I've had my rabbit for about 3 weeks now and hesstill acting very shy twords me. He will take treats from me and dobinkies all over the place during his play time but with any physicalcontact he tends to shy away. This wouldn't bother me if Iwasn't going to have to brush/clip him but i'd hate to have to beforceful with him when the time comes and ruin all the progess we havemade. Any ideas?
Shy rabbit...
- Thread starter Jace
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superchar42
Well-Known Member
It sometimestakes some time for your bun to trust you. Something that worked wellfor me was to sit on the floor and have the cage open with some yummytreats in front of you -- your bun might not trust it from your handyet -- and just wait till he comes out. When he comes out, see if youcan pet him behind the ears and stuff, but try to keep him right nearyou. Push up some of those big tupperware things next to you, so all hesee is is you, the treats, and the cage.
Linz_1987
Well-Known Member
One of my rabbit's is really shy.Every time I go into the garden to see her (she lives outside) I giveher a treat, for example a dandy lion leaf. Every time I goout to see her she expects a treat from me. But recentlysometimes I havent been giving her treats, but she still expectsone. And comes up to me and nudges me and lets me strokeher. She never use to do that! 
In away its just like training a dog with treats, and then weening themoff the treats and only sometimes give them treats. They still do whatyou want thinking they have a treat coming their way
In away its just like training a dog with treats, and then weening themoff the treats and only sometimes give them treats. They still do whatyou want thinking they have a treat coming their way
Bunman
Well-Known Member
3 weeks is only a short time to raise a baby!.Keep at it & you'll get good results! Remember you're muchbigger than she is, she has to get to trust you.
queenadreena
Well-Known Member
Like sitting on the floor, as someone suggested,laying flat also works. Your bunny will be naturally curious and runover to sniff and jump on your body. This worked with mine, though sheis still timid at times.
"but try to keep him right near you"
thats something I haven't tried before. The room isn't big or anything,maybe 10ft X 10 or something around that size. He has always had freeroam over the room while i'm there. I open the cage and he hops out andgoes to his second little home he burrowed between the curtains and thewall (he really loves that :bunnydance but genereally he just likesto flop down behind me against the wall and I guess just stare at me. Iknow hes comfortable though, he does the back legs kicked out to oneside a lot. I haven't seen him do the complete flop and pass out yetthough.
anyway, thanks for the tips guys. =)
thats something I haven't tried before. The room isn't big or anything,maybe 10ft X 10 or something around that size. He has always had freeroam over the room while i'm there. I open the cage and he hops out andgoes to his second little home he burrowed between the curtains and thewall (he really loves that :bunnydance
but genereally he just likesto flop down behind me against the wall and I guess just stare at me. Iknow hes comfortable though, he does the back legs kicked out to oneside a lot. I haven't seen him do the complete flop and pass out yetthough.anyway, thanks for the tips guys. =)
naturestee
Well-Known Member
queenadreena wrote:
This has worked really well for me. If you're sitting, orespecially lying, on the floor you look a lot less threatening torabbits. It's even better if you can pretend to ignore themby reading a book or newspaper that you can allow them to nibble alittle. Suddenly you're nearly irresistable.
What kind of situation did you get your rabbit from? Forexample, a pet store or a shelter? Or a breeder who doesn'thandle her rabbits much? Fey and Sprite were from aneglectful/abusive owner. They were terrified of humansalthough not quite as scared of strangers as they were of theirprevious owner (there's your sign!). At first theywouldn't come out of the cage if I was in the room. It tookme two weeks to be able to touch Fey at all and another month or twofor her to start being comfortable with petting but even then she wasnervous for a while after that.
Sprite... still hates hands. Seriously hates beingtouched. I only groom her when she's shedding really badbecause she tends to start hyperventilating after a minute ortwo. But she really likes me when she can't see myhands. She'll tug on my pants, lick my nose and eyebrows, andshe loves to use me as a jungle gym if I'm lying on the floor orkneeling. But if she sees a hand she runs, thumps, andsometimes growls and I've had her for nearly a year now.
:yeahthat
This has worked really well for me. If you're sitting, orespecially lying, on the floor you look a lot less threatening torabbits. It's even better if you can pretend to ignore themby reading a book or newspaper that you can allow them to nibble alittle. Suddenly you're nearly irresistable.
