle, buns are just sometimes so complicated and it´s difficult to know what they´re thinking. Yes, full out fighting should be avoided at all costs but sometimes mine niggle each other and then run off so I usually let them go with it unless I see them changing to fight mode. I´m going to post a video on mine later where they were both out ignoring each other and then they niggled but it didn´t go any further. I had to turn the video off to run and make sure they were OK.

I think you know you bunnies so you´ll know the signs. You seem to be doing well now but it is frustrating when it takes so long but it will be worth it.

Hahha, yeah I was super frustrated with them!

 

[holtzchick]

Something from my thread that was stated was that I shouldn't have separated the buns after just a nip, that it's more important to make sure the nip doesn't turn into fighting. Maybe that is what you're thinking of and remembered it as someone saying it's okay to nip?

The lady at my shelter said mounting is okay, too. I'd like to point out that she said to definitely correct them if they are mounting incorrectly, as mounting a rabbit's face (bahaha) can injure genitals, and the rabbits on the bottom can easily bite the tummy of the rabbit on top. During Doc and Aurora's first couple of dates at the shelter, Doc mounted Aurora and she was fine with it. He actually did it a lot, hahaha. (It was a long few months for him, apparently.) Anyway, he got it wrong a few times, so we'd just lift him off and turn him around. MAN, Aurora had absolutely no problem with him during those dates, what IS her deal??

Yeah some bunnies do tolerate the nipping and fur pulling but mine aren't those bunnies... Hopefully you are making some progress iwth your buns, I will head over to your blog after to check

 

[holtzchick]

Hmm.. so my gut instinct told me to slow it down with the buns since Hippo was super agitated with the last few dates and I stopped dating them for a few days to see if it would help... It COMPLETELY helped... right now, they're lying next to each other just chillaxing! It's so nice to see... I think I will try one short 30 second date later today and if they do well, I will do one more tomorrow. Perhaps multiple dates a day are just too quick for them. As long as they're getting along somewhat okay, I don't mind slowing it down.

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

That is so good that it helped. Update soon after they date! I can't wait to hear What happens! keeping my fingers crossed for a very successful bonding session!

Good Luck!

 

[Kzbun]

Let us know what happens right after the date!! I'm glad that slowing down seemed to help! Hopefully all will go well!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Michelle, you know you buns best and I think the slow and careful route is the best for them. I don´t think it matters how long it takes as long as the result is the right on. I´m still rooting for you and know that these two will get there in the end. I was looking back at the beginning of your blog and had forgotten how pretty Phoenix is, she´s a lovely bunny, you must post some more pics as I´d forgotten.