LibbyRenee
New Kit
my rabbits doesnt seem to like me much, he will hide his face and close his eyes everytime i go to touch him... is he scared of me? What can I do to help this?
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Need help with bonding
- Thread starter LibbyRenee
- Start date
Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
Hello
Can you give us a bit more information such as how old is your Rabbit, how long have you had him, what sort of accommodation does he live in ?
Generally speaking it is better to bond with a Rabbit on their terms and down at their level. So for example just spending time sitting with them on the floor in their run and making no attempt to actually touch them. Put some tasty herbs on your legs/lap so that Bunny will smell a treat and be curious to investigate. Let Bunny take the food from your lap (or where-ever you have placed it), talk quietly to Bunny but make no attempt to touch him. Repeat this exercise a lot over a period of several days. As Bunny starts to gain trust and confidence in you you can progress to a gentle stroke of his head. Try not to end any structured bonding sessions by having to pick him up (to put him back into a hutch etc) So he does not start to associate your company as always ending in him being picked up.
There are probably a lot more suggestions we could make if you could let us know a bit more about your Bunny's specific situation. Rabbits are, well 'Rabbits', but they are also individual characters and personally I prefer to tailor any 'bonding' with them to meet their individual needs
Oh and welcome to RU !!
Can you give us a bit more information such as how old is your Rabbit, how long have you had him, what sort of accommodation does he live in ?
Generally speaking it is better to bond with a Rabbit on their terms and down at their level. So for example just spending time sitting with them on the floor in their run and making no attempt to actually touch them. Put some tasty herbs on your legs/lap so that Bunny will smell a treat and be curious to investigate. Let Bunny take the food from your lap (or where-ever you have placed it), talk quietly to Bunny but make no attempt to touch him. Repeat this exercise a lot over a period of several days. As Bunny starts to gain trust and confidence in you you can progress to a gentle stroke of his head. Try not to end any structured bonding sessions by having to pick him up (to put him back into a hutch etc) So he does not start to associate your company as always ending in him being picked up.
There are probably a lot more suggestions we could make if you could let us know a bit more about your Bunny's specific situation. Rabbits are, well 'Rabbits', but they are also individual characters and personally I prefer to tailor any 'bonding' with them to meet their individual needs
Oh and welcome to RU !!
LibbyRenee
New Kit
Im actually not sure of how old he is. I got him off a friend of mine who got him because he was used for breeding. He has a c&c cage, and i am expanding it a bit more to give him some room to run, the problem is that i have 2 big dogs i try to keep them blocked out. I try to get him out each day but I am so busy with school latley.
Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
It sounds as though he is very scared of the dogs. Can they be prevented from being in the same room as the Rabbit ?
Is your Rabbit neutered ? Generally Rabbits need a companion of their own kind and obviously neutering would be necessary before that option could be considered. But if you have a busy life and you are unable to offer him much companionship yourself he really does need the companionship of another Rabbit. At least then you could be assured that he is not lonely, even if he never becomes a particularly human orientated Rabbit.
LibbyRenee
New Kit
yes, I try to block them out as much as possible and No he is not neutered and I had a female but since he isn't neutered my friend took her, because all they did was try to get to each other.
