I’ve had my gorgeous Nethie dwardf bun for 5 months now, he’s almost 9 months old, he is incredibly aloof, it’s almost as if he doesn’t care whether I’m there or not.
We had huge big-girls-blouse issues when we got him, he was scared of his own shadow and wouldn’t let anyone touch him. He is confined to the kitchen (he’s actually never tried venturing out) and has an open cage when we’re home. When we got him I spent hours sitting on the kitchen floor every night trying to get him use to me. I have since discovered he doesn’t seem to recognise me if I sit on the floor, even now, he’ll come up and sniff my foot and then wander off and will have no further interraction with me, even if I sit there for hours reading or on the phone. However, if I lay on the floor with my head at his level, he’ll come to me and sniff my hands to see if I have food/treats for him and if I do, he will happily eat out of my hand, but as soon as he’s bored or the treats have gone, then he’s off without a backwards glance.
He never asks for pets (unless I can’t read the signs), but I can recognise when he’ll be amenable to being petted and I make the most of it, once I start petting him, he will lower his head to the floor and let me carry on until either my arm goes dead (quite hard petting an animal when you’re supported on your elbows!) or he’s had enough and off he goes. I would say he is “comfortable” with me as he will sit almost nose to nose with me without moving or he’ll hop a couple of feet away with his back to me and just sit there/grooming himself, he doesn’t move when I walk past him (he always sits outside the entrance to his cage and will sit there unmoving for hours, is he asleep?). He won’t climb on me, even if I’ve left a trail of treats onto my lap, he has never done more than put his front paws on me and stretched to get treats and if he can’t reach, he gives up. Under no circumstnaces will he allow me to pick him up, the fight/struggle he puts up is not worth the stress on both our parts.
Although he puts up with me, he does not do that to any other member of my family, he only tolerates me. He is not neutered as he shows no signs of maturity (vet didn’t recommend it when I took him), he is very docile (unless you try to pick him up), he doesn’t make any sound at all, he doesn’t bite, he doesn’t flop, he’s utterly adorable in every way, I would just like to know if there’s any way I can become closer to him, or is this just his personality and he’s just not a person-rabbit?
I’ve tried clicker training, but he’s afraid of the clicker noise! I can’t bribe him with food/treats and he’s just not bothered by food and is quite a fussy eater.
Any helpful suggestions would be gratefully received, I don’t know if there are any games we could try playing together, he has a shed load of toys all over the floor that he can play with, but he seems to always go for his chew sticks. Thank you and apologies for the ramblings of a mad woman! x