Awww, i’m sorry for Vivian’s rejection of Steve. But it sounds like a good game plan you’ve got in mind to try with him/her. If anyone can find a way, I’m sure you can. Good luck! Sorry I don’t have much advice to offer. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day either. It will take time and patience. I hope she comes around…

 Aww poor steve! I know I shouldnt laugh but the thought of a whacked out boxing lion definitely brought a giggle.  Sounds like you have a good plan.  Its amazing how stubborn bunnies can be, I know me and my boyfriend are trying to work on his relationship with Cady and Sophie and its by no means easy!  weird random thought would any of the bonding techniques work? like having him sit in the back with her in the car or somewhere she isnt comfortable? Good luck!

Monkey is not at all impressed with my hubby, but isn’t as bad as it seems Viv is with Steve! She will charge and growl at him, then bounce around like nothing happened. But she gets all cranky if he goes to touch her at all.

Posted By TaraMichele on 07/14/2011 10:39 PM

weird random thought would any of the bonding techniques work? like having him sit in the back with her in the car or somewhere she isnt comfortable?

Haha, that reminds me of a jest MimzMum made one time. Something along the lines of being sitting the bondees (ie. in this case: Steve and Viv) in an x pen with spray bottle at the ready.

BB, did Viv react this way when Jack was there when Steve entered the bunny room? 

I think LBJ10 posted a technique once of leaving some socks they’d worn in with the rabbit to help with a new human to rabbit bond. Maybe some of Steves socks or other clothing up in the window seat would be worth a try? Something he won’t be upset about if Vivian destroys it.   I did read buns recognize us a lot by our smell so there could be something in this techhnique.  I wonder if they can differentiate human males / females by smell?

I don’t remember saying that, Jerz. Are you sure you’re not mixing me up with Petzy or someone else who knows their stuff about bonding? 0_o;
Of course, when Tara suggested the bonding techniques, it did occur to me that Steve and Viv won’t exactly fit together in a laundry basket on top of the washing machine. >.< lolz… Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood. ^_^

All kidding aside, I am so sorry that this is happening. I know my bunnies do not even like certain tones of voice, especially the gents in the house. (That includes any time I either sound or act like they do; i.e. being loud, speaking in a low-read masculine- voice, hover in the doorway of the bunny room, etc.) Neither my son nor my hub can speak in the bunny room without Pip flying into either hide mode or a pure rage of thumping.

But I’ve never heard of anything like the open mouthed anger. Maybe just too many changes in succession for her to adapt to? Viv didn’t perhaps associate him with Jack being gone I hope? Like she may have smelled his scent on Jack’s body or something? Is there anything bad at all that she can connect Steve with? (Although I hardly think it is possible, he sounds like he’s trying so hard.) Maybe even the people who had her before you, there is something about them that seems similar to him, even if it’s a cologne or something?

Since I’ve being dealing with a little new fear/aggression behavior in Pip, I am also beginning to wonder if there’s something about me that has changed to irritate her. I’ve tried to eliminate all soaps that would set her off, plus I make sure I don’t have dog scent on my hands before cleaning her pen, or even Mimzy’s scent since he’s had his urinary difficulties of late and that may be bothering her. Bunnies can be so delicate in their sensibilities!
Has the kitty ever harassed her at all? You did say Steve hangs out with the cat, maybe that scent is setting her off?

I like the socks idea, as long as you don’t have to worry that she’d ingest large pieces of them. She did tear up your original BB though, so I’d watch her with them.

I’ll keep some calming vibes on the way to dear Vivian, and you and Steve as well. I hope you guys can have a breakthrough with her soon, it would be nice if she could have you both to trust seeing as you do have to travel. ((((((((((((((((((reassuring hugs for Vivian)))))))))))))))))))

I think Vivian just takes time to warm up – she most certainly has trust issues and it took her awhile to warm up to you and Jack. It doesn’t help that Steve is fearful of her – she probably knows that and uses that to her advantage :~)

Oh my…I would like to see these pix & videos, although I can imagine neither Steve nor Viv will be happy about them being taken. I’ve got the theme song going through my head right now… “Your mission, should you decide to accept it…blah-blah-blah”
Poor Steve, Poor Viv and Poor YOU! It must be so hard to see all this discord and to just have to wait and see how it plays out.
I agree that it will be wonderful for Steve and Vivian if they can learn to trust one another. Any bunny needs more human slaves to dote on them! ^_^

