Ivory and Erik

[Ivory]

Upon suggestion, I've decided to keep a sort of diary about the taming process of Ivory. This may be mundane to some, but I'd like to keep up with it.

You can read about Ivory's story a bit more here.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=31442&forum_id=48

This being said, today I noticed that she needs her nails trimmed. I'll have to do that tomorrow.

I put my hand out for to pat her nose. She seemed to enjoy it for a second before deciding that she wanted to snort and run away. She is currently lounging under my big green chair.

 

[TinysMom]

What a cutie....I think in time she will probably become more tame - there is something about her eyes that seems to make me think she WANTS to trust...she just can't do so yet..

Peg

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I think this is a GREAT idea! it will allow you to reference when and how she's acting certain ways.

It might not help, but it could be something that will even help others in the future.

Plus, you will be required to post pictures! inkelepht:

 

[Ivory]

Last night, Erik hopped into my bed! For the first time in AGES! He got so scared and mad after all that mess with the hairball/stasis back in November/December, he didn't trust me and wouldn't even come up to me. NOW he is finally letting me stroke him for long periods of time, and even let me snuggle with him a little bit last night!

Ivory seemed to be VERY curious, and seemed like she REALLY wanted to hop up, too, but was too scared. Peg, you're very right. The way that she acts, it's like she really does want to be friends with me, but she's far too scared to. I try to be very gentle with her.

But her curiosity, I think, is a good sign of progress. She really did want to come up and be petted, but was too scared. The fact that she has that desire is a very good thing in my eyes.

Bo, I'll try to post pics as much as I can. Here's another one. The problem with her being so light-eyed is that everything reflects back so you don't entirely see how pretty she is.

And here's one of Erik.

He's so gorgeous.....sometimes I wonder if he has Satin in him. His fur is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's so shiny, and beautiful. I'll have to pluck a piece and look at it under the microscope.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

hehehe I love Ivory! she's so pretty! I understand her eyes tho. They're red aren't they? Erik looks dinky compared to her!

I hope she gets her bravery and comes to see you on the bed. I bet that would be such a good thing for her. If nothing else, get a big blanket or two and lay on the floor where she can get to you and it's soft.

I'm glad Erik decided he would visit again

 

[Ivory]

Last night, as I was petting Erik, Ivory put her head down and allowed me to rub her head. She let me inspect her eyes. (They tend to get buildup around the corners, so I have to clean them. Darn albino rabbits.) While her body was tensed during this short petting session, her head and front legs were relaxed. Eventually she relaxed a little more and I stroked her body for a minute or two.

I sat down to pet her again about an hour later, but she grunted defensively and hopped away, so I didn't push the issue.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Progress - baby steps! That's great!

Clover is like that with the tense body - we can pet her sometimes but you can always see how nervous she is about it.

 

[JadeIcing]

Thought I would show you this.... A Tale of an Aggressive Rabbit

 

[Ivory]

Well, I noticed a reddish-brown spot on Ivory's side today. I was a little worried that she had some kind of cut or something underneath it, or if she had just taken a flop in some pee.

So I had to chase her around to see the spot, just to make sure that it wasn't a abscess or other kind of wound. She didn't appreciate it much. I hope my having to grab and inspect her hasn't hurt much. She was PO'ed but seemed to take it relatively well.

It was just a pee spot but I hope I didn't freak her out too much. It doesn't appear that I did.

 

[naturestee]

So have you clipped her nails yet? I have to do Luna soon but I keep putting it off. She's really starting to trust me, but she's so scared of being held. I don't want to go backwards with her. Maybe I'll do it right before her vet checkup on Friday, so she gets all her spooking done at once and blames the vet more than me. Hopefully.

 

[Ivory]

No, I've been putting it off, too. They aren't bad yet, but I'm still a bit scared to really freak her out. Plus, I need Dad's help, and he's currently watching the LSU national championships game, so he won't be paying attention, lol....

 

[EileenH]

"The problem with her being so light-eyed is that everything reflects back so you don't entirely see how pretty she is."

Oh au contraire...she looks very pretty in those pictures! Any of us with albino buns know what you mean, but she shines right through.

Keep up the good work. Take it slow and I know she will find herself at home with you. What a lovely girl you have there.

 

[Ivory]

Ivory and I are getting this system worked out. Dad has been saying that a good part of Ivory's problem is that I tolerate her "temper-tantrums" too much, i.e. if she bites, I just yell, "No!", and she knows what it means but she ignores it anyway.

She has really been pushing the "dominant" thing lately, to a point where I'm about to scream. I don't like "asserting" dominance over her, because obviously she's a skittish rabbit and that can be a problem.

But, um, apparently not.

Whenever she has come up to me to bite or nip or snort or act very rudely, I've gotten to the point to where I put my hand behind her neck, hold her head and the top of her body down, and force her to stay still. I say, ""quiet" or "settle".

Don't get me wrong, I don't like "forcing" a rabbit to do anything. I really, really don't. But this...has worked. I don't mean with "getting a fear response", I mean, it's worked to calm her down. She relaxes more in front of me.

