I think I would move her to your bedroom for now – she may be bored (or not) but she won’t be quite so overwhelmed and might help de-stress her. I think just take it slow like you are doing – don’t push her – some rabbits just need a longer time to trust and you sound like you are a patient kind owner who will win her over (although don’t expect her to be a cuddle bun, she may never be).

Is she spayed yet?

I’d move her for now too. Is her cage far off the floor? If I were you, I’d put it down on the floor too, and let her come and go out of it during play time. Alot of bunnies, females especially, can get a bit defensive about their cages.

Side note.. I’d get rid of the yogurt drops. Dairy products are not very good for bunnies, can cause digestive problems. I’d switch to veggies, or little bits of fruit for treats instead.

One thing that I have done with fosters that were hand shy was to open their cage and just lay on the floor and watch tv or read a book and give them the opportunity to explore me without worrying about being picked up. maybe even putting a few raisins or whatever their favorite treats are in your hand so when they approach it the associate your hand with their favorite treat. Then slowly move a bit when they are around so they know that not every movement means you are going to go after them. Example, roll on your side after the bunny is a bit more use to you and then roll back. It’s just gonna take some time and a lot of small steps to get that trust there but trust me, it is SO worth it!

Do to the fact that I have two 60 pound dogs that could easily break down a door and get very carried away with her, I can’t allow her to free roam without me there, so she spends some time in her cage.

While I don’t want to suggest you do something dangerous-but are you doing any training with the dogs to get them used to and socializing with the bunny? I brought home my dog from a shelter with no clue as to his past or breed or drivieness. He turned out to be fixated on the rabbits, viewed them as dinner and is a real predator (he’s caught two ducks and a mouse-ate the mouse-but it was frozen…) he’s a real hunter. I did a slow desensitization/counter conditioning program with no expectation that eh could ever be in the same room as them and yet it worked out. In fact when I had an illness here-I had one pair in a dog bed in the living room with him and he patiently slept by them the whole time-day and night keeping watch. It took a long time and a lot of patience but ok I guess what I’m saying is-do you plan to try any training with them so that it’s less scary to house prey/predator in the same house? I think this will also help your bunny feel more comfy. Rupert nudges Mikey for kisses now whereas he was a little worried about him at first.

The problem I have now is that she’s been thumping. At first I thought this would stop as she settled in, but it hasn’t. I don’t want to stress her out, but I can’t leave her in there 24/7 for the rest of her life, and if I reach for her she’ll lunge at me? I call it boxing, she sits up on her hind legs and scratches with her front paws. I even got bit once, which bled and took a week to close up fully.

IT’s actually called boxing Great call

How long have you had her? Some rabbits stomp a lot but in general it means they are upset or scared. So if it’s been a while-over a few months-I’d make some changes so she’s feeling more secure.

Since then whenever I open her cage in invite her to take a yogurt treat from me. She’s really improved! It’s gotten so far that she’ll walk out of her cage and onto the desk it is on, but if I move the tiniest bit she runs back inside. She’ll let me touch her ears, but not really her back.

What is the next step? How do I get her not to stay put a little longer each time?

Just keep working on it, with more patience then you ever thought you had HAve you heard of clicker training? I can’t tell you how amazing it is! It make them learn on average 75% faster so it can speed up your training (your already treat training-it can go quicker)

On a side note-throw out the yogurt drops-unfortunately those are bad. Just buy plain old raisins-healthier and more loved and cheaper !

And on another note, should I move her cage? It’s in the living room, but now I’m starting to think that the dogs barking might be contributing to her stress and making her more likely to become defensive. I worry though that she’ll be bored in my bedroom, where I rarely am except for sleep and trying to socialize her

Whats your gut reaction-does she seem scared (in a huddle doing nothing) or ignoring them or exploring? I would think she’d prefer quieter but it does depend on temperament.

PS: She’s my second rabbit, my first was an unknown mix human raised. I never had a problem handling her because she had an open cage that you reached into from above, She never really attempted to lunge at me.

I brought home Rupert from a shelter and he defintely hated being handled, I assumed he’d been dropped he was so worried in the air. WIth a lot of practice (working below his ‘scared threshold’) and treats-he came right around. Being held for anything is second nature to him now-and I can carry him and his girlfriend at the same time easily. Hang in there-you can certainly socialize your new bun

chows have Extreamly high prey drives… my sister brought her chow, osa, over and i had my bunny, hershey out. hershey loves dogs so went to say hello and almost got eaten…

lol her. she doesnt get scared very often so it was a suprise.

Glad Hershey wasn’t hurt.   A neighbor had a pair of Chows.   

i dont think the puppy would hurt her but i was relived when i finally caught hershey and got her in the cage

Found you this article today !!

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/26    Taming Shy or Feral Rabbits with Clicker Training

You need to create an account to read the whole article (and a few related but it’s free to do )

Everyone else has given you such great advice! I just wanted to comment on your most recent post – about having to bring her inside wrapped in a towel. Don’t feel bad at all! At least 90% of bunnies really don’t like to be picked up and it has nothing to do with you or your bond with her. Both of my bunnies hate to be picked up, but they love and trust me otherwise. Often using a towel to wrap them up is the safest way to go about it if you absolutely have to pick them up. I also like to put down a carrier and allow them to climb in on their own. If they learn that the carrier takes them from one place to another (rather than just the vet) they can learn to like it and view it as a mode of transportation.