Bunny always running away

[Shantel]

My rabbit always runs away from me evertime I try to touch him. I’ve had him for over 6 months so he should be able to trust me. I’ve tried approaching him slowly and with a treat but it doesn’t work. Could u guys pls suggest some ways to allow my rabbit to trust me. Thx

[jerseygirl]

Its not unusual for rabbits to be like this. Its because they are a prey species. One of the things you can do is avoid approaching him, just let him come to you. So, sit on the floor and take some things to keep you occupied (books, game console..) and basically ignore him. Rabbits are usually curious and come see what you are doing. If he does that, still resist touching him at first. Just let him give you a bump with his nose or put his paws on you.
If you leave your hand still with palm facing up, he may come and suss it out. Eventually you can get to stroking top of his head or cheek. If he is really skittish, try not to let your hand approach from above or in the blind spot right in front of the face.

http://rabbit.org/bonding-with-your-rabbit/

http://rabbit.org/faq-shy-rabbits/

[joea64]

I have the same issue myself, much more so with Panda (who is still working through issues from what I gather was pre-rescue abuse) than with Fernando. There are occasions on which both of them are very amenable to being petted, especially early in the morning just before breakfast, but usually Panda scampers away as described when I offer to pet her. Fernando is much more outgoing and easygoing but can be a bit skittish on occasion. My main issue is that I just find it so difficult to resist the impulse to pet them!

[sarahthegemini]

The fact you’ve had him for 6 months doesn’t really matter tbh, bunnies will develop trust in their own time. If he keeps running away, stop trying to touch him. If you keep grabbing at him when be clearly doesn’t like it, it’s going to take even longer for him to trust you.

[Bladesmith]

Best thing for you to do is talk to the rabbit when you’re changing food water and litter, and then, when you can, lay on the floor and ignore them. They’re as curious as cats at times, and cannot resist coming over to check you out. You HAVE to resist the temptation to touch, pet or wirst of all, grab the bunny. Every time you do, you destroy any trust you might have built up. Lay on the floor. Bring treats. Keep your hands to yourself, let the bun make all the overtures. Reward any contact with mellow talk and treats. When you’re to the point where the rabbit is tugging on your clothes or stepping up on you, or better yet, literally jumping on you, THEN you can start reaching out. Watch for your rabbits response. Does it approach and use the body posture rabbits use to ask for grooming? Then you can go for it. Otherwise, back off. Everything has to happen at the rabbits speed.

Case in point, we’ve been trying to get through to Dawn, our dwarf bunny, for over 2 years. She’s not a cuddler, doesn’t want pets. Last night, my daughter had to pick her up because she was blowing coat everywhere and needed grooming. She wasn’t happen about it. But, after grooming was complete, she allowed some pets, and better yet, after being released, instead of the usual grumbles and foot flicks (OH SO MANY foot flicks), she turned right around and jumped back UP onto the couch and sat next to my daughter for a good 5-10 minutes. Then booped back down and binkied for a long time. This was huge progress.

[jerseygirl]

Case in point, we’ve been trying to get through to Dawn, our dwarf bunny, for over 2 years. She’s not a cuddler, doesn’t want pets. Last night, my daughter had to pick her up because she was blowing coat everywhere and needed grooming. She wasn’t happen about it. But, after grooming was complete, she allowed some pets, and better yet, after being released, instead of the usual grumbles and foot flicks (OH SO MANY foot flicks), she turned right around and jumped back UP onto the couch and sat next to my daughter for a good 5-10 minutes. Then booped back down and binkied for a long time. This was huge progress.

Bladesmith. Im curious if your daughter had been around/handling Gaston beforehand! Could that have cause a change in her (Dawn)? It would be funny if it did, as usually the scent of a different rabbit with make them more stroppy and even aggressive.

[Bladesmith]

Posted By jerseygirl on 11/29/2017 11:53 PM

Case in point, we’ve been trying to get through to Dawn, our dwarf bunny, for over 2 years. She’s not a cuddler, doesn’t want pets. Last night, my daughter had to pick her up because she was blowing coat everywhere and needed grooming. She wasn’t happen about it. But, after grooming was complete, she allowed some pets, and better yet, after being released, instead of the usual grumbles and foot flicks (OH SO MANY foot flicks), she turned right around and jumped back UP onto the couch and sat next to my daughter for a good 5-10 minutes. Then booped back down and binkied for a long time. This was huge progress.

Bladesmith. Im curious if your daughter had been around/handling Gaston beforehand! Could that have cause a change in her (Dawn)? It would be funny if it did, as usually the scent of a different rabbit with make them more stroppy and even aggressive.

I don’t think so?  We have other animals, so she has those scents on her, and she only see’s Gaston on the weekends.  Also, this was after Alyssa had bathed, so I don’t think she had much of his scent left on her.

She’s also shown more attention to her since that post.  I think she’s just coming around.  Dawn spent too much time as a breeding rabbit in a not big enough cage and not getting enough attention before and after, so I think that’s what made her standoffish.   As she sees the other animals getting loved on, especially Clover, she’s getting the idea that human touch is a pretty good thing.  Last night I was laying on the floor and she booped all the way up my side, and stuck her head in my armpit.  Gave a grunt and push, then turned around and booped off.  No idea what that meant, but I’ll take it.

[joea64]

Posted By Bladesmith on 11/30/2017 9:06 AM

Posted By jerseygirl on 11/29/2017 11:53 PM

Case in point, we’ve been trying to get through to Dawn, our dwarf bunny, for over 2 years. She’s not a cuddler, doesn’t want pets. Last night, my daughter had to pick her up because she was blowing coat everywhere and needed grooming. She wasn’t happen about it. But, after grooming was complete, she allowed some pets, and better yet, after being released, instead of the usual grumbles and foot flicks (OH SO MANY foot flicks), she turned right around and jumped back UP onto the couch and sat next to my daughter for a good 5-10 minutes. Then booped back down and binkied for a long time. This was huge progress.

Bladesmith. Im curious if your daughter had been around/handling Gaston beforehand! Could that have cause a change in her (Dawn)? It would be funny if it did, as usually the scent of a different rabbit with make them more stroppy and even aggressive.

I don’t think so?  We have other animals, so she has those scents on her, and she only see’s Gaston on the weekends.  Also, this was after Alyssa had bathed, so I don’t think she had much of his scent left on her.

She’s also shown more attention to her since that post.  I think she’s just coming around.  Dawn spent too much time as a breeding rabbit in a not big enough cage and not getting enough attention before and after, so I think that’s what made her standoffish.   As she sees the other animals getting loved on, especially Clover, she’s getting the idea that human touch is a pretty good thing.  Last night I was laying on the floor and she booped all the way up my side, and stuck her head in my armpit.  Gave a grunt and push, then turned around and booped off.  No idea what that meant, but I’ll take it.

What you said about Dawn being a breeding rabbit and not getting enough attention makes me wonder if something similar happened with Panda. All I know for sure is that she was scared of humans, and took quite a while to lose that fear, when Friends of Rabbits rescued her and her kits from that shelter, and that she came from a breeder in the first place. Come to think of it, I actually don’t know for sure if this was her first litter (though I believe it was); she’s somewhere around a year and a half old by now and was rescued in January. She’s slowly, a little bit at a time, losing her standoffishness, I think; for the past few days this week, she’s been agreeable about being petted in the early morning when I give her and Fernando their breakfast – the buns are always snuggled up together at that time of day, seems like.

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