Advice on bonding with my rescue bun :)

[lattebunbun]

Hi everyone! I need a bit of advice!

First, background story…

Latte is a rescue. I work at a pet store and this lady came in with him, literally in a reusable plastic bag saying that she didn’t have time for him anymore and that she wanted to know what shelter she could take him to. I immediately fell in love with him and decided to take him home. She said he was 6 months, but my coworkers think he was 8 months. That was back in September, so either way, he is a little bit over a year by now.

Latte was already used to people so he wasn’t super skittish. I free roam him in my room 24/7 and he has always been super curious and very social. I can tell he is very happy and that he trusts me quite a lot, which I am incredibly happy about.

From what I can see, his previous owner didn’t really interact with him much or teach him to be handled. Of course, I know rabbits don’t always love being handled, but I do know that if you slowly and patiently teach them from a young age, they will know you mean them no harm. But of course, I didn’t get latte from a young age and I don’t know what conditions he was in previously. He loves being petted and he will purr and get comfortable. But the second I try to pick him up, no matter how gentle, he kicks and runs away, so I stopped trying. I always do everything on his terms because I never want him to feel threatened or forced. From the beginning, I wanted to slowly get him comfortable with getting handled but I decided to first get him to trust me fully. I’ve had him for about 4 months now and I can definitely tell our bond has grown. Lately, I have gotten him used to me picking him up and I’ll simply put him on my bed or in his hay box. Just so he knows nothing bad will happen from being picked up. Every few days I try to take it a step further and actually hold him to my chest gently and give him a treat so he sees it as a positive thing. However, he kicks and gets away and he’s very strong so it’s hard to really hold him. I then don’t try again for a few days because I really don’t want to force him or lose his trust.

Do you guys have any advice on how to better train him to be handled? or really any advice on further bonding with him? Again, I do know that rabbits are prey animals, and they are naturally skittish. I would love to hear your thoughts and advice please and thank you in advance!

[Wick & Fable]

I think there are a variety of things you can do, and it sounds like you intuitively are doing what is standard, which is taking small steps and making sure it is a positive experience. I would say on top of that, to the best of your ability, you want to lessen his exposures to you putting him down due to his flailing. I know that’s hard (I have one rabbit that I have my partner handle mainly because he can adjust to the rabbit’s strength safely), but by allowing the rabbit to escape via flailing, it teaches a dangerous precedence that that is what the rabbit needs to do to escape. Some small adjustments that can make flailing less successful is trying to support only the butt with your hands and avoid positions that you use your arm/hands as a platform for the feet. Once a rabbit feels ground on its feet, it is usually going to try and jump away. I make it a point with my rabbits that if I am holding them, I’m not putting them down until there is a sense of “non-flail”.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[lattebunbun]

Thank you so much! That sounds like a great idea. Makes a lot of sense. I’m usually very gentle with him because I never want to hurt him or make him feel as though I mean harm. However, that makes it harder for me to train him with things like this because I am maybe too gentle haha. But anyway, thank you so much and I will be trying this tomorrow!!

[NalaBunny]

Although it is a good idea to get your rabbit comfortable with being held, your rabbit might just never get used to being held. Some rabbits just really hate being held mostly cause of their prey animal instincts. If you need to transport your rabbit I recommend having a carrier and placing them in the carrier. I have a rabbit that just doesn’t like humans at all and this is what I have to do. Also, make sure if you do hold your rabbit you have a firm grip on them, this makes them feel secure.

[DanaNM]

In my opinion, since you now know you can pick him up if needed, I would only pick him up when you need to (like for nail trims, etc.).

I think it’s important for owners to be able to pick up there rabbit for necessary things, especially like in an emergency, but I don’t really think it’s necessary or helpful to the bond with the rabbit to “train” them to like being picked up. I think when they are picked up too often they learn to expect it, and start to avoid your hands and fear you.

Whether the rabbit struggles or not is often more related to how they are being held vs. the rabbit’s comfort level. I usually will hold rabbits in the “football” hold for most things. When the rabbit feels secure they usually don’t squirm.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Author]

Messages