Am I making progress?

[sniffablecow]

You may know that the other day, I had some rabbit trouble with my parents. Well, I have been trying to do what you guys recommended, which was 1. Do the task of getting her to the cage myself, and 2. Possibly learning how to clip her nails myself. I have been kind of trying to get my rabbit comfortable with me picking it up. She won’t let me do that yet, but she will now let me put my arm around her and kind of snuggle. Is this progress? 

Also, I talked with my mom, and she apologized. She is used to farm life at her great grand mother’s house, where most of the animals she saw were for being eaten except for the dogs. She has only interacted with a dog has a pet, and a cat.  Most rabbits she met were eaten. What I am saying is, this is new for her, and I think as time goes, she will better understand how rabbits should be treated. I haven’t talked with my dad, but I don’t know if I should bother… 

[Muchelle]

I think it’s very good that your mom understood and apologised maybe you can sit down with both your parents and talk about it calmly. It could be a chance to discuss about the episode and establish that you’ll be in charge of handling the bun from now on. They’ll see how responsible you can be and it can only be positive!

About picking up, it’s something buns don’t like so it rarely is easy and stress-free. I do recommend to check the episodes about rabbits on Howcast, they’re very helpful and I’ve watched them myself plenty of times when I first got my bun. Here’s the full playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-1faBh7DIs&list=PLLALQuK1NDrjnjAFAcbvUg4tmT_jxnjTU

Good luck! Keep us updated

[Luna]

Bun snuggling is always progress . It’s good that your mom apologized. When I brought Luna home my dad wasn’t exactly excited either. However bit by bit I had him “randomly” interact with her – ie. “Hey Dad look at Luna” (with Luna doing something cute), “Dad here’s some pellets that you can hand feed to her”, and “Dad look what Luna got you for Christmas”. He absolutely loves her now lol.

[sarahthegemini]

That’s progress. Don’t be surprised if she never let’s you pick her up. Most rabbits don’t like being picked up.

As for your mother,  well I don’t really understand her reasoning/justification because even animals that are to be eaten should be treated with respect :-/

[Wick & Fable]

Hi sniffablecow! Having the discussion with your mother was definitely a good choice. Admittedly, I have instances where I feel very guilty thinking back to the first rabbit I owned before Wick. I was very young and my parents have a similar background. I made the mistake of not taking initiative and defending why things should be done better for the welfare of my first rabbit— I am extremely upset and guilty thinking about the life my first rabbit had, so I definitely recommend continuing to do what you’re doing now: do research as things come up, ask for help, and make sure you and your family are on the same page.

Also in terms of picking up, it’s very uncommon to have a rabbit enjoy being picked up. If you think on the instinctual level, rabbits are usually picked up from above to be eaten by birds, so it’s bred into them that when their feet are not touching the ground, something terrible is happening. The fat that she lets you snuggle a bit is a good sign of progress. I definitely recommend, as Muchelle did, watching the Howcast videos. You really want to put yourself in the shoes of rabbit and try to think what she may see certain scenarios as. For example, realize that you talking to her or gesturing to her while standing up won’t do very much because she’s looking at your feet. Get down to her level.

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.

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