Help me win Betty over!

Hi folks.
Betty and Lola love each other

However with me its a differnt story. She is very shy - she was found as a stray as a baby and is not used to many people I dont think. She wont come near me - if she is in the crate she will let me stroke her - and stays still but I dont know if this is through fear?

I am hand feeding her treats - she didnt really know how to take food from a hand - so any suggestions you can give me to help the bond between me and her get better would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Hey Cat,

I have an article on my website about bonding with your bunnies. Working up to handfeeding can be great, but also sitting in their space and ignoring them (so doing something like reading, on the laptop, wrapping presents, anything that make spark their interest but make them think you are not interested in them) can also be a good way to coax them out.

Most of all, just be really patient and relaxed around her. She will come round with time and patience, in her own time.

takes a while but i did the hands off approach with Holly. took about 1.5months in total for Holly to stop freezing when i entered a room and for her to even be brave enough to leave the bunny room lol but now she accepts fuss (not sure she likes it yet tho :?) and shes a nightmare running about my feet in the morning while im trying to clean the litter tray, fill hay up etc.

all i did was ignore her gave her a fengureek (sp) crunchy once a day, did the hay, water, litter tray, hoovering and pellets all as if she wasnt there. i didnt even try to fuss her for the first couple of weeks (partly because she wasnt pearl )

but she now seems really confident and has no fear of me whatsoever, not overly inlove with me either but thankfully not scared annoyingly shes really friendly with Ste and hes hardly had any contact with her... hussy!!!

Betty is the same - she lets me stroke her - but I think its because she is so petrified - you can see it in her eyes.

So after reading the article I am going for the "ignore" approach. Slowly slowly!

Lola and Betty and currently squished up together in the litter tray with Betty giving Lola a good eye licking!

they sound very happy

it lovely when they learn to trust, i actually forgot what its like to have a new scared bunny and it was quite a shock to the system :shock:

Betty will come round in her own time she as been through alot in her young life. She came into me as a stray at about 12 to 16 wks she is wary of humans as she had to be caught. She isn't aggressive towards humans just likes to suss you out first she came to me at the middle of Jan and would hide constantly then gradually she came to trust me and then she went to Tracey's for a week and then now to you so poor little girl as had a lot going on. Just take one day at a time with her and she will trust you (honest).

Time, time and more time
Mimi was petrified of myself and my OH when we first got her. Shed been mistreated in the past so just did not trust humans atall. If we were even in the same room she'd hide and stamp her feet.
I didnt push it, never tried to stroke her or force it, gave her yummy treats straight from my hand etc 6 months down the line and shes MUCH better She doesnt like her head to be touched but likes a body stroke and hangs out with us all the time of her own choosing. Shes not scared atall of me anymore and I know she'll just keep getting better and better.
Time and patience is all it will take :wave:

time and patience It took 2 years for honey to trust me enough to give her nose rubs but she had had a terrible upbringing. food bribary and just sitting quietly in her space and reqarding her when she comes to you with food are the best ways to start, then gradually move the food so she has to hop on to your lap then gradually start to touch her when she is on you lap (feeding her pellets to encourage her to stay). She may never learn to love humans but hopefully she will learn that you are not a threat.

Our relationship with Dill is abit like that.Him & B have always got on,though their relationship is deepening.He lets me stroke him if hes half asleep but apart from that,doesn't like physical contact with us.Last night he let me kiss & snuggle him for ages,but he was next to B & was tired!:lol:He's not shy really.He will come over to you if you are sat on floor just to see what you are upto & will chase you at breakfast time.He is & always has been quite a confident bun but just doesn't like to be touched much.I found this quite hard at first but I get my pleasure out of watching him,and I still have B to snuggle.Just give Betty Blue abit more time.Im sure she will grow to love you soon.

~ Cat ~ said:

Lola and Betty and currently squished up together in the litter tray with Betty giving Lola a good eye licking!

Click to expand...

Dill has always done the eye licking-even when they were being bonded at Jills.Sometimes I think B will have no eyes left as he nibbles at them too!!The first time I saw this[the day they came home]I clapped my hands in horror cos I thought Dill was hurting my girl,now I realise she enjoys it!:lol: