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What rabbit doesn't like nose rubs?

Leannean27

Alpha Buck
I thought all buns liked nose rubs but I'm still struggling a month on to give them to Ralph and he put his teeth on me when I tried earlier, should I give up - do some buns just not want/ like it?

I've mentioned on here before when u try stroking his head he's always looking at your hand, now he's put his teeth on me I think he's actually been telling me to get off and not just being inquisitive. Any advice?
 
Imogen doesn’t really like them either, she'll tolerate them if she's eating or in the mood for them but apart from that she moves away if someone tries. I just leave her to it to be honest.
 
Both our buns don't like nose rubs. They prefer running around like loons

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My two boys don't really like them from me. They've always been together and had each other for grooming and attention, they just associate my hand with food. They've never bitten, but unless they're already distracted (with food) they'll just move when i try rub their head (to check if I have food) :roll: . Princess on the other hand was a single bun until she was about 7 months old and she craved attention so much, she still likes a good nose rub but now she has two boys to keep her company she doesn't come up to me for them as often
 
That's reassuring, I thought all bunnies liked them. He's on his own at the moment so it's not like he has another bun to groom him. He doesn't mind his body being stroked just his head. Sounds like I wanna give him nose rubs more than he wants then :cry:
 
My four outdoor rabbits dont appreciate nose rubs. Just got an indoor pair who are still getting used to me and one of them will tolerate a small amount of stroking if he is eating!
 
That's reassuring, I thought all bunnies liked them. He's on his own at the moment so it's not like he has another bun to groom him. He doesn't mind his body being stroked just his head. Sounds like I wanna give him nose rubs more than he wants then :cry:

My boys tolerate back strokes more than head strokes too. I think a lot of rabbits very strongly associate our hands with food, especially if you've fed them by hand or regularly try stroke their head as they are eating.

I've found that if I go to stroke Princess' head with my hand, straight away she sniffs around to see if I have food ( I hand feed her often), when she realises I don't then sometimes she'll stay, sometimes she goes off and does her own thing. My partner doesn't feed the rabbits by hand at all and she ALWAYS lets him stroke her head. Clearly mum = food, dad = pets and cuddles :roll: . If I use my foot or nose/chin to rub her head she usually bows down straight away and enjoys the head rub because she doesn't associate those with food.

Make sure your hands are clean and don't smell of food because that's definitely going to distract them, and wash your hands after touching other rabbits.
 
My rabbits are happy to sit for a 'cuddle' (that's what we call the whole petting thing, as we could never actually cuddle them!) but if they think something's more interesting they'll hop off. Also if we have ulterior motives, like pulling loose fur out or doing a bum check they'll often scarper. And obviously if there's food elsewhere they'll go there, but usually, especially if they're sleepy, they'll sit with either of us for a while. Not on the lawn, mind, too much fun to be had out there! Plus we tend to pretend pick them up out there if we want them to go in and they're not obliging :twisted:

We don't really hand-feed though, but both ours will come and find out if we ARE handfeeding before accepting headrubs!
 
We have had Boogie since July last year and her catch phrase would have to be "don't touch me". She is happy to head butt us and take food from our hands but heaven forbid you try and give her a head rub . She is very quick and just moves far enough away. It took Bob at least 18 months to accept head rubs but is now a very chilled bun and loves them.

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That's reassuring, I thought all bunnies liked them. He's on his own at the moment so it's not like he has another bun to groom him. He doesn't mind his body being stroked just his head. Sounds like I wanna give him nose rubs more than he wants then :cry:

Nah, most of mine would rather I left them alone ;) and I wouldn't even dare try it with Dottie, she'd probably have my finger (to be fair she has calmed down a lot!) x
 
My boy bun enjoys nose rubs from me now. Although when I first got him he did back away from me so it took him a little bit of time to enjoy them. He only likes them from me though. He gets grumpy if anyone else strokes him, which I must admit makes me feel special!

It took my female several months to accept nose rubs and even now it's only when she's in the mood and you have to approach from exactly the right angle.

Having said all that at the moment they do tend to scarper from me. Mainly because they're both going through quite a heavy moult and they know every time I approach they'll be getting a vigorous brush down! You'd think they'd appreciate me getting rid of that annoying loose fur but obviously not!


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Rabbits have a blind spot around the nose area so it could just be because they can't see what you're doing?
 
My bridge girl Cleo wouldn't tolerate me stroking her anywhere at all.Her husband Rio loved being stroked anywhere but especially his cheeks and ears.The only way I could sneak a petting of her was when Rio groomed her and she had her eyes closed.They would be lying at my feet under a small table.I would bend down and gently rub her ears.Know I know she did like it,but if she opened her eyes and saw ut was me she would sit up and run away.:lol: I do miss them both.
 
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