Your level of anxiety over finding a “friendly bunny” makes me think you should consider other types of pets. I don’t think a rabbit is going to be the right pet for you. They really need to be accepted for who they are and it’s not fair to put this level of expectation on a rabbit. As far as generalizations go, lops usually come out ahead as a more mellow breed. If you want to try again with a new rabbit, I would recommend the old standby, a large white, red-eyed rabbit (called a New Zealand). They are super intelligent and almost everyone I’ve ever heard of has been outgoing. The most important thing to do will be to pick a rabbit NOT on looks but based on personality and talk with the rescue people about who has a personality that will most closely fit yours.

If you do give up Eeyore, I hope he can find a wonderful home, because he sounds like a sweetheart.

I totally agree with Beka. I don’t think a rabbit is going to meet your expectations. I think you should give the rabbit back if you are concerned he’s not the right pet for you – they will find him a good home.

I would not even try with another rabbit. Beka mentions the red eyed whites normally being friendly but there is no guarantee that will be the case. My NZ’s have always been very laid back rabbits and I have had some who were also skittish. You just cannot get a guarantee that a rabbit is going to act in a certain way for you ever. There are certainly generalities of each breed but that doesn’t mean your particular rabbit will fit in that “box” of generalities.

Thing is… if you’re looking for a bunny to pick up and cuddle, you’re going to have your work cut out for you, because it is a rare bunny who likes to be held.

If you’re looking for a bunny to be silly, outgoing, playful, and goofy, then you have far more options. Our mini rex, Remy, is like a little clown. If you so much as giggle at him he binkies and zooms around the room and plays with his toys.

BUT… if you do end up getting an outgoing bunny, you’re probably more likely to have house damage, such as chewing and ripping of furniture, carpet, etc. Outgoing bunnies need more exercise and more stimulation. They won’t be content to chill out, like Eyore does. What I’m afraid of is that you end up with an outgoing bunny who ends up being a ton of effort and you end up missing how chill and relaxed Eyore was!

I guess you just gotta pick your battles…

I posted before I saw Sarita’s reply… I think she’s right. Every rabbit is so unique. You really can’t predict behavior or personality, even by breed, and as an animal lover I know you would feel awful giving back more than one pet.

My advice would be either to keep Eyore and just love him the way he is, or try a different type of pet. Ferrets, for instance, can be trained to use a litterbox, and they have tons of energy and love to play.

When we first got Remy he was so shy and scared that he ran into his little wooden house every time he heard us. Now, he is the most outgoing bunny I could imagine. He jumps on my shoulders on the couch, digs on my feet for attention, begs for treats, and zooms around the room when I talk to him in a silly voice. Even when I have company over, he ends up hopping over to them, chinning them, and sniffing around them with curiosity. This has been an *extremely* gradual transition. He’s going to be two-years old in November.

Sometimes it just takes a long time for animals, and especially bunnies, to feel comfortable enough to interact with humans. Bunnies have an instinctual wariness that comes from being prey animals, and in the wild that slowness to trust keeps them alive. It can be frustrating for us humans, since we want affection and interaction immediately.

I truly think that the more time you give him the more he’ll like and trust you. As that happens, he’ll want to spend more and more time with you.

It’s absolutely your decision and no one else’s, but these are just some things to keep in mind.

Sounds kind of like a bonding session… moments of trust, moments of doubt. I really think he’s still trying to get to know you and figure out if you’re “okay”

It just takes time.

You say he’s comfortable with you, but then mention lunging and growling – frankly, he’s not comfortable with you or his surroundings. He’s still very nervous and unsure of you and your house and he needs time to adjust.

And saying that lops aren’t friendly is totally bogus – lops are some of the most laid back and friendly buns out there. I’ve never heard anyone say that they are more standoffish than other breeds and I have to that are quite friendly.

Here’s a good article from the House Rabbit Society about why you should not generalize breeds:

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-10/mellow-lops.html

Here’s another good article from the House Rabbit Society on shy rabbits:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/shy.html

Those are both *awesome* articles, and one point in particular stood out to me… animals like dogs have been strongly bred for behavior (hunters, retrievers, burrowers, trackers, lapdogs, etc.).  Bunnies have bred for looks and looks alone.  That’s why you can have a situation like ours… two bunnies of the same breed, but one is a little spaz and the other lives to relax.  We adore them both, and I love that we have one of each.  It still took months for each of them to trust us, and we’re *still* getting closer all the time.

Momo just turned one this month.  Until just four or five months ago she used to hide when one of us walked up to her.  Now we can barely get her to move out from the middle of the hallway!  She just looks up at us like, “Oh… am I in the way?”  And when I reach down, instead of running off, she just closes her eyes and waits to be petted.  If I get on my knees, she reaches up and licks my nose. 

This didn’t happen over night.  In fact, this didn’t happen in six months.  But now, after a year, I have one of the most affectionate bunnies I could possibly imagine.

Same with Remy.  He was terrified when we brought him home.  Months later, we decided to make him free-roaming, and he still didn’t go out of his way to spend all his time with us.  He wanted to explore, to learn about his home.  More months after that, we could go up to him without him running away.

Now… oh man.  I can barely go two feet without him running after me, begging for treats, binkying when we wiggle our fingers at him, and hunkering down for a butt scratch.  He wants to be near us as much as possible.

