Do sites like this help people give up their pets too easily?

I've often wondered if comments from people on here or anywhere where rabbit advice is given,helps people to decide to give their buns up.I know the way ive kept bunnys in the past would have been disapproved of,depending on where we lived at the time.But I am proud to say I kept my bunnies through thick & thin.One house we lived in,our frenchie was caged whenever we weren't around,now other than rehoming her this was our only option.Rehoming her never entered our heads,we just got on with things.Luckily we moved 10 months later & for her next 4years she was free range in her own bedroom.
Last year,we were going through a tough time due to a bereavement,I felt B wasn't getting the attention she deserved, well actually I only thought that because I was already made to feel guilty that she was a lone bun.Should we rehome her so she could have a better life with someone else?No,she is my baby & she stays with me whatever, so I bullied a greaving hubby into letting me get her a friend.Looking back the timing was wrong for that but I felt pressured into doing something to make B's life better.
Sometimes we are given the perfect way to keep our pets & when we feel we cant live upto other peoples standards,do we believe we shouldn't have our pets?Thats my thought of the day!

Hmmmm, interesting point! I guess, IMO if you really love and cherish your pets its never going to be easy to give them up - if you realise from reading info on a site like RU that you possiby aren't giving them what they need and conclude that giving them up is the best option then I would think that maybe that person didn't care for them that much in the first place.

I say this because when I first got T&P I didn't do everything right straight away - if I had known about rescues and decided to adopt I wouldn't have passed the homecheck because their accommodation wasn't right. But like you giving them up never entered my head. I totally adored them and knew that I would do whatever it took to make sure they had the best life possible. That was my view - if that's what they need to be happy and healthy then I will work towards providing that as soon as I can.

Sorry, bit of a rambling answer! That's just my view from my own experience, I'm sure every situation differs

I can see what your saying. However i'm horrified to admit that I found this site when I was considering rehoming Dexter. I was out of my depth and realised I didn't know how to care for her properly and she wasn't as happy as maybe she could be. Once I realised the scale of unwanted rabbits and how desparate the situation is i deceided to keep her and read up on how to make her life better. Once I started doing things properly she became a lovely bun and i've had no trouble with her at all. Also I've ended up adopting another three in the last year alone. This site doesn't make me fel like its easy to give up buns it make you adopt more :lol: :lol:

I think generally, on this site, unless someone is clearly neglecting their bunny, people boost the person and work with them to find ways to improve their bunnies lives, within the means of that person.

This site in particular, with all the rescues online encourage people to keep their pets, because generally they get more from where they are than they can get elsewhere.

What I do think is relevant here is that many people here suffer with self esteem problems and confidence issues and that does impact on people's self belief about their animal and what is best for it.

I don't think places like this encourage people to give up their animals. There are more than enough people doing that who have never looked at a forum or tried to improve their animals life.

I think this site is so friendly that instead of making people consider rehoming, it just makes people want to get help.

I knew nothing about rabbits before I got Pepy and found this site. My cage was too small and I wasn't sure what veg etc he could eat. I wasn't the ideal bunny mummy, but with this site I learnt how to be by asking for help.

I think it would only encourace people if they were going to do it anyway, and didn't have the max care for their pet.

Personally I always think there's that one person or 'bully' on a large thread pulling the strings and causing an argument. I don't think any forum can escape this, it's the sad reality of the internet.

I was bullied on another forum, because I didn't think the way they (they as in one person who was then banned) thought in regards to my bunnies. I kept to my line of thinking, no matter what they said. And my bunnies are incredibly happy, we're still getting there, we don't have our dream home as of yet, but we're getting there. And I know once we're there, they'll have very close to a perfect, natural life style.

I agree with what Debster said. I think that when people find out they haven't been keeping their pets properly they'll strive to be better if they really love their pets.

Personally I always think there's that one person or 'bully' on a large thread pulling the strings and causing an argument. I don't think any forum can escape this, it's the sad reality of the internet.

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Yeah, this forum is always friendly, but others can be pretty mean. Which is wrong because then the person just gets discouraged.

