Bunny’s Subtle Signals: anthropomorphising?

[RabbitPam]

 I got to thinking about how we interpret bunny behavior. It often comes up that we wonder if we anthropomorphize them, ie. attribute human feelings to animal behavior, when that isn’t the case. It’s common for pet owners to do, no matter what kind of animal. (Fido doesn’t like to watch the game, he wants me to change it to a Lifetime Original movie. I can tell by his ears.) It’s a silly example, but we can often upset ourselves by reading into bunny’s behavior and make some far out conclusions.

But we’re not as far out as we may think we are. A bunny is a primarily non-verbal communicator. We don’t even get whining vs. barking vs. purring like cats to tell us we’re on the right track or something’s wrong. 

Bunny’s DO communicate. That’s what’s so fascinating. One of the great joys of being a bunny slave is learning your bunny’s way of communicating over time. Very subtle signals, but often picking up on those signals can even save a life. A bunny hides pain and illness, so noticing your bunny slumping or low energy might one day be the only signal you get to make a vet appointment. 

So if you feel inclined to interpret your bunny’s behavior, please do. We will throw in our 2 cents about it and keep steering ourselves into the action the bunny wants or needs us to take.

How do we know the difference? Here’s my example: I have been watching Sammykins for a couple of weeks because I think she may be losing weight. She has been shedding heavily but not with bald patches. She lets me comb her daily now. That’s the most likely reason. She also binkies more than ever, eats all her hay, greens and pellets, drinks water, poos in nice round normal piles, and does bunny 500s. She’s just looking slender. I decided that she’s in her prime and really healthy, just not fat! 

But if I anthromorphised her, I would think she was vain and keeping her girlish figure down.  

Got examples? Tell us! 

[RabbitPam]

P.S. If any of you think I should NOT ignore Sammy’s weight and take her to a vet, please let me know. I am just a worry wart about absolutely everything lately (weather included) so don’t want to ignore a real symptom either.

[Monkeybun]

If she is more active, stands to reason she’d lose some weight

Squirrel doesn’t like Spike on Buffy. He thumps whenever he’s on screen. it’s hilarious. So, we change it up now and then with Angel

[LoveChaCha]

Whenever Harry Potter is on TV, Chacha will lay sideways (so that her eye is looking directly at the TV) and watch. She LOVES her Harry Potter, lol <3

Also, when I’m on the laptop, she’ll circle the dining room table (where the laptop is) and sometimes honk. She wants pets. OR, if she is really that annoyed, she’ll thump at me for pets. I’ll finally go and give her a pet, and she runs away. I think it is her way of teasing me “AH, you are TOO SLOW slave!”

When I take the baby gate away from my bedroom door, she’ll do her zooms. She’ll run to my room, THUMP, run back into the living room, and back to my room – THUMP

On her Mister John’s birthday on July 14th, he came to pick me up. He always goes to dote on Chacha.. and she did a BINKY into his arm

This is a new habit – when my dad wakes up (he wakes up way before I do, and I wake up around 8:30 – 9 am) and Chacha dances around him, or zooms and binkies for her morning pellets  My dad finds it ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE and he said “SHE NEEDS TO BE REWARDED!!!!!!!!!!” He gives her a few pellets, and I subtract how much she gets from that… so she gets her regular tablespoon, just a little less since grandpa fed her before Mommy woke up

[Michelle&Lolli]

Lolli is a lot more subtle than Eddie ever was. Eddie was always flicking me off or giving me the butt. I’ve had to learn to read her body language – especially her ears. Sometimes she’s blatant about it. Like last night I went in to lay with her for a bit and she pointedly gave me her butt. Even looked over her shoulder at me. LOL I suspect that she’s usually so subtle because her opinion of my intelligence is so low that she doesn’t even waste her energy.

I can always tell when she’s not impressed with me cause both her ears will go back. Or she’ll do the one ear up thing. And let’s not forget the unmistakable stink eye! LOL

I am sure my dad and everyone else thinks I am nuts and reading too much into her. But we bunny lovers know what those ears or the stink eye or the bunny butt all mean.

