I groom her....does she think I am the submissive bunny?

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 9sd replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 17 years, 11 months ago by KOKKINIKLOSTI.

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- 12/29/2006 at 1:21 PM
  poopy
  Participant
  684 posts
  Question- I once read that if you make a bunny’s head go down you are telling it that you are the dominant bunny. I do this to her when she’s acting up for that reason. But then I also pet her alot and groom her, give her massages. Is this giving her mixed messages….like telling her that I am the submissive bunny because I groom her and she doesn’t lick/groom me?
- 12/29/2006 at 5:47 PM
  dmh426
  Participant
  433 posts
  hmm….normally when I groom Sophie, she licks/grooms me back. Does she drop her head when you are petting her? I don’t know if she thinks that you’re the submissive bunny, but I think she knows she is being loved! That’s something for a bunny who was just adopted.
- 12/29/2006 at 6:06 PM
  MooBunnay
  Participant
  3087 posts
  My little buns do not groom me even though I give them pets and grooms like you do…I think it might have something to do with being a "mom" type figure to them. My little boy Kramer groomed me when he first met me (the reason we adopted him is because my boyfriend stuck his head in Kramer’s cage and Kramer promptly started kissing his nose!) but once he got a girlfriend and started grooming her…he stopped grooming me. Still, they seem to know that I am in charge since I am the one feeding them and giving them water…you’re bunny probably just thinks you are the parent and don’t need any grooms!
- 12/30/2006 at 12:32 PM
  poopy
  Participant
  684 posts
  yup she drops her head. she moves though if i touch her back or if she thinks i am going to attempt to pick her up
- 01/04/2007 at 1:02 AM
  BinkyBunny
  Moderator
  8776 posts
  It really is hard to say for sure because though some bunnies really are queenish/kingish about the hierarchy, others are much more lenient about it and will groom a submissive bunny once the hierarchy has been set. For example. Bailey and Jack are rebinding right now. Jack clearly displays dominant behavior when first setting the rules, and Bailey is VERY submissive to Jack when they meet. But once they start cuddling, he will groom her and vice versa.
  
  Jack does not lick/groom me, I pet him only. But he never shows dominant behavior toward me
  
  Rucy does show dominance but will try to lick me, but I can tell she’s not liking the taste of skin or cotton. She ends up grooming the floor right next to me. Bailey is also a dominant female and will insist I pet her, but she will sometimes lick my clothes after a long petting session.
  
  I just think that once the hierarchy has been set, grooming no longer has to be a sign of dominant or submissive behavior with many bunnies. It can just be sign of friendship even if they don’t groom back.
- 01/04/2007 at 8:17 AM
  wendyzski
  Participant
  1312 posts
  Posted By BinkyBunny on 01/04/2007 1:02 AM
  
  cy does show dominance but will try to lick me, but I can tell she’s not liking the taste of skin or cotton. She ends up grooming the floor right next to me.
  
  Pepper will licklicklick the shelf she is standing on when I give her ear-rubs!
- 01/04/2007 at 9:43 AM
  Lucy
  Participant
  370 posts
  Fujoe will continuously “bloop” (blue-p) the floor. Esp. if you move to his shoulders.
  
  If I stick my hand under his face (this sounds aweful), he’ll lick me for a little bit, and then demand to be groomed again.
- 01/05/2007 at 9:49 PM
  dmh426
  Participant
  433 posts
  Sophie will lick anything near her mouth when I am petting her to her satisfaction. I do mean anything. My arm, a blanket, whatever. She licks. it’s cute!
- 01/06/2007 at 6:35 AM
  Faye Perry
  Participant
  114 posts
  Mable loves licking us, especially my husbands head. he only has to lie on the floor for a second and she’s over licking his head, she also stays really still sometimes for ages with her head low, sticking out waiting for us to groom her. She is equally as happy to lick us though if we put our heads down to her….
  
  All this licking this can be quite confusing considering at the moment she is attempting to be the dominant one with Booboo. She licks Booboo all the time too.
  
  Booboo never licks us or really demands that we groom her, in fact she not that bothered with grooming, she just wants to be free and roam. (and eat apples)
- 01/08/2007 at 9:31 AM
  KOKKINIKLOSTI
  Participant
  60 posts
  My Aftias is such a docile bunny! He will always lick me back after i groom him! When he starts licking me while i pet him, this is a sign that he does not want to be groomed any more! They other time he was following me around the house and standing on his hind legs just because i didn’t stay long enough to be groomed back!
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