Hi all! I am a new rabbit owner of a wonderful black lop named Bessie, who is estimated to be around 6-7 months old.  I’ve had Bessie for almost a month now, and tried to move slowly with bonding.  She came from a home where she was socialized a lot, and there were other animals around.

When I first got Bessie she was a bit skittish, but that went away after a few days.  She was very curious about everything (including me). It didn’t take her long to start running around like crazy and doing her binkies.  We also were starting to bond! She never enjoyed being picked up, and the longer I’ve owned her the worse she has gotten about it. So I do my best to avoid trying to pick her up. She does not mind being petted–however I usually come up to pet her and not vice versa.

After about a week and a half of ownership I took her to get spayed.  She handled the surgery well, but unfortunately I had to do daily handling in order to check her incision site.  She also began to hate her carrier, which she had happily gone into without prompting before.  

I know that Bessie is in her teenager stage, but I’m worried that she is holding a grudge against me (and the carrier) for taking her to be spayed.  I’ve tried my best to be extra attentive–but she usually just gives me the cold shoulder.  She has pretty much lost all interest in me and really seems to hate me (she will tolerate a head scratch for a bit or some pets, but as before she doesn’t initiate them).  

I know that this is all age related (and potentially post-spay grudge related), and that only time and what I do to bond will help the situation. I just want her to be my buddy again…

My question for you all is, what tips do you have to offer for bonding during the teenager stages? She really doesn’t have any other behavioral issues (not much of a chewer, because I give her plenty to chew on). She has a BIG personality and it’s great to see.  She is one of those rabbits who will move anything out of the way that she deems in her way…

I would greatly appreciate any tips or thoughts on things that I can do to better our relationship, since I know that she is just going through a grumpy stage right now.

Thanks!