What kind of situation did you get your rabbit from? Forexample, a pet store or a shelter? Or a breeder who doesn'thandle her rabbits much? Fey and Sprite were from aneglectful/abusive owner. They were terrified of humansalthough not quite as scared of strangers as they were of theirprevious owner (there's your sign!). At first theywouldn't come out of the cage if I was in the room. It tookme two weeks to be able to touch Fey at all and another month or twofor her to start being comfortable with petting but even then she wasnervous for a while after that.
Sprite... still hates hands. Seriously hates beingtouched. I only groom her when she's shedding really badbecause she tends to start hyperventilating after a minute ortwo. But she really likes me when she can't see myhands. She'll tug on my pants, lick my nose and eyebrows, andshe loves to use me as a jungle gym if I'm lying on the floor orkneeling. But if she sees a hand she runs, thumps, andsometimes growls and I've had her for nearly a year now.
Linz_1987
Well-Known Member
Wow! Has it really been a year?!:shock2:I rememeber when you first got Fey and Sprite! Theyhave come along way!
naturestee
Well-Known Member
Yup! Their Gotcha Day is September 11.
I was visiting family on Sunday andmy parents thought I was wierdbecause I was happy about Sprite licking my eyelid thatmorning. Hey, I'll take love from Sprite in whatever way Ican! And it tickled like you wouldn't believe.
I was visiting family on Sunday andmy parents thought I was wierdbecause I was happy about Sprite licking my eyelid thatmorning. Hey, I'll take love from Sprite in whatever way Ican! And it tickled like you wouldn't believe.
We got Bud at Petco. He was alone with anotherbunny but by the way they handled him and when I asked if he was maleor female (I got a "Male... I think) responce... so i'm not quite surewhat to think on how he was treated. He doesn't seem to hate people...just content on being alone which to me didn't seem normal.
edit - i'm not even 100% sure hes a male. i've been toocautious to try to handle him or anything since he doesn't like it.
edit - i'm not even 100% sure hes a male. i've been toocautious to try to handle him or anything since he doesn't like it.
I think a lot of bunnies have beenroughtly handled before they were adopted or bought. I have a few whoare afraid of my hands but I can stick my face into the cage and theythink that it is interesting. Or sometimes if I'm lying on the floorthey will sniff me all over and don't know that my whole body isattached to me..the one with the hands and face
Actually I just read what I wrote and I want tosay that it is not a smart thing to stick ones face in a cage as youcould get your eye put out or get scratched or bit. I did itand nothing happened but it was probably not the brightest move
naturestee
Well-Known Member
Sohe's from Petco but I'm guessing nota shelter bunny fostered by Petco, right? Because many Petcosactually have Humane Society rabbits for adoption instead of babybunnies for sale.
He probably wasn't handled much or at all. Petco buys theirrabbits from Peter's/Marshall's which is a "name brand" millbreeder. It's a huge company with rabbits and ferrets shippednationwide and I doubt they spend much if any time socializing theiranimals. The good news is they neuter their rabbits beforethey ship them out so you don't have to worry about getting thatdone. I'd double check with the store though and make surethough.
He's probably like Loki was and doesn't think people are really mean orscary but he doesn't know what people can do for him besidesfood. Once Loki learned how good it feels to get petted, henever stopped begging for it! He's a very friendly bunnyand it took him a month. Before that he really didn't see areason to go near me much.
Try to lure him near you by sitting or laying on the floor like Imentioned in the other post. Treats and toys on the floornear you can make you seem more interesting to him. Help himassociate you with good things. When he's comfortable withbeing near you and will sniffyou or jump up on you, trystroking his nose once and then bring your hand away. Makesure he knows that he's always free to leave and you're not trying toconfine him. If he doesn't leave and doesn't look scared,stroke his nose again. Continue petting (and praise him)slowly until he decides to leave. Even better, stop before hedecides to leave. One cat book that I'm reading right nowsays to "always leave them wanting more" when you're introducing ananimal to petting, grooming, etc.
He probably wasn't handled much or at all. Petco buys theirrabbits from Peter's/Marshall's which is a "name brand" millbreeder. It's a huge company with rabbits and ferrets shippednationwide and I doubt they spend much if any time socializing theiranimals. The good news is they neuter their rabbits beforethey ship them out so you don't have to worry about getting thatdone. I'd double check with the store though and make surethough.