Information in the past was so different.When I 1st joined the BHRA[was that what it was called all those years ago?]I read either in Rabbiting on or in a book that house rabbits were fine on their own & they should be free range at least 4 hours a day-so I used to feel dead proud that I had my bun in a cage in my house rather than in a hutch at the bottom of the garden.I used to feel really good when I'd count up how many hours my bun had free ranged for & some days it would be 16hours.Then you come on a modern site like this & basically you find the things you were so proud of doing for your bun in the past are now frowned upon.I always thought I gave my buns such a good life & it makes you feel sad others think not.I am glad I have two buns now, though I would never say never to a lone bun to other people,but I feel I worry less about them when Im not there as I know they will look after each other.Rehoming a second bun was a good move[though I wish I had done it this year & not last]but I dont regret having lone housebuns & I think its unfair to be made to feel that sometimes.I'm not knocking this site at all,I got my Dilly from here who cheers me so much with that cheeky face,but sometimes it makes my over powering love for my buns feel inadequate & was just wondering if it does this to other people, who then decide because they are not living upto other peoples standards, should rehome.

William said:

I agree with what Debster said. I think that when people find out they haven't been keeping their pets properly they'll strive to be better if they really love their pets. .

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Yes but what if they cant,say they live in a flat with no garden & there is no way they can do better than what they do,but they love their buns so much that they feel they should rehome them cos they have been told what they do is wrong?

willowholly said:

Yes but what if they cant,say they live in a flat with no garden & there is no way they can do better than what they do,but they love their buns so much that they feel they should rehome them cos they have been told what they do is wrong?

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I don't know what I'd do in that situation.. It really depends on what it is that they're doing wrong. If its just accommodation not being big enough, I think buns are pretty easy to have free ranging in the house. Even if they aren't litter trained, as long as you have wood flooring it shouldn't be too hard to sweep up poop/wipe up pee. Had to do this with my buns before, but on carpet :roll:

willowholly said:

Yes but what if they cant,say they live in a flat with no garden & there is no way they can do better than what they do,but they love their buns so much that they feel they should rehome them cos they have been told what they do is wrong?

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I think that there is always room for improvement, even if its just stimulating the rabbit in different ways.

Space is not everything, diet is not everything, stimulation is not everything, love is not everything, vet care is not everything. It is a total package, and there will be some areas that someone is stronger at than others because no one is perfect and no bunny is that straight forward.

It would be a real shame if anyone was made to feel that they couldn't keep their rabbit/s just because they didn't have a spectacular housing set-up or couldn't provide hours of free-range time every day.

Whether we like it or not, the average pet rabbit is often housed in a pathetically inadequate hutch (3ft is probably the average size), receives little or no vet care, and usually suffers from some form of neglect.

Members of this forum usually provide much more than the care received by the average pet rabbit, so they shouldn't feel guilty about not providing the 'perfect' home...IMO 'good enough' is fine...i.e. you don't need a huge shed and aviary, a large hutch and run are fine

I'm not sure if I've totally understood but I think yes, sometimes sites that educate people on how they should keep their pets well do make people rethink keeping them. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing though.
I believe in doing what's best for the animal and in some cases that is rehoming it.

I think this forum tends to be quite good though, we don't tend to barrage people with insults telling them they're not doing the right thing, we suggest improvements in a friendly way...and I know from a lot of peoples comments on here that rather than making them give their pets up, it just made them see what they could do and they changed things for the better

Sky-O said:

I think that there is always room for improvement, even if its just stimulating the rabbit in different ways.

Space is not everything, diet is not everything, stimulation is not everything, love is not everything, vet care is not everything. It is a total package, and there will be some areas that someone is stronger at than others because no one is perfect and no bunny is that straight forward.

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^^^ this!

i know what you mean though. i feel guilty, but you have to just do your best and learn from mistakes. know your limits. now we're definately not replacing any pets. though we have got three new pets since september but we know they have a better life with us than what they were destined for and surely that's better than anything?

