Why did you buy a rabbit?

What are rabbits positive sides? How would you convince someone to buy a rabbit? Let's say that that someone doesn't like animals. What would you say to make him/her sure that rabbits are great?

Frankly I wouldn't try to convince someone who doesn't like animals to go a buy one, sounds like a recipe for disaster!

However, they are hard work, messy, sometimes naughty little creatures that have a talent of stealing your heart! They binky, they flop, they eat with those sweet little mouths and most importantly, you have to earn their trust, which I think is both the hardest and most rewarding thing about them

Thank you and I'm sorry for that sentence "he/she deosn't like animals" ceuse you're absolutley rigth. I agree

i think what amazed me about rabbits is theres so much to learn. it takes a long time to gain their trust so when you do its very rewwarding.

for example, practically anyone who walks into my house makes my dog wag his tail and lick them.

with my bunnies, its so much mre rewarding because when you do see them do little flops or binkies, you know they are happy. i love it when people come round and they seen my bunnies groom me, or ask for noserubs, thre so suprised, bcus they always imagine bunnies being 'boring' or 'biting'. thats one of my favorite reasons:

i think the most rewarding thing about rabbits is that the have such a capacity to overcome their natural instinct of fear in order to love and trust you. prey animals have a really strong instinct to flee from anything big that might eat them which is why its so rewarding when they finally trust you.

yeh thats what i meant....but i made it long winded lol

I wouldn't encourage anyone to have rabbits, or any pet for that matter. I show them the realistic and harsh life of having a pet first, and then if they are still interested, I then help them and encourage them along the way.

I love my baby bunnies. I would do anything for them and I can't believe they have only been with me two months. I love the way they say hello to you in the morning and say good night in the evening. They become your best friends and I love having the responsibility of them. It keeps me fit and healthy and it stops me comfort eating, cos if I think about having food, I go and sit with the rabbits for a few minutes; or if I'm about to have an argument(I have quite a spoilt brat temper!!:angel, I go and sit with the rabbits until I calm down.

I pretty much got the first one because she was adorable:lol:
I wanted a pet of my own, we already had a dog, and decided on a rabbit as I didn't have to walk it like I would a dog:lol: (Mom usually takes care of our dog)
The reason I got a rabbit and not a guinea pig etc was because I felt there was more to do with a rabbit+I generally think rabbits are cuter than guinea pigs.
Had I gotten a rabbit I could take it on jumping contests, and train it to use a harness, (experienced a guinea pig running straight through it, besides I don't think rodents have very good body types for wearing a harness) and they were easier to keep outside. (Guinea pigs can't stand the Norwegian winters very well)
I started leaning towards guinea pigs again when Zakura started getting more aggressive...but for some reason I ended up with another rabbit...then a hamster...and yet another rabbit.:lol: I just love rabbits

Most of my friends have the attitude of oh it's only a rabbit..then they meet my four and fall in love....but it's very much about our buns personalities..and the fact that they are very curious..so always come over to see what you are doing..and if you are going to feed them!

erm Crystal was an impulse buy

i deffinatly wouldnt encourage someone to buy a rabbit unless they were willing to read up on their health and care before buying one and even then id encouage adoption. Crystal probably had the worst life ever for the first 6 months she lived with me no hay, bred from, small cage little exercise it was forums like this that helped me make a better life for my buns i deffinatly wont be buying another pet without reading up on them first.

On one of my walks round pets at home i decided i wanted a rabbit on a spur of the moment and started looking round a forum for people selling them.

My other half didn't want a rabbit, but i nagged and nagged and nagged and when i got him to drive to wickes for the timber to build a hitch he dodn't have much choice but i think it's safe to say he loves both our buns, would do anything for them (apart from the cleaning out!) and doesn't regret Rubens getting Rubens at all! Dilbert took alot of arm twisting but he realised it was better for Rubens to get him a friend.

I impluse bought Fiver but it was just as much Phils decision as he was the one egging me on :roll:

Phil likes some of our rabbits and not others, he is very drawn to certain personalities.

He phoned me this morning to whinge about how Caspian is trying to bite him when he feeds him and could I buy him some leather gauntlets next time :shock: but despite pretending to hate him he actually quite likes Casp although its fair to say that liking any of the rabbits grew on him very slowly.

I find that I end up mostly trying to disuade people from having bunnies as pets - I end up going into big long speeches about not just leaving them down the garden on their own, that you have be careful what they're fed, they're prey animals so they hide pain etc etc. I guess I want to make sure people know what they're taking on, if people then still seem keen I invite them to my house to meet my two. They normally end up lying on the floor in the lounge fussing Charlie and Lavender, and wanting to take them home.

As for why I got bunnies, well, I went through a very very horrible experience and it was although I needed something to love unconditionally. I got Charlie bun and he got me through it . When I couldn't sleep I used to go get him and take him to bed, he let me hug him, cry on him, he used to come everywhere with me (even the pub a couple of times) and I think having him to look after really help me. He's a very very special little chap, and its odd thinking that he's been with me for 8 years - I'm going to Australia on Tues for a month, I've never been away from the buns for that long before!

I agree with whats been said, I wouldn't encourage anyone to get a rabbit, or any animal, that they didn't want. As for why i love rabbits, so many people think they're just boring and all rabbits are the same, but they're all so different. All my rabbits had such different personalities, and it took a long time for Carrots to trust anyone at all. If i was upset or angry (and that happened a lot during my teenage temper tantrums) I coud also go to my sit with my bunnies and instantly feel so much calmer and happier.

They are a lot of work, but rabbits give so much back in their own little ways.