• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Tempremental Doe's?

mokwa32

Alpha Buck
Hi guys,

http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p348/magsmokwa29/IMAG1292_zpslpm5g8yf.jpg

This is Pony my little mini lop doe. She has had a lot of upheaval in her short life with 3 previous homes and not much love. Previously with 'fancy' breeders. She is due for spay in just over a week :)

She isn't very friendly, what I mean is she doesn't want to be close to us but she is so sweet, and I am really trying to gain her trust. If she is in her pen she will poke her nose through for rubs and let me rub her cheeks. But if her pen is open and she is free ranging she won't allow me such contact. She will run up, smell my hand and run away.

I am partly thinking this is hormonal and after a spay she will be more tactile like my other doe, and also due to being unsettled her whole life. I am hand feeding her treats. She seems scared of hands? I think she was possibly force bred maybe, if she sees a hand from above she is off like a shot. And looks scared.

She is very outgoing I am discovering seeing her Investigating the whole upstairs during free range time which is all day.
She likes the kids bedroom!

http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p348/magsmokwa29/Mobile Uploads/2015-01/IMAG0039_zpssn5dz8sb.jpg

I approach her slowly from low down and keep my hand low to feed her treats. I try and give her a stoke when she is eating her treat. But she may dart back and fore with her treat as if afraid to relax and feel safe. And sometimes it is almost a lunge. Again this might be hormonal? I go about my normal business upstairs, fetching things for my children and housework so she gets used to normal routines. I really want to give her some love but she doesn't know what this is, or how to receive it.

I am just hoping for any tips or advice to be able to gain her trust and feel closer to her? I am patient. I know once she is spayed she will improve from a hormonal perspective. My husband thinks she Is a weirdo. He is scared of her too because she bit him once. His own fault it was. But she bit me once when I was giving her hay, I think she got a fright with the hay moving around. She isn't generally a biter though.

http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p348/magsmokwa29/Mobile Uploads/2015-01/IMAG0020_zpshuzbjru9.jpg

Also if anyone has a similar experience or story to share with a nice hopeful ending? [emoji813]

Thank you :)
 
Awwww she looks a cutie - I think spaying will definitely help and really worth while doing anyway as will help prevent possibility of uterine cancer in later years.

If she is frightened and has been mishandled in her previous life it will take time and trust to win her over. Is her pen area large enough for you to sit in with her? - I would sit and just read a book or have an ipad play and just see if she becomes brave enough to come over and have a sniff of you.

I have a girl who has taken much time to gain her trust but she will now come and sit next to me for strokes but it has to be in her terms and sometimes this is how it stays with a bunny but she is very loving but just in her own way.

Take your time with her and hopefully it will pay dividends - my girl also has a cuddle soft toy which I think helps her feel secure lol need to watch your little bun isn't a chewer though lol

Good luck - she is very pretty.
 
She's adorable :love: Seconding the 'get on her level and ignore her' route; rabbits can be very curious, and it's probably something she's never seen before, a giant sitting down with her, so once she gets more used to you, she'll start to wonder what's happening and investigate.
 
My rabbit IS a weirdo ;P Just like the rest of the household!

When I get in the run with Lopsy he's much more amenable to headrubs and stuff: it's also much more comfortable for me! I also sit with him sometimes, especially if I've been away for a few days, and he likes to pretend he's ignoring me ;P

Good luck!
 
Awwww she looks a cutie - I think spaying will definitely help and really worth while doing anyway as will help prevent possibility of uterine cancer in later years.

Yes agreed, although I thought the cancer is only in unproven doe's? Anyone? Pony has had a previous litter.

If she is frightened and has been mishandled in her previous life it will take time and trust to win her over. Is her pen area large enough for you to sit in with her? - I would sit and just read a book or have an ipad play and just see if she becomes brave enough to come over and have a sniff of you.

Yes I can sit in her pen. She does come and sniff my hand yet she will soon dart away. But I guess this is a good start and if I sit in her pen I can have quality time with her too.

I have a girl who has taken much time to gain her trust but she will now come and sit next to me for strokes but it has to be in her terms and sometimes this is how it stays with a bunny but she is very loving but just in her own way.