I wonder if it’s a female rabbit thing? Pip can be a snuggle bug with me and a territorial bun about people walking by her xpen, but she has very mercurial opinions depending on her mood. She’s taken some chunks out of me on more than one occasion for infractions I have no idea I’ve committed. If it were a dog or cat biting or showing anger like this, I think most people with a sense of self-preservation would have no problem walking on and having nothing to do with the animal in question and the situation is resolved for the most part. You can’t do that with a rabbit. Getting the human to just go away is a BIG win for the bunny. I can imagine Steve is not a fan of ‘giving her the butt’ stance to let her know her attitude is not accepted. 0_o

It’s sure to be an ego boost for Viv to be able to push Steve around. She is a real alpha bun with how you’ve described her. And she may still be hurting inside over Jack, who knows? I suppose that’s anthropomorphizing her too much, but she could be trying to take control of her world, which seems to have gone into a spiral lately. Most animals, no matter the species, may have a longer period of adjustment depending on the amount of additional stimulus that makes them feel less grounded. Maybe speaking to the gentleman who was able to handle her at the rescue could give some clues for you to work with? What exactly about this person turned Vivian’s initial fight or flight response off when he spent time with her? Maybe it’s something you could utilize? Then again, maybe it’s just going to take time. *sigh*

Meh…I’m just running off at the mouth, sorry. I wish there were something I could actually do to help. It’ll work out. “All we need is just a little patience.” (easy to say, I know)

I’m sorry the attempts to acclimatize her to Steve so far haven’t worked. You’ve already addressed some of my questions posed by MM, so I am left with one more suggestion to try.

Sammy, who is also a growly boxing lunging diva who loves me (go figure) just adores my soft slippers. They are not furry, but slip on open backed with soft toes. Anyway, I wonder if Steve could step into the same pair of slippers each time he walks near her. This will sound gross, but I would kind of rub them with some soiled litter that smells like her, so it gets her own scent on them. He could wear his own socks inside the slippers, and then take off a sock and leave it in her space. My thinking is that she will get used to his slippers smelling more like herself than anything else, and it will mingle with his foot scent from the socks, so might make them both seem familiar.

And remind him about hands looking like claws. Don’t come down on her at any time with spread fingers. Palm up for all touching attempts. Keep fists closed any time palm up isn’t convenient. Ignoring is an excellent plan, and don’t forget treats in pockets for her to snuff out and find, without his help.

This might help if it doesn’t make her miss you more: You might need to call her on the phone and talk to make her calm, too.

Also, you could make a quick video of yourself talking to her calmly (I would urge Steve to be in it and you two talk back and forth calmly so she hears your voices mingle) that he can play for her repeatedly. If it calms her, keep playing it daily. If she searches for you and gets upset, don’t.

And leave her one of your shirts to snuggle. Wear an old t-shirt today, don’t wash it and let her have it for the next 2 weeks. 

I think having Steve sit in her room with little/no movement is a great idea. He will probably get attacked and thumped at, but if he can just sit there with no emotion (ie., if she bites him, he makes no sudden movement or sound to indicate that it hurt) you will see progress. This will change her mindset from “Get this ‘thing’ out of here!” to “Okay, this ‘thing’ isn’t going anywhere… We might as well tolerate each other”.
Do you have a special treat that you can use during this time? Dried pineapple or papaya or (dare I say it…) a Cheerio? I’ve found that with dogs, having a high value treat for very special occasions works really well. You can build an association that when Steve is around, there’s also a really really yummy treat that is never offered at any point. And for the first few days/weeks, Steve doesn’t even need to directly offer the treat to Viv. He can throw it a few feet away and that way, she still has that association, but she’s not doing something she doesn’t want to do, like approach Steve.

I think the idea of leaving his scent in her room is a good one – maybe even have you wear one of his old t-shirts, so it has both your smells on it and leave it in there. Sorry you’re having so much trouble getting your bun to accept your hubby – my boyfriend and I have been in the house together since day 1 with the buns so both of mine accept us both equally. Though, Powder is a bit more affectionate to me. Hope the bonding techniques work for you.

Poor Steve!! Your plan sounds like what I would try, so I hope it works for him.

