Mokona tolerates my husband more than me??

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This topic has 7sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 10 months ago by Doomzies.

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- 06/14/2016 at 4:04 PM
  Doomzies
  Participant
  25 posts
  Whenever I try to hold Mokona she seems to be scared or annoyed? When I hold her she shows me the whites of her eyes and will dig into my chest and try to nip me (no biting, just nipping which still hurts!!) but when my husband holds her she’s totally okay with it, she grinds her teeth sometimes but she very rarely nips him!!
  
  I can pick her up and move her, pet her, feed her, all with no problem, she even seems excited to see me when I come home and let her out, but when I try to get her to sit on my lap or to hold her for longer than 15-30 seconds she gets upset!!
  
  I’m a full time dog groomer so I always smell like a dog even on my days off, and my husband thinks that’s why she doesn’t like me holding her, I also am very quick to flinch if she’s about to nip me and will reprimand her by telling her no and tapping her on the nose or flicking her ear because she doesn’t care about a spray bottle whereas if my husband gets nipped he will tell her no softly and shake his finger at her, she’ll still keep nipping him so he eventually just moves her away from him! I’ve even tried feeding her treats while holding her to try to show her it’s a good thing but once the treat is gone she gets upset again! I just want to stop any bad behaviors while she’s still young and impressionable, does anyone have any idea how to make her stop this??!
- 06/14/2016 at 6:38 PM
  AaronJ
  Participant
  84 posts
  how old is your bun exactly? and are they neutered/spayed?
- 06/15/2016 at 5:17 AM
  Excript
  Participant
  70 posts
  I would say it takes a long time to bond in order to allow ur bunny to sit still on ur lap. It took me a year of bonding and now she will willingly climb up on my chest and have had rubs and petting till at times she falls asleep. I can gradually see that she is getting more and more comfortable with me as time passes but it requires alot of time paying attention and bonding
- 06/15/2016 at 5:59 PM
  Doomzies
  Participant
  25 posts
  She is about 9-10 weeks old, flemish giant, not spayed
- 06/16/2016 at 3:38 PM
  Doomzies
  Participant
  25 posts
  I think I have figured it out now!!!! ^_^ it appears that Miss Mokona is trying to establish some form of dominance over me because she does have other issues aside from this (ie. Jumping into my chair with me and nipping me for no reason, peeing on the couch, ect.) also I haven’t been good at understanding her rabbit language so I’ve probably annoyed her by trying to snuggle with her when she doesn’t want to, and petting her when she isn’t interested, so now that I know a little bit more about what is going on, I can try to take the right steps towards getting both of us to understand each other!!!!
- 06/16/2016 at 5:35 PM
  Laurora
  Participant
  14 posts
  Oh, she’s a little baby bunny! If you adopted her, then I would guess you can’t have had her for more than a week or two, right?
  
  Just give her time to warm up to you. Your bun is probably still getting used to you and everything else that’s new. Be gentle and don’t force anything; bunnies hate being grabbed (it’s like being grabbed by a predator), so try to limit picking her up and grabbing her to when it’s absolutely necessary. Otherwise, she may start to associate your presence with a negative (being grabbed and held in place, danger!). If you want to hang out with her, sit on the ground and let her play around you. Like I said, she’ll warm up to you in time if your presence is normal and gentle.
  
  Eventually, once your bun is more comfortable with you and you know her better, you may be able to hold her easily and she may even go to your lap of her own free will.
- 06/16/2016 at 5:39 PM
  Laurora
  Participant
  14 posts
  By the way, I have about the same issue with my boyfriend. My bun hangs around me and is always happy and hyper when it’s just me home. She jumps up on the couch to sit by me.
  
  But the minute my boyfriend comes home, she’s a little more on edge. And she won’t willingly go near him.
  
  I attribute it to the fact that my boyfriend is convinced that having a pet means you should be able to hold and cuddle and love said pet when you want to — so he picks her up multiple times a day. He’s started to back off of that when I asked him, and I can already see her warming up to him.
  
  Long story short, it may seem weird, but give your bun space and she’ll want to be around you more!
- 06/18/2016 at 5:25 PM
  Doomzies
  Participant
  25 posts
  I’ve been much better about giving her space and I’m okay with the fact that she might not be a cuddly bunny now that I’m more familiar with what’s happening, I’ve also been better at correcting her bad behavior when she’s trying to be dominant, so far she’s doing better with nipping, as in it’s not as painful and doesn’t draw blood anymore, hahaha!
  
  It’s still a work in progress but I’ve only had her for a couple of weeks and I’m willing to do whatever it takes so the whole house is happy!! ^_^ I love her already, even though she’s a naughty bunny!!!!!
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