Anyone else have a Bun that doesnt like them?

[Marie]

I adopted him already neutered and around 1 year old. Had him for THREE YEARS and he still hates me lol. He and my girl Bun (that adores me) dont have a cage and run free in my house 24/7 so its not like he needs exercise and is frustrated. He wont even let me pet him without grunting and pushing my hand away, yet him and even my Chihuahua lick eat other for hours. He will approach me when my Girl Bun is getting pets and is lick me then Im move my hand to him and he grunts and wacks me or runs. Sometimes he approaches me and bows his head then I start petting him and its like he realizes, oh yeah, Im mad at you and wacks me and grunts off…..He lets my friends pet him,. Dude just doesn’t like me! Has this happened to anyone else??

[jerseygirl]

I guess all his needs are met with the other rabbit and dog, but it would be nice if he showed some love to the person who feeds him. 😉

I wonder what his 1st year of life was like. Maybe he developed an ingrained habit.

You are definitely not alone in this. Plenty have a rabbit that wont come around.

I have a friend that had a rabbit that gave birth to 5 kits. She ended up keeping them all and those rabbits are elderly now. Out of those, a couple were more standoffish then others even though they grew up in the same environment. There was one that always just ran off when you approached her. Lol  She was very independent.

I had a lop who I adopted when he was 2 years old. While he was sweet, he was definitely a “no-touchies” bun. I was used to my girl who Id gotten as a baby and she let me handle her and pet her.  After he got used to me, there were times when he allowed me to pet him but only on the head, ears and shoulders.  Eventually I could pet the fur on his back back and forth. But he would still freak out about being picked up.

When he grew old, he actually seemed to enjoy being held and I suspect my body warmth soothed his old bones. His vision had also gone so he didnt get as disorientated when picked up if that makes sense. He would drape himself over his bond mate and would lap up any pets I offered too, as his other senses (sight/hearing) had gone.

Some people find their rabbits dont like hands but allow you to pet them with your feet. Have you tried putting a sock or glove on your hand to see if he allows pets then? Another thing to watch is in the way your hand approaches them. Some will be skittish about hand coming down from above or in their blind spot in front of the nose. You could try laying your hand on the floor, palm up, next to his head and then just attempt to pet the cheek with one finger initially. Or the ear if he is okay with that.  Just some thoughts…

[BinkyBunny]

I love the sock on the and idea — That just might work –try putting a sock on your hand, but in addition to that, before you pet your bunny, pet your dog and other bunny to get their scent on it and see if he can be “fooled” into letting you pet him.  Your scent will still be there — you are you after all, but maybe with a little bit of  “foolin” he’ll get used to you petting him.

I too have had a standoffish bunny who would also box me even after petting her.  Rucy, but she did mellow more as she aged and let me pet her more.  I know it’s not great to have a bunny that seems like you are just the fifth wheel that feeds and cares for them.  She was a goofball though and more adventurous so I found some quality in her that I too enjoyed — like watching her go to town in DIY diggy box, or explore (she loved to check out new things).  So while it took her a long while to be somewhat more cuddly, I was able to find things about her that made me feel bonded to her, even if she wasn’t full of love for me in the way I would have wanted.

[Bunstar]

Like others mentioned, some bunnies just cannot get over their early life experiences. My old rabbit was like that and mellowed in her last few years and my current senior lady, Mabel, is skittish and prefers my partner over me! What we can do to allow these bunnies to learn is to spend more time with them. Almost every morning I will stay in the bunny’s room after they’ve eaten and read or watch youtube. They are used to me and the odd sounds I make but Mabel still will only come to me if she thinks I have food. I figured out that she likes to be petted on her own terms and that’s in her litter box! So sometimes I’ll go visit them and she will run straight to her litterbox and sit there not necessarily eating hay and that’s my cue. Other than that, rabbits are rabbits and many of them are never going to be like Lennon who goes shopping with her mom. You are reading into the language as if bunnies can have feelings as we do against people we don’t like. Chances are, your bunny had a rough start and doesn’t feel as comfortable as your girl.

[Gina.Jenny]

We’ve had Gina nearly five years and its only recently she’s shown any signs of mellowing towards any human…

… and older BB members can vouch she has spent those five years being pampered like a bun princess! But its taken that long to overcome the damage done by whoever had her before and dumped her 🙁

[Author]

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