I often get upset that I'm not good enough for my bunnies because I see pics of peoples huge sheds with massive aviaries and every toy a bun could have and I feel like I can't ever provide that for my buns, so they'd be better off with someone else who can. But this site has made me improve so much, before my buns were crammed in small hutches, unneutered, unvaccinated, fed on mix food.. Now they're all vaccinated, neutered, bonded, living free range in sheds and fed lots of veg, hay and pellets.

In the past ive had to give up some rats because i didnt have the time and money once my baby arrived but i didnt hoem all just the ones which i felt needed more attention i couldnt give them and i couldnt bare seeing them in the cage all the time.
I lived with my mum who is very ill and she couldnt handle so mny when i moved out so i did home around 12, when i gave them to the rattie people cried my eyes out saying goodbye but i know they went to somewhere they would be out all the time spoilt and everything.
It is hard to do im just glad now i have my own house and i know never to get stuck with so many pets, i learnt a lesson and never want to give up any pet again to much heartache.

Mr Tumble is our only pet (apart from a few fish we are getting in a month)
Its going to stay that way i maybe getting him a friend but right now no i got around 2-3 month before thinking if he needs a friend. My OH has a well payed job now and the bills payed for with a lot of extra money so i feel i can spoil my bunnie, also having a big garden which is enclose for him in the summer, i just got to get him a bigger cage built for in the house by my dad

Just like to say this, this forum is one of the most friendliest for newbies, i mean ive been here a few days and everyone has given me lots of info not being nasty or saying this is right this is wrong but actuly being informative without being 'harsh'.
Like on rat forums if you do something wrong u get slaughtered and whitch hunts start to forum against you for one thing wrong or a rumour.

Just like to say that

Mr Tumble said:

In the past ive had to give up some rats because i didnt have the time and money once my baby arrived but i didnt hoem all just the ones which i felt needed more attention i couldnt give them and i couldnt bare seeing them in the cage all the time.
I lived with my mum who is very ill and she couldnt handle so mny when i moved out so i did home around 12, when i gave them to the rattie people cried my eyes out saying goodbye but i know they went to somewhere they would be out all the time spoilt and everything.
It is hard to do im just glad now i have my own house and i know never to get stuck with so many pets, i learnt a lesson and never want to give up any pet again to much heartache.

Mr Tumble is our only pet (apart from a few fish we are getting in a month)
Its going to stay that way i maybe getting him a friend but right now no i got around 2-3 month before thinking if he needs a friend. My OH has a well payed job now and the bills payed for with a lot of extra money so i feel i can spoil my bunnie, also having a big garden which is enclose for him in the summer, i just got to get him a bigger cage built for in the house by my dad

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I think sometimes you have to think of everyone, and if to rehome is the best option, then rehome you must do. :wave::wave:

Mr Tumble, I had to rehome my male rats, it was heart breaking but they needed things I couldn't give them. A rescue worker gave them the home they needed but I still feel sad and guilty for having to give them away.

if it wasn't for this forum (which other half found and suggested) god know what things would be like for Giz. I imagine he would still have his "equipment" and be spraying everywhere, no vaccs, no good quality hay and stuck in the original cage i got for him and god knows what else maybe he wouldn't even have survived i certainly didn't know what GI Stasis was?

thanks to RU he is neutered (i didn't even know you could do this for buns) fully vaccinated checked by the vet every 6 months, has loads of toys and good quality hay, pellets not mix the list goes on - now don't shoot me down for my ignorance when getting him because i learnt from you all here, ok so he doesn't have a wife yet but my dad wasn't even expecting one house bun so if i had another he would kill me simple as but other half and i are moving out so as soon as we do i shall be finding him a wifey from a rescue (again thanks to RU).

This forum has also very much changed the opinions of my mom and dad as when we lost our beloved collie Christmas eve 2008 (after 6 months) we decided it was time for a new dog our other collie was lonely without her, i begged mom and dad to rescue not buy and took them to the dogs trust - now we have another beautiful collie 4 years old.
saffy our rescue is the black and white



so the forum never made me consider re homing for me personally it changed mine and my familys opinions