Agressive Rescue – Rehabilitation tips

[BunnyTheBunny]

I rescued the cutest harlequin dwarf as a companion for my boy, Bunny. She’s said to be 2-3 years old. Prior to fostering her I was told that she is a “mans bunny”. She was found on the streets by a man who took her in and I was told his wife was not a fan. He later surrendered her (early September) but im not sure exactly how much time she spent with him. She was spayed a few days after surrender. Her foster mom from the rescue told me she would charge at her but never at her husband and preferred to spend time with him. I decided to foster her at the end of September (about 2 weeks after her spay). Its been a month now and there are days when I feel we are making progress.. until the next day she’s right back to charging, batting, grunting at me and running away from me. However she seems to have taken a liking to my boyfriend and will even run to him when he goes near her. Its so frustrating, all I want to do is love her and she won’t let me  Her and Bunny get along fine (through a gate) but I recently had him neutered so I’ve been keeping them separate. Before his neuter I would pet and cuddle him in front of her to show her that im safe and can be trusted. Ive tried sitting on the floor with her, reading to her and hand feeding her but it seems for every step we take forward, a new day brings us 2 steps back. I know it will take patience and im fully committed to rehabilitating her. Could it be that her hormones haven’t subsided after her spay? If anyone has tips or advice on rescues, I’d really appreciate it! Thanks!

xxx

Alex

[Asriel and Bombur]

A lot of it could be her hormones still. Bunnies can go through a post-spay/neuter craze where they get worse before getting better.

Just being near her, not trying to touch her, and getting her to eat from your hands is a good start. Just keep ignoring her, and when she comes over put your hand palm side down and reach it out, if she bows her head you can go for a few seconds of nose rubs, if not, then don’t. Eventually she might warm up.

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