Constant petting requests, but I can’t reach him on the floor!

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Okay, so how do I go about this? Breintje often requests pettings when he sees me walk his way, he does the typical “head bow”. I know it’s super rude to ignore such a “request” from a bondmate, and I don’t want to offend him. But, simply put: my back is giving me merry hell and I can’t reach the floor… 

This usually happens when I walk towards the couch. His sitting spot is between my desk and the couch so he can oversee both the kitchen, the desk and the couch. I try to make him follow me by making noises and by calling him when I sit down on the couch, but by then the fun seems to be over for him. He’ll follow me at times, but he stays on the floor where I can’t reach. He’ll stretch to try to get a raisin or treat, but won’t jump next to me to get one (tried treats already, that was my first hope).

The only time he jumps on the couch is at night, and I hope I can encourage him to do this more often during the day as well. I won’t be able to reach the floor for a while now that the physio is being such a drill sarge. But I also don’t want to be a rude bunny and ignore his petting “requests” all the day. I know where I stand in the licking order, and it’s clear that I should do most of the grooming between the two of us. Know where you stand, right? I know upsetting that order can quickly lead to a very pissed off rabbit, and this means having your stuff destroyed and your cushions peed on.

Any ideas on how to get him to change his routine without being bunny-rude?

[Harley&Thumper]

I’ve seen videos of people petting aggressive bunnies with a long paint brush. Maybe Breintje will accept this compromise?

[jerseygirl]

Or long-handled dustpan/broom set. Some have soft bristles, but you could wrap and old t-shirt over the brush to change the texture. Also, because he’s so small, do you think you could get him to jump into dustpan part and use that to carry him to sofa? Maybe if it had small piece or carpet stuck to the base?
You’d need the design where the pan stays in open position. :p

Do you think there is a reason why he only comes up onto sofa at night Just his routine? Or is there lamplight that helps him clearly the distance?

Is he a reasonable distance from the sofa you could use something to groom him with? Socks on a stick??
Do you use a walking stick yourself at home? If it had a padded handle, you could flip it around once you’re sitting and use the hand part on him perhaps.

In the last yeat or so I’ve noticed TimTim is really seeking out more pets. I have a little mat on my bed near the pillow and he knows I’ll usually oblige if he sits there. It’s night time or early morning when he seeks this the most.
Maybe you could train Breintje to recognise a special mat or pad that you can place next to you?

[Bam]

I sometimes pet my Yohio on the head with a long dustpan-broom. It was really weird because he hated the broom and attacked it, but when I pet his head with it (right after he’d charged at it), he immediately put his chin to the floor and relaxed, accepted being “groomed” by Evil Brush.

But most often I pet his head with my foot. He always came running when I was standing somewhere (except the kitchen) and tried to shove his head under my foot. So I had to stand on one foot and pet him with the other.

[Daisy]

I was also going to suggest petting with le foot. :’)

[Q8bunny]

Or one of those extendable teacher pointer sticks that are shaped like a hand?

[Gordo and Janice]

Yes, Icey would, to my confused amusement, accept uncoordinated foot smash rub smear pets on her head indefinitely. When I would be sitting on the couch, instead of jumping up there to get good quality pets with the hand, she would shove her head under my foot, flatten her chin and body to the floor, and close her eyes and be totally content with ridiculously uncoordinated awkward foot movement pets on and around her head. I have to assume it was more the touch and attention than the quality of the petting that she was wanting. Because I ain’t no soccer player and my foot, ankle, leg dexterity involving such a tiny little head was atrocious.

Now how to get Breintje to recognize this as a possibility or a legitimate grooming petting is beyond me. Maybe when you are close enough to him or around him begin giving him foot smash pets every once in a while so the association will take. Worth a shot I suppose. Or he may be one to insist on higher quality because he may be spoiled seeing as his human appears to be the spoilin’ type.