I’ve also had to be more vigilant with her to make sure she’s not hiding illness. Since Eddie was so expressive in general, I could immediately tell when something was off with him cause he would lay somewhere he normally never did. Lolli keeps her habits all the same. I had to do our monthly “check overs” with her. I had to pick her up and check her all over to make sure she was ok because she didn’t like being petted and never got close. I was always able to pick Eddie up. lol

But I have noticed that since I’m hyper aware and vigilant with her in general, I’m the same way with other people’s pets. LOL Not that I’m annoying about it, but I’m always asking if a relative’s dog should be chewing on…say, a sock for example. I don’t instruct or tell others how to take care of their pets. If I think someone’s pet might be doing something questionable, I just ask if that’s ok for their pet to do or will tell them “umm….your puppy is over there, chewing on x” Then I explain that I have rabbits and I have to really watch them, so I’m always in that mode. So much so that whenever I go to someone else’s house, I immediate look for a place off the floor to put my stuff. LOL

[Michelle&Lolli]

RabbitPam – When I got Lolli to lose some weight before, I noticed how much better she did everything – eating, more active, etc. So I would say that as long as Sammy’s habits continue to improve, she’s happy and feeling better! And perhaps she’s enjoying the brushing cause it gets itchy fur off? ???? Or since she’s feeling better, she decided it’s not so bad. Who knows. They are wacky wabbits on some things. LOL

[Elrohwen]

When we took Hannah home, her first owner told us that her favorite movie is Indiana Jones. Lol. We’ve watched a few movies in the series since we’ve had her and I don’t notice any preference 😉

I think it’s easy to anthropomorphize bunny behavior in a bond – we tend to compare how they act with each other to how a pair of humans would act. I love to anthropomorphize my bunnies, but I think I’m pretty good at also thinking about the behavior practically and what to do about it. That’s why I love animal training! It’s so interesting to figure out how they really think, instead of assuming things (like dominance in dogs, which is no longer a valid training technique)

[MimzMum]

Pam, when Mimz was going through his endless shed this year, I thought he was losing weight too…turned out he’d gained a pound! 0_o Go figure.

Here’s one for you. As per my bonding thread, Pip & Mimz are in the xpen together. He is furiously working on shredding the cardboard box (home improvement). Pip comes up to him and sinks her head under his chin for a little hubba-hubba. He turns and nips her in the bum as if to say, “Dammit woman! I’m workin’ here!”

No…animals don’t act like us at all. Nope. Not a bit. lolz….

[Michelle&Lolli]

I always swore that Eddie and Lolli drove each other nuts. Cause Eddie was a typical grumpy old man where nothing could change. And Lolli is a typical woman who LOVES to change EVERYTHING! Really. Eddie would get grumpy if I moved anything. Lolli would get all excited and do binkies. Can you imagine their conversations? LOL

Another thing they used to do is Eddie was super bossy with her. Nip at her and chase her away from things. But then he’d come around and want a little lovin (grooms) and she’d snub him! “You think you can treat me that way and then come around and expect love from me?! Bleep you!” hahahaha

[Jenna, Chubs & Comet]

Since I only have loppies I don’t see the ear signals…wonder what that would be like

[BinkyBunny]

 What a great post — I am always anthropomorphising!   The videos I do about my bunnies all have human emotions — most of which I know are not really happening with my bunnies, but it’s so easy to interpret it that way, and so I add dialogue that would fit the situation if they were human.  Plus, it can make it easier to bond when you can relate on a human level.  But in reality, I do know there is a difference. 

Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between what we are “interpreting” and what is really going on.   When I really sit back and observe my bunny’s behavior,  I normally try and quiet the comedic or drama human internal voice and just observe actions.  I find that very interesting too.  You can really discover some very interesting things.   For example, by doing that I discovered the gentle teeth chattering that both Vivian and Jack would do when they were lying around relaxed. I know that a relaxed bunny may do that, but I began to notice something else –.Jack would always be the one to start it. He’d do a chatter, then stop, Vivian then would chatter, then stop, then Jack, then VIvian. (they would do this even when they were a few feet away from each other.   I began testing it out with Jack and would chatter my teeth gently and then he’d do it too.  I don’t know if this is a type of communication, and as prey animals giving each other cues, like  all is fine here…and all is fine there. I really don’t know, but I found it interesting.   Vivian does tooth chattering when I pet her and she will sometimes tooth chatter if I chatter to her myself, but she is not as consistent as Jack was with responding or mirroring. (seemingly)

So that was my actual observation, but when they used to do that, I loved to antropomorhise that chatter:    

Jack: “What’s up over there, Viv?”

Viv: “Everythings fine over here, Jack and what about over there?”

Jack: “All good here, but I could come over there and honk you a Barry White tune.”

VIv:  ”No, no more honking, you honking fool. You stay there, take care of that floor space.”

 

[RabbitPam]

LOL, BB.

I once read that if you wiggle your nose, or just nostrils, at a bunny it will wiggle back. I tried it with some success.