This is all I would want from her, for her to feel safe enough to receive a stroke :( I can stoke her a little if she is having a treat. But again this is at least a start :)

Take your time with her and hopefully it will pay dividends - my girl also has a cuddle soft toy which I think helps her feel secure lol need to watch your little bun isn't a chewer though lol

Good luck - she is very pretty.

Oh okay, no she isn't a chewer so far I never thought about a soft toy. This is an idea. She will be getting bonded in the spring. So she will have a lovely husbun, my buck also who is very very lovable and affectionate so she will be spoiled with grooming and cuddles from him.

Thank you, yes she is gorgeous although you can tell she is a law unto herself by the look on her face :) lol
 
She's adorable :love: Seconding the 'get on her level and ignore her' route; rabbits can be very curious, and it's probably something she's never seen before, a giant sitting down with her, so once she gets more used to you, she'll start to wonder what's happening and investigate.

Yes I agree, she has been largely ignored and kept in breeding hitches sadly. I just want to give her freedoms, exercise and carry on going about my business. She has walked over my feet a few times which was funny, a little furry belly on my bare feet :)
 
I just went in to sit with her and she lunged at me so I picked up her loo roll toy and slowly gave it to her and she grabbed it and attacked it, she then lunged at me and bit me drawing blood :(
 
My rainbow doe was a bit of a madam herself, but cute as pie as well so sounds a lot like your little companion. We were together for 4 years and when I would sit with her and read (ignoring her completely) she would lay out next to me getting closer and closer the longer I knew her and eventually I could stroke her head while she was layed out. But heaven forbid it wasn't all entirely on her terms! I can't count the number of nips I got for petting her without permission, and she would always dart away as soon as I bent to pet her nose, even if she had come running up to greet me. My doe didn't change much being spayed either, she just got a bit less territorial. I think some rabbits are just strong willed and opinionated. i'd let her have her way, she'll be more likely to come to you that way.
 
It's great that you're getting her spayed, as I'm sure that the hormones are not helping. She sounds like a lovely little soul who's been through the mill a bit - I'm sure she'll get there with realising you're not nasty or trying to hurt her. Just let her take her time and she'll eventually realise!
 
My rainbow doe was a bit of a madam herself, but cute as pie as well so sounds a lot like your little companion. We were together for 4 years and when I would sit with her and read (ignoring her completely) she would lay out next to me getting closer and closer the longer I knew her and eventually I could stroke her head while she was layed out.

Oh she does sound just like Pony. Was she a rescue bun?

But heaven forbid it wasn't all entirely on her terms! I can't count the number of nips I got for petting her without permission, and she would always dart away as soon as I bent to pet her nose, even if she had come running up to greet me. My doe didn't change much being spayed either, she just got a bit less territorial. I think some rabbits are just strong willed and opinionated. i'd let her have her way, she'll be more likely to come to you that way.

Yes well I'm not letting the bite scare me off, the other day I was giving her nuggets and she turned her back on me to eat them, then I hummed Brahms Lullaby to her and she turned around and came and sat beside me to eat her nuggets :) I was so happy.

Yes I wonder if she will change much after a spay. I know my other doe got much softer and friendlier. But I wonder if Pony has behaviour engrained. All I can do is love her and show her she is safe :)
 
It's great that you're getting her spayed, as I'm sure that the hormones are not helping. She sounds like a lovely little soul who's been through the mill a bit - I'm sure she'll get there with realising you're not nasty or trying to hurt her. Just let her take her time and she'll eventually realise!

Fingers crossed I can ease her temperament a bit. I hope I can, I don't want her to feel highly strung always. I wonder if she will soften once bonded, and she has a gentle husbunny :) it's a thought.
 
Just a wee update on my little lady. I am so impressed with her she is a little trooper. She has softened right up, and will actually run over for strokes and she will lay flat like a pancake (odd) for me to stroke her and rub her cheeks and nose. She even lets me stroke right down over her bum :)

She hasn't lunged or nipped in weeks. So happy. [emoji813]
 
She's so cute :) I am such a sucker for the helicopter ears :lol:

Meg wasn't a rescue no, I got her before I knew any better and she was from a breeder. She was actually well handled and hadn't suffered any when I got her. She was just super stubborn by nature :) Glad to see your Pony has warmed to you so well too. Sometimes the hardest won trust is the most rewarding! :love:
 
Back
Top