Ashe Suddenly Terrified of SO

[Jessie1990]

 A few days ago I had Ashe out running around and I needed to go change the laundry. Since she decided to dig a softball sized hole in the carpet she is not allowed to be out unsupervised. I asked my boyfriend to go watch her. He is VERY good with Ashe and does nothing that should scare her.

I finished checking laundry and came back inside. Ashe was in her cage and by boyfriend started to talk to tell me what was going on. Ashe immediatly shot around her cage like a crazy terrified rabbit. This is very strange behavior for her because she has never once been afraid of anything since we got her. So, I immediatly asked what my boyfriend had done to cause this behavior. He told me that all he had done was stand up quickly to shoo her off the barriar we have in the hall (apparently it’s not tall enough anymore), which I have done many times myself.

Anyway, my bf laid with her for 2 hours just serfing the web on his phone. Anytime he glances in her direction she darts away and her eyes get huge. I am very good at reading her body language so I know it is fear and not playfulness. She is still acting the same way with me, so I tried letting my bf feed her a raisen with no results. 

Does anyone have any idea what could have made her so afraid of my boyfriend? We havn’t tried any bonding today, so hopefully it will be better when I get off work.

[RabbitPam]

It’s hard to know what will trigger genuine fear in a rabbit, but my first guess was that it may have seemed like he was a predator, not just a person she knows. A bunny will not always recognize someone if their silhouette changes, like they wear a big hat for example. And any time you gesture in a way that resembles a predator you can cause fear. That means, hands descending from above, fingers splayed, can look like claws to a bunny. He may have shooed her by using his hands swooping in wide, from above, and scared her without even touching her much. With you, her protector, out of the room, it could have made a difference.

Having him around, ignoring her and feeding her treats is definitely the way to start repairs. Have him only come up to her with palms up, hands low, to gently stroke her nose and nothing else for a while. Hiding a treat in his had while lying on the floor may give her the courage to sniff around him again. But you are Ashe’s person, not his, so there may be a bit of rivalry anyway.

[Jessie1990]

She loved him so much, so he was pretty sad. He acted like it didn’t bug him but I can read him just as well as I can read Ashe lol. I just thought it was wierd because she grooms my bf more than she does me and he never even has to groom her! I have to work for bunny love LOL. Also, I’m pretty sure my bf is top bun, Ashe is middle bun, and I somehow ended up on the bottom. She still charges at me and is all territorial, but is fine with my bf doing whatever he wants in her cage (haven’t tried since her freak out). I put her head down to the ground any time she charges or tries to nip. She rarely nips now, but it’s just so wierd that she doesn’t like my bf anymore when she seemed to like him better.

[LittlePuffyTail]

It was most likely something that he did, a certain movement or something, that for some reason only known to bunnies, frightened her. I know sometimes, I will have one of my buns in the living room and they will, all of a sudden, get very afraid and alert and start slinking around the living room and stomping. I have no idea why and when they get like this, they don’t let me approach them until they get over it.

I’m sure she will come back around to being friendly with him. And remember, the fastest way to a bunny’s heart is with treats.

[mocha200]

My bunnies have done this too. I will walk in the room to seeing one of them freaking out. I walk over to try and comfort them and they run away like I am trying to attack them! Sometimes wont even take a treat! I just let them relax a bit and within a few hours or the next day they normally have forgotten the whole thing.

[Author]

Messages