And speaking of your fabulous videos – now that you’re home I think it’s time for a new one.
Perhaps Vivian could address the pros and cons of being a widow to give advice to our other members who are coping with loss.
(Some of us cope by shopping, but I expect Viv has better ideas.)
We kind of miss seeing our girl, now that a respectable period of mourning has passed. And we need shots of teeth marks on Steve if there are any.

[Monkeybun]

Posted By Jenna, Chubs & Comet on 08/05/2011 12:09 AM
Since I only have loppies I don’t see the ear signals…wonder what that would be like

 

Really? Squirrel, my little Holland lop, has amazing control over his ears. he can almost lift them straight up like an uppy-eared bun! He’s always twisting and turning them around, its funny

Maybe he’s the one weirdo loppy boy

[RabbitPam]

MB, last week squirrel borrowed Sammy’s eyeliner. There’s something we haven’t told you….

[MimzMum]

Not at all, MB. Mimzy always swivels his ears around to express himself or better hear things. When I’m petting him, I can get his ears to stand straight on occasion and he doesn’t pull them over to flop down. Although I admit he’s better at having just one stand up…kind of like Spock and his eyebrow lifting thing. (See, I did it again. Anthropomorphising. Does it count if the anthro is an alien?)
By no means are loppies less capable with their ears than other bunnies.

[Kathleen]

I’m not sure where this fits in anthropomorphology, but I swear I receive images from Cinnabun. Always have. I’ve been close to animals in my life, but have never had this type of communication before. Just one recent example, I was playing my concert harp, Elentari, which has a large 70″ high ornately carved dark walnut column. As I was playing I saw an image of a mile high tiered and decorated with chocolate chocolate cake. I stopped playing wondering where in the heck that image had come from. Then I looked at Cinnabun. He was standing in front of the harp with his paws up on his fence, gazing up at Elentari’s column with his mouth open. Was he seeing her as I would see a mile high chocolate cake? If so, it is amazing to me that my subconscious mind translated the image’s intent into a picture that I could identify with. Yum!

[Monkeybun]

It’s kind of funny, Squirrel has a tiny tuft of fur between his ears that has been sticking up. Like a mini mohawk. He’s in his “rebellious” teenage years with that hare-do going on

[Ande]

I hope this is a good question for this thread…whenever I (gently) scold Ralphie for chewing on the cable/electrical cords, he shakes his head then gets really still and sometimes takes off running. Am I scaring him or is he being sassy with me?
I want to discourage him from chewing cords (we’re mostly bunny-proofed, but he can get some cables if we’re not diligent), but of course I don’t want to scare him or hurt his feelings. I’ll say NO or NUH-UH and right as I say it, he shakes his ears a little and looks at me or takes off.
What’s up with that?

As for anthropromomorphrosizing (hehe), here’s Ralphie and dad watching TV…perhaps he thinks he’s a dog.

[Monkeybun]

I am convinced bunnies chew stuff just to see our reactions, and the running and head tossing afterwards is their version of giggling at us.

[Ande]

Posted By Monkeybun on 08/05/2011 09:15 PM
I am convinced bunnies chew stuff just to see our reactions, and the running and head tossing afterwards is their version of giggling at us.

 

That is sooo what it seems like!! As if he’s thinking pffffft you can say something, but I’ll do what I want and I know you won’t spank me!!!

I just worry that I’m doing something wrong or scolding him in an incorrect manner. I’m paranoid I’m hurting his ears. LOL I’m such a helicopter mom to him.

[Michelle&Lolli]

I just worry that I’m doing something wrong or scolding him in an incorrect manner.

I yelled at Eddie all the time. I mean…ALL. THE. TIME. Didn’t phase him the least. lol And he did the head shake thing. I even got into what I like to call a fight with him. He chewed on the carpet. I told him no. He kept doing it. I sprayed him with water for the first time. He had the nerve to get mad at me and thump. Then…..HE SHOOK HIS HEAD NO!!! By this time, I’m yelling and scolding him and in the middle of this tirade I tell him “Don’t you shake your head no at me!” Logically, I knew that he wasn’t capable of shaking his head no. But oh my gosh, in the moment, I was PISSED that this little fluffball had the NERVE to get mad at me for scolding him and shake his head at me. LOL

And Lolli has her no-no game. She likes to dart up, mess with my laptop cord. I tell her no but she still tries. So I move towards her. She doesn’t like being touched, so moving towards is the best way to deter her. Only when she decides that she’s gonna play her game, she hops off and BINKIES! Wiggles her tail and comes back again. My reply “Lolli…..this isn’t a game!” LOL

I don’t think you should fear being mean to him. They are like toddlers. You give them an inch, they’ll plow you right over and do whatever they want. Why do you think so many of us have lost complete control of our houses? The darn fluffbutts have taken over! But if you find that he’s not responding to a certain form of discipline, then post about it and we can help you figure it out.