He's probably like Loki was and doesn't think people are really mean orscary but he doesn't know what people can do for him besidesfood. Once Loki learned how good it feels to get petted, henever stopped begging for it!
He's a very friendly bunnyand it took him a month. Before that he really didn't see areason to go near me much.Try to lure him near you by sitting or laying on the floor like Imentioned in the other post. Treats and toys on the floornear you can make you seem more interesting to him. Help himassociate you with good things. When he's comfortable withbeing near you and will sniffyou or jump up on you, trystroking his nose once and then bring your hand away. Makesure he knows that he's always free to leave and you're not trying toconfine him. If he doesn't leave and doesn't look scared,stroke his nose again. Continue petting (and praise him)slowly until he decides to leave. Even better, stop before hedecides to leave. One cat book that I'm reading right nowsays to "always leave them wanting more" when you're introducing ananimal to petting, grooming, etc.
The good news is they neuter their rabbitsbefore they ship them out so you don't have to worry about getting thatdone. I'd double check with the store though and make surethough.
That sounds about right. He does have a breeder tattoo but its just 2green dots in his left ear. Not sure if that would pinpoint where hecame from or not. But the way you described Loki he sounds VERY similarto Bud except Bud doesn't seem to really like treats making it reallyhard to motivate him.
That sounds about right. He does have a breeder tattoo but its just 2green dots in his left ear. Not sure if that would pinpoint where hecame from or not. But the way you described Loki he sounds VERY similarto Bud except Bud doesn't seem to really like treats making it reallyhard to motivate him.
Charlie came around to me when I was laying onthe floor in his room like everyone is suggesting. He too wasshy for the first couple weeks, and then I would just lay in the roomwith him and read, and one time I fell asleep only to open my eyes andfind him flopped over passed out right beside me.
Good luck and keep spending time with him.
____________
Nadia
Good luck and keep spending time with him.
____________
Nadia
Runestonez
Retired Moderator
Our 2 girls came from the petstore and they weredef afraid of people. Skittles still doesn't like to be heldbut Peppy has made great progress. They both have really!
Tony and I would lay on the floor in the evening and read the newspaperand flyers and just ignore them. We did this everynight! The girls eventually started to come over and exploreus when they thought we weren't looking. Eventually theystarted to try to shred the paper we were reading or nibbling theedges. Afterawhile they were calm enuff to jump allover us and sit their wee plump bottoms right in the middle of thepages we were trying to read.It might be a loteasier to earn your babies trust. Our girls were at thepetstore for over 6 months...so we are guessing they were 8 months oldby the time we got them. They had been locked up in a littlecage with no "out time" because the one bunn had developed a habit ofbiting!
If our girls can be held and petted now with their background...thenI'm positive your bunn will come around with a little time andpatience!
Tony and I would lay on the floor in the evening and read the newspaperand flyers and just ignore them. We did this everynight! The girls eventually started to come over and exploreus when they thought we weren't looking. Eventually theystarted to try to shred the paper we were reading or nibbling theedges. Afterawhile they were calm enuff to jump allover us and sit their wee plump bottoms right in the middle of thepages we were trying to read.It might be a loteasier to earn your babies trust. Our girls were at thepetstore for over 6 months...so we are guessing they were 8 months oldby the time we got them. They had been locked up in a littlecage with no "out time" because the one bunn had developed a habit ofbiting!
If our girls can be held and petted now with their background...thenI'm positive your bunn will come around with a little time andpatience!
Bunnys_rule63
Well-Known Member
It may take a long time to win his trust. Ittook me many months to build up the relationship that I have now withmy buns, but it was well worth it! With my two I spent a lotof time at their level, even though most of the time they wouldn't comenear me they soon got used to me being around. I also hand fed them,and started stroked them while they were being fed to get them used toit. I then got them used to being handled, so I tempted them up onto myknee with food so they would happily sit there, then I started pickingthem up for just a few seconds at a time, and slowly increasing it. Astheir trust grew in me they started being much more playful so I joinedin games with them, and now they are the biggest loves I've evermet!I hope this works for your bun.
I hope this works for your bun.