Time. Time. Time.  And the thing I can’t stress enough is that…

It’s *so* worth it.

Do stick it out. How old is he and is he neutered?

I have had 4 bunnies within the last year – out of these 4, only one of them has been a cuddly one, who would follow me around to be petted, and he would get into my bed and on the couch to sleep next to me. So I really don’t think getting another bunny would be a solution as you might end up with another bunny not interested in cuddles. I love all of mine with their different personalities, but granted my first bunny was a bit of a disappointment as well, as I have mentioned before, he is a bit timid and not the type of bunny, who likes to hang out with me – or anybunny else – for a longer period of time. But once I accepted this (ha, and got the others to please my need for cuddling), I could not live without him.

Give it time, and do begin hand-feeding him his food, so he will warm up to you a bit more.

I find that bunnies are not the animals that you should expect to cuddle with you for hours on end. I find that sometimes Fern will cuddle and sometimes for no reason known to me she gives me the stink eye and foot flicks. What you need to learn to appreciate in bunnies is not their ability to cuddle, but often what amuses me the most about them is their devious natures and that despite me yelling NO to them constantly they continue to dig in that one corner….
I’ts true I love my bunnies to bits, I love their devious little personalities and how they are so different from dogs or cats. Having bunnies is an experiance that you cannot get out of having a cat or a dog.
I will always be a dog person I admit, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy having bunnies. I love the way dogs are attention seekers, but since I have dogs to seek my attention I don’t need the bunnies to do the same. Each pet fulfills a different need in me, I love them for different reasons. Sometimes if I find it too annoying having my poodle mix dog drop a ball in my lap every 5 seconds then I will go to the bunny room and read to satisfy my need to spend time with my inquisitive little puff balls. Some people are exclusively Cat or dog people, they don’t see any need for having any other animal. But I always appreciated the differences in my animals and loved them for their differences. Fish might not be the most affectionate of animals but there is something soothing about watching them swim lazily around in the water. I eventually did give up my fish tank and make more space for my bunnies because I found that I was not really much of a fish lover.
The point I am trying to make in that huge tangent is that all animals are different and some fill some needs and others fill other needs. Bunnies are not like dogs, they will not jump on you for attention, but they will however amuse you in many different ways that a dog could not.

^^^Those are all very good signs! Some bunnies will hide until you’re done feeding them, then they come out to eat. But the fact that he cares more about the food than your presence is a good sign in my opinion.

What a wonderful thing to say : )

can you go on chat pleaes?? and that is very nice to to say good luck!

I would like to share a story with you about my bunny Fuzzy. Fuzzy is a lionhead mix that I bought from Petco (before I knew better). They sold him to me as a neutered purebred, which he isn’t (purebred I mean – he is neutered) and he must have only been about 8-10 weeks old because I had him for about a month before I took him to the vet for a check up and the vet told me he was only about 3 months old. That means he couldn’t have been more than 6 weeks old when they neutered him!! Man that still makes me angry! Stupid Petco!! Anyway – that’s a different subject. When we brought him home he would hide from us all the time, grunt & box if we got near him to try to pet him or pick him up and was just generally grumpy and aggressive. My husband wanted me to take him back because he was so aggressive and he called him a “mean” rabbit. I refused to take him back because I was in love with him already and had been searching for info on his behavior on the internet (that’s how I found this place and I’m so glad I did!). After doing a lot of reading, I now believe that because he was neutered so young and was put in a horrible little plastic cage with no socialization at all that he became a scared little bun so he became so aggressive to protect himself. I also learned that I needed to be patient with him and let everything happen on his terms. So I took things very slowly. I would sit on the floor with him and let him come to me and sniff me but I wouldn’t touch him for the longest time (he was terrified of hands) and then I started trying to pet him and sometimes he would let me get a pet or two in before running away and other times he would just run away. I would of course always have one or two of his favorite treats handy and he started coming around more & more. After a long time of this I started trying to pet him when I would bring him his morning veggies. At first he wouldn’t let me do it. He would box and grunt. I would just keep holding my hand out to him palm up and tell him he was such a silly bunny, all full of huff & bluff and he would stop. Then I would try to pet again, then he would box & grunt again and so on until he finally started letting me rub his nose while he munched. After a couple of weeks of this he stopped grunting & boxing and just enjoyed the nose rubs. Then when I would sit on the floor with him he started to lay just out of my reach and stretch out. So I would slowly move over to him and start slowly petting him. He would flinch at first but would stay still and let me pet him for 20 – 30 mins at a time. After a couple of weeks of this when I got on the floor to sit with him he hopped over to me and gave me a nudge for some pets!! This put me in seventh heaven! This happened back in May of this year. I got Fuzzy in November 2007! It took about 2 ½ years for Fuzzy and I to totally connect but it did happen and it was sooooooo worth the wait! It makes it more special somehow. Now every night Fuzzy and I have snuggle time together and I love it! He is also very obviously much happier now and does binkies and zooms galore!! He is starting to show more trust with my husband as well and has even had a few snuggle times with him recently. He’s more trusting and happy in general which makes me so happy that I decided to stick out his grumpiness and aggressiveness because now I have a sweet, loving happy fuzzball!
Sorry this is such a long post just wanted to let you know that if you are patient and loving with him it will so be worth it in the end. He is already showing a lot of good signs so hopefully it won’t take so long for you both as it did for me and Fuzzy! Good luck!!