[RabbitPam]

You really don’t need to be loud to a bunny because they have exceptional hearing. But the head shaking is probably not that you’ve hurt their ears, just that they’ve heard you. The running off is definitely a form of giggling nyah nyah.

If you get increasingly mad at them it’s really counter-productive. Negative punishment does not really work with bunnies, but they will get mad back and sometimes they will know full well that you don’t want a behavior but they are now angry back and will do it anyway. Best to do the same as a “time out.” Just gently put them back if you’re too exasperated, and go away so you both can cool off. An effective thing to try first is a distraction so they simply lose interest and do something better, especially if they aren’t mad yet and just at the nyah nyah stage. Physical reprimands DO hurt them and that’s never a good idea. It helps to imaging your own caretaker is a giant about 40 times your size, about to give you a “little spanking” with a 2×4. Sort of the same scale.
But like toddlers, they also grow out of bratty phases. An adult bunny post-neuter can be trusted around stuff they were bad with before. They learn there’s no food or fun in some things and can eventually leave things alone.
BTW, Ralphie does not think he’s a dog. He said to tell you he’s much smarter than dogs, and doesn’t like being insulted.

[Angela]

I’ve totally noticed this tooth chatter too. When I pick up my bun, I hold him really close to my face and I usually make smoochie noises at him. Usually 3 smooches. When my little man is in a good mood he’ll mimick me with his tooth chatter. He’ll copy the number to smooches I make back to me. It’s so cute, but he doesn’t always do it. It’s a really fun treat for me when he does 🙂

[Angela]

When my rabbit jumps on my tummy and starts digging, I know he’s telling me to lose weight or get lipo. He’s so judgemental. Geez.

[Michelle&Lolli]

If you get increasingly mad at them it’s really counter-productive. Negative punishment does not really work with bunnies, but they will get mad back and sometimes they will know full well that you don’t want a behavior but they are now angry back and will do it anyway.

I would have to say that with Eddie, using water really worked on him. It got to the point where I’d say “Eddie, no! Come on. Come on eddie. Go find something else to do” and he’d usually hop off. Usually being the operative word. LOL But when he wouldn’t listen after telling him no or just kept getting into things, they went back into the pen for a “time out” for ALL of us. But nothing else ever worked on them. Pushing his head down to show dominance when he’d bite or dig on me just pissed him off even more, etc. Lolli was the same way. I could usually get her to move away from whatever she was chewing on by using the same phrasing. Reaching towards worked rather than water cause she didn’t feel the water. Or if she did, she didn’t react to it like Eddie did. But that’s the only “punishments” I’ve ever used on them. I’ve had my moments where I’ve really yelled at them, but it didn’t make any bit of difference. lol Just wanted to clarify. The yelling was always me venting MY frustration rather than actually having an effect on them. Usually they just sat there and looked at me. LOL

[Elrohwen]

I would agree that negative punishment isn’t always the best idea, but it can work on certain bunnies. Hannah has always responded to the word “no” (or at least my tone of voice) and it’s effective to get her to stop something. I’ve also resorted to the spray bottle for things like chasing Otto and it’s very effective – she’ll stop as soon as I pick it up. She’s anxious, but has never shown any signs of fear aggression, so that’s not an issue. I’m also careful to use negative reinforcement only in a calm and controlled manner at the exact moment she’s misbehaving.

It’s a case by case basis though – used at the wrong times or for the wrong things, it can make a fearful bunny more fearful (and even aggressive). Some bunnies also don’t respond to it. I can scream at Otto and he barely cocks and ear at me. I’ve sprayed him and he doesn’t even notice until the third spray and even then he just feels the need to groom the area I got wet. Lol

[laurwhite]

Banana always sticks his nose through the bars of his cage when its time for him to go to bed at the end of the day. I just know he’s saying “oh please mom, just five more minutes!” and sometimes…. it works. its way to cute! I simply just can’t resist!

[Trovalsa]

I think Alex has a taste for music. Every time I put classical music and the like playing he gets completely hyper, but if it’s pop or hip-hop he turns him butt at me and sends me a death glare. XD I agree with him, though, so it’s all good.

[FluffyBunny]

About two years ago, back when I put Mr. Bunny in his cage at night, I had to chase him all around the room to catch him one night. After grunting and thumping at me for a minute, he started licking his front paws constantly and limping around the cage. I took him back out of the cage, and he was suddenly fine again. I swear I thought that he was trying to make me worried so that he’d get a few more minutes of running around.

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