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

@G&J: spoiled? spoiling type? Don’t know what you’re talking about ^_^

Breintje is a stickler for routine indeed, he has a time and place for everything. You can set the clock to his activity patterns: from 1 to 5 in the afternoon he’ll be napping in his box, and from 5-7 he’s running around expecting dinner. Somewhere between 10-12 in the evening he jumps on the couch on his own, demanding pettings. But often he’s already off the couch again by the time that I’m ready to join him.
One of the problems is that I’ve been sleeping poorly the last couple of weeks because of the physical exertion and pain. Some days I get barely 4 hours because the nerve in my right leg feels like pulling toenails (try to sleep through that…). Other days I’m dead to the world, sleep straight through the alarm and wake up halfway in the afternoon. This means that I often have late dinners too, eating at 10 in the evening. I think it may be upsetting his schedule too, making him demand more attention. Or maybe he’s worried, he does follow me around a lot lately.

Hahaha, I recognise the evil brush thing. Indeed I have a pan and brush on a stick, and he constantly needs to interfere when I’m cleaning the floor. I tried to brush him a couple of times with it, and he thinks it’s a game. He’ll sit down for a bit, then jumps up and attacks the brush. A couple of days ago I tried to sit on the couch and pet him with my left foot, he thinks it’s odd but seemed to accept it for a while. He did join me on the couch a bit later though, maybe i have to show him that couch cuddles are best cuddles. Sadly I can’t foot-pet him while standing because I can’t lift or put pressure on my right leg.

I also like the idea of a special cuddle mat, got some nice new suggestions. Thanks for the ideas everyone ^_^ Let’s see if we can make somebunny happy!

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

We tried the foot-petting idea, but Breintje thinks it’s not quite the real thing. He’ll tolerate it for a few strokes and runs away pretty soon.

Breintje was quite disgruntled with me and ignored me for a couple of days. Instead he sought out Bas all the time to get cuddles on the floor. But Bas hasn’t been here for a couple of days now, because he had a small deadline for his thesis project.

Now I’m playing the praise-game with Breintje. As soon as he sits on the couch I make sure to acknowledge that by giving him pettings or a quick nose rub (sometimes only briefly when I’m in the middle of a chat conversation etc.). It’s starting to pay off. I noticed that even saying “Hi!” and looking in his direction can make him happier.

Breintje has finally decided that it’s worth putting a little extra effort in to get better cuddles. As soon as he sits down on the couch for a good cuddle session I reward him with a treat (and cuddles of course!).
It’s slowly becoming better and I’m no longer being ignored. There are some occasional thumps if he thinks that he should be having pettings while I’m in the middle of something, but we’re making progress.

[Gordo and Janice]

Very cool. And the bond grows…..

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Yes, I hope that it continues to improve. Sometimes it’s really difficult to tell a bunny what YOU need. It’s easy for them to communicate what they need: flip the food bowl, put your head down, beg in a cute way.

But how do you tell your bunny: Hey, I DO want to pet you, but I can’t reach… Bunnies are remarkably stubborn when it comes to changing their habits, especially if the reward isn’t instant. (Which is why I tried treats first, but he didn’t think that the deal was good enough)

[Wick & Fable]

Can you create a visual or audio cue with that sentiment? More easily comprehendible would probably be -cue #2- = I’ll pet you later. Then you would need to follow up later with -cue #2- = Pets.

I’m very consistent with how I talk with Wick in certain scenarios, so he’s picked up some audio/visual cues. Examples that have been helpful:

1) “That’s all” while presenting both hands, palms out with each hand in each eye’s visual field. I wait for him to sniff each hand to confirm I’m not holding anything, then I give him one body pet and stand up and do my own thing. This let’s Wick know there’s nothing left or nothing at all for him to it. This calms him down after getting a scent or piece of something.

2) “You gotta wait”. I say this when he’s circling too much around my legs out of excitement while I’m prepping his veggies. He gets kicked too often doing that, so now he just sits on the floor waiting for me after hearing that.

3) “Can I check your butt?” Ha. What I tell him before I do it so he knows it’s coming and doesn’t get caught off guard.

It’s less so the words, and moreso the tone used. Maybe this will help! He might not get it for a while, but you know rabbits pick up on routine well, so if you want to try instilling an audio or visual cue, just be consistent!

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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