And she hops up to me for treats, and isn't completely trusting yet, but seems to be getting better. If she acts up I simply put my hand behind her neck and tell her to settle. She settles. After she settles she is content with me petting her, and even nudges my hand for more.

It's gotten to the point where I can say "settle" and she settles without me touching her. She is calming down, don't ask me how this works, but she is. I can lie down next to her and pet her. She'll get agitated, but will relax when I say settle.

Sometimes she still runs behind something. It's been worse since I've had to redesign the cage setup, but it's getting better again.

Frankly I'm surprised that she has responded so well to it. I won't say she's trusting but it's amazing to me how quickly she's come around just by my training her to do this.

Actually, I'm not just surprised, I'm truly weirded out, but I'm not complaining. She is beginning to seek out my attention.

She's a good rabbit, and she's got a long way to go, but I think we're getting there.

 

[Ivory]

We're bringing home some progesterone tomorrow to inject Ivory with. Last time, it did mellow her out slightly. Hopefully it will give her the "push" into feeling a little more comfortable.

I used the same method with Erik- Erik wasn't tame when I first got him. After a while of being neutered we tried the progesterone shot, and it helped him a lot to overcome some of his aversion.

In case anyone's wondering, the shot basically gives them feelings of maternal "nesting". By that I don't mean pulling fur from the dewlap or making a nest, but just sort of acting somewhat calmer and a little more affectionate. Basically, between that and gentle handling, they come to trust you more, so by the time it wears off for the next dose, they don't need anymore.

That's how it worked with Erik, anyways, and Bicckie as well. I never talked about Bicckie....

 

[TinysMom]

I know it seems hard to try to "dominate" her a bit by pushing her head down and letting her know that you're the boss - but I think that ultimately it is going to be the best thing for her.

You weren't on the forum when we got Miss Bea in 2005 and I don't know if you read my threads to know about the situation we had.

Being a STUPID and inexperienced breeder - we brought her home and then bred her a couple of days later. The thing is....she wasn't used to us and she was suddenly cage aggressive. I had less than 30 days to teach her to trust me so that when she had her babies - she would not kill them out of fear of us hurting them.

All four of us were constantly going through the rabbitry (it is in our sunroom and leads into the back yard) and we would open her cage and talk to her and pet her. Of course, she would attack us terribly.

It finally got to the point where we held her down slightly (not hard at all) until she settled down and then we'd pet her and give her a cheerio (yeah - I'm not above bribery and it wasn't like she was getting a ton of cheerios every day...maybe 20 or so).

By the end of the second week or so (I forget exactly how long it was) she stopped fighting us and waited for us to open the cage and before her babies were born - she was standing at the cage door when we walked by - BEGGING us to open the cage. She'd even learned to tolerate (and sort of enjoy) being petted and having her ears rubbed.

Now that she lives with Tiny - she's not a big cuddler - but she has been known to come up to me and ask me for pets and when I'm giving her meds or something - she will even let me rub her ears a little bit. For a banana - I get to pet her more too. (well - a piece of a banana).

I really think that with Miss Bea - once she knew we were the boss and we were consistent with her- it helped her to settle down and feel safer.

Peg

 

[Ivory]

Well, my progress has gone backwards with Ivory since moving her into her new pen. She's doing okay with it, doing pretty well with the litterbox with the change. The only problem is that she is ALWAYS running back into the cage. I have a kitty condo to let them hide in.

She was doing fine until I had to take the cardboard box out of the pen (Erik was eating the cardboard and was having problems, so I had to take it out.) I'm buying a small doghouse for them to hide away in, I think. I think it'll help.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Well, if she nips and you react like I did with Bo last night..... she'll likely stop. He bit me on a very tender spot :embarrassed:and my reaction was to jerk and he was just over my arm enough that it tossed him off me and onto the floor. He looked at me like "GEeeeez, Mom..... "

He sure hasn't tried to nip me since.

 

[Ivory]

She was acting REALLY mean last night, something she hasn't done in a while. This morning she was better.

That being said, I brushed Erik last night, and I pulled out enough hair to make another rabbit.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

LOL! I tell them all the time - I can make a baby bunny from your old fur!!!

I think Bo worries about me sometimes....

 

[Ivory]

Here is Ivory, lying stretched out in the hallway.

My progress with her seems to have gone a little backwards since I penned them up. I really haven't had the chance to pet her. It used to be, whenever I would pet Erik, she would get curious and sniff around Erik's face, and I could tranfer my hand to her head or pet them both at once. She'd let me wipe her eyes (albino rabbits get gunk around their eyes) and rub her ears.

She's gotten better over the last few days. She lets me give her a treat again and takes it gently. She doesn't come up to me for treats like Erik and still runs off when I come in. But she still seems to be happy. Just not tame.

I always find her stretched out with Erik or snuggled up to him. They really are quite close.

There are times I get immensely irritated with Ivory, I won't lie. I have to stop myself from yelling at them sometimes, I won't lie about that either.

Erik is doing really well. His poops are normal and he's eating fine. He needs another brushing.