Bonding with a dominant rabbit. Tips?

[Remy The Rabbit]

My rabbit, Remy, is kind of affectionate, but he mostly likes to run around and then jump on me and dart off again. He hates being picked up, and never likes to stay in one place for more than 30 seconds to 1 minute, unless he is sleeping. I don't think he's ever shown he loves me with kisses, although sometime he will sniff my face and then it will feel wet after, almost like he licked me. Is there a way to help our bond become stronger? Remy only ever wants to be pet when he chooses, and I've tried to get him used to me picking him up, but stopped because he really hates it and becomes scared whenever it happens. He's also very dominant, he will pull on my sweatshirt and nip my toes. I will gently push him away, but I wish there was a way to let him know that it hurts and is annoying. I need him to know I'm the one in charge, without scaring him and making him afraid of me. I doubt he will ever cuddle with me, he mostly just jumps on my legs and jumps off the second he lands. Also, if he doesn't want to be pet, he will grab my arm and shove me away. He's never bitten me, he hasn't broken my skin or made me bleed. Tips and ways to bond would help. Does anyone relate with this?

 

[Mehidk]

My only best suggestion is patience. Allow yourself to just hang the same room as him (not in his safety zone) but don't pay attention to him. Continue to just do your own business so this show that you mean no harm to him. Eventually he will start lingering around you more to check you out and you can start giving him a small treat to entice him like a pellet, or very small piece of fruit (like strawberry). As for the nipping, you can do a high pitch yelp (I use EEEK) and it'll usually make the rabbit stop and realize that nipping causes a negative reaction. If it doesn't work the other option is to push your rabbit's head down for a few seconds and then let go. Might have to do it from time to time because rabbits can push buttons if they want to.

The only other thing I could say is that sometimes rabbits may just not care to be affectionate at all and that's not because you did anything wrong - it's just the rabbit's personality. With my rabbit, I'm still working on holding her and while she lets me hold her for 30 seconds, any longer than that, she just digging at my shoulder to tell me to let her down and I've had her for almost 7 months.

 

[Remy The Rabbit]

Thank you so much! This was very helpful. I have tried to squeal before when he nips, but maybe if I do it louder it would help.

 

[Mehidk]

Thank you so much! This was very helpful. I have tried to squeal before when he nips, but maybe if I do it louder it would help.

When I squeak, I do it pretty loud to where my mom can hear it in the living room . She's asked me what I'm doing and I'll tell her I'm squeaking lol. Plus some rabbits are stubborn and will keep trying but you have to stand your ground and like I said - if it doesn't work, push his head to the ground. My rabbit has not nipped me for months now but she will still nip at my boyfriend (right in the ribcage too). I told him to do the yelp but he won't do it so he'll just keep getting nipped at haha.

 

[Remy The Rabbit]

Thank you again! I actually have tried to push his head gently down when he doesn't listen to the squeaks, but I find he will push back up really hard and then walk off, heel flicking.

 

[Mehidk]

Thank you again! I actually have tried to push his head gently down when he doesn't listen to the squeaks, but I find he will push back up really hard and then walk off, heel flicking.

Ah yes, she's done that to me too. It's her way of saying "you suck" lol.

 

[Remy The Rabbit]

Yeah, same here, although he does get very mad. Also, sometimes when something is going on outside, he will get really scared and won't let me near him, then go run behind the couch, which is his safe place. I leave him be, but is there anything I can do to help him be less scared?

 

[Mehidk]

Yeah, same here, although he does get very mad. Also, sometimes when something is going on outside, he will get really scared and won't let me near him, then go run behind the couch, which is his safe place. I leave him be, but is there anything I can do to help him be less scared?

Besides just continuing to stay calm and not "running" after him, not really unless you close the window or something to lessen the noise disturbance. Rabbits will eventually see that there's no harm even if it may take months. Trixie used to be very alert of all the barking that occurs (due to neighbors having unruly dogs in their yard) and she would get scared and hide in a corner. After like 10 minutes, she would realize nothing was coming after her, so she would relax again. Now, I can have an action movie playing on my tv with explosions and whatnot and she would not be phased by it when sleeping.

Another example: After a couple of months of adopting Trixie, I put her in the opposite bedroom so I could vacuum up her area in my room. I didn't want to have to keep moving her every week so I tested her out with the vacuum. Some people would say it's a no-go, but some rabbits learn to be okay with them. The key is to provide them the safety zone where they can run to if they do get scared. I bought her a tunnel so the first couple of weeks of using the vacuum she would immediately run into it and hide until the loud sound was over. Nowadays, she's learned that the vacuum won't get her and she's even sniffed at it while I'm moving it around the carpet. Again, all rabbits are different so what I experience may be completely different from others.

 

[Remy The Rabbit]

Thank you again! Remy is fine now he was just put off by the sounds outside! I'll try some of those tips. Yeah, he doesn't like vacuuming either.