How is Vivian around other men? Some animals just don’t like one gender and it could be that she’s anti-male (just read that she doesn’t like the sitter either, so I dunno). Maybe she’s just a one person bunny! Some dogs are like that and don’t ever really bond with other people if their favorite person is around.

How did Bachelorette #1 and Bachelor #2 make out today with you gone?

The most important thing about trying to train a rabbit not to hate a person is that you cannot let her negative actions/reactions work. If she knows that if she boxes, Steve will move away, then she will remember that and continue to do it. Basically, it is HER training HIM – box means back off. Hence why we become the slaves so often. But you’re right, the best thing for Steve to do would be to sit down in the room, on the floor, and read a book. Make sure that he’s wearing chewable clothing and be ready for the grunt/nip fest.

Working with Omlete at SaveABunny, I often got bites and even bleeding scratches from him because I wouldn’t back off when he charged. Even had a nice ‘bunny smile’ put into the top of my head when he bit me there. He charged me while I was talking to him through his cage door and I just lowered my face to protect it but left my head there so he knew I wasn’t going to go away due to a charge or bite. He’s still aggressive but he hasn’t been offensively biting me anymore. In fact, I can get him to sit on my lap for pets for a little while before he’s decide he’s had enough and nips me. And even then I will continue to pet him for another 30 seconds or so before putting him back into the cage so he doesn’t associate bite=I get to go home.

One thing that Viv may be doing is that she’s seeing him as competition for your affections. Having just lost her boyfriend, she may be afraid that Steve is trying to steal you away from her. I’m not an expert in this area though. My suggestion would be that when he goes into the area, try to make sure he doesn’t have your scent on him. Some would say to have your scent on him so that she would associate him with you and therefore feel that if you trust him, so should she. However, I’m of the mind that if your scent is on him, she’s wanting to know where you are and what he’s done to you (at this point in her grieving that is).

I suppose you could try both modes a few times (like three days free of scent, three days with your scent) and see which one she responds more favorably to.

Mark brings up some excellent points. I hadn’t even thought of Steve being a ‘rival’ for her attention from you. Makes a lot of sense. And Pam’s comment about the hands, I keep forgetting to do that with my own bunnies. >.<
Elrohwen is spot-on about the ‘one-human’ response…I’ve dealt with that so much with my dogs, but with bunnies it takes on a different dimension. I fear I’m seeing a bit of it with both Mimz & Fiver towards me. Although I think it’s something that can be adjusted if someone else is doing the care-taking for awhile. Perhaps they will make great strides in this time period together. Which could be a great load off of you in the future.
I also thought today, you know, at least at first, while she’s so busy giving Steve the stinkeye (and tooth) she may not be as inclined to pine your absence. She’ll be so focused on telling him which way is up, she won’t have time to miss you, hopefully. Before she has him fully trained, you’ll be back. And then get ready for plenty of bunny butt! 0_o;

I love your video….I agree with Viv and think it’s just the socks with sandals

yup socks and sandals are definitely a no go, sophie and Cady agree and would probably react the same way

Apparently she is also a fan of “What Not to Wear” and is just trying to help Steve in the fashion area (and boy he needs it LOL) – typical Diva behavior.

Cute video! I never noticed how loppy her ears are – love when they kind of stick out to the side.

I think the vid and it’s music are excellent! ^_^ My daughter wants to download the song to her iPod…lol.

She also wants a bunny just like Vivian. Since brother is coming home from college. She wants an attack bun who will keep him out of her face.

Does Steve always ‘step over’ her like that? I would think any bunny would want to take a bite out of ‘death from above.’ His foot must look like the strangest B.O.P. she’s ever seen.
I did adore how she just puddled for you at the end though. What a sweetheart! ^_^

Steve has my sympathies. And what’s wrong with socks and sandals, I’d like to know? Believe me…you do NOT want to see my naked toes in public…SCARY.

“Socks with sandals? Really???”

Now that Steve is worthy of her attention, I think she is ordering him a pair of Nikes online.

I LOVE, LOVE LOVE the music!!!!!

I don’t think I blame Steve for the socks and sandals. I wouldn’t want my bare toes near Viv either when she’s cranky like that

I had to show this video to my mother after describing Viv & Steve’s relationship. She enjoyed it.

She also commented that Vivian has such pretty coloring, especially her ears.