Likes attention but not petting

[sarahthegemini]

As I’ve mentioned before, Peanut is a very timid and cautious little bun. He is so much more confident now and he will often flop out or stretch out in the middle of the floor. He seems to seek attention from me fairly often – he’ll come over to me and bop me with his nose and he’ll sometimes periscope at the sofa to have a good look while I’m sitting on it. He’s even gotten more confident around my (very noisy) partner – Peanut will go up to him whilst he’s sat at his computer desk and he’l have a good nose around and will even dig at my boyfriend’s shoes 

Anyway, he still isn’t a big fan of being pet. If I let him jump on top of the hay bag when I’m refilling, I can pet him whilst he eats and he seems happy, and he’l let me give him the odd stroke here or there, but he doesn’t like being pet for more than a few seconds (unless he’s on the hay bag!) Originally I thought this was because he wasn’t very confident but now I’m thinking it’s probably just his way. Does anyone else have a bunny that likes some human attention but not petting? I do think he is more of a buns-bun. He’s a happy go lucky little rabbit anyway but he seems more content now he’s with Buttercup. I don’t try and pet him that much anymore, i usually just pet him if he’s eating out of my hand or if he’s nose bopped me, whereas I can approach Buttercup at any time for petting. Anyway, does anyone else have a bun like this? If so, how do you make sure you give them the attention they want w/o touching them? I don’t want him to feel left out? Thanks guys.

[VelvetLopBunz]

We have a bun who is similar to Peanut. Thumper was very timid, and jumped at any small noise or movement. He is now neutered and much more confident. He is very curious and loves to be around a quieter person. However, when you bend down to pick him up or pet him, he still runs. We have found the best way to give him time to bond with us, is to gate off a room and let him run while we sit on the floor (on his level). Then he can come to give us kiss or nudges when he wants to and feels safe doing so. You can keep a raisin or some small treat by you so that when he comes to you, you can encourage it to happen again. I would only do that if he doesn’t come to you while you sit on the floor, but it sounds like he loves to be near you.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By VelvetLopBunz on 2/06/2017 10:48 AM

We have a bun who is similar to Peanut. Thumper was very timid, and jumped at any small noise or movement. He is now neutered and much more confident. He is very curious and loves to be around a quieter person. However, when you bend down to pick him up or pet him, he still runs. We have found the best way to give him time to bond with us, is to gate off a room and let him run while we sit on the floor (on his level). Then he can come to give us kiss or nudges when he wants to and feels safe doing so. You can keep a raisin or some small treat by you so that when he comes to you, you can encourage it to happen again. I would only do that if he doesn’t come to you while you sit on the floor, but it sounds like he loves to be near you.

Peanut and Thumper do sound very alike – Peanut definitely prefers to be around a quieter person (i.e me rather than my partner) but he is slowly adapting to my boyfriend’s noisy ways, though he’s still pretty jumpy. 

He and Buttercup are free roam, although at the moment because they’re newly bonded, they’re limited to just the living room (will be expanding soon!) So I will often sit on the floor and he will have a run and play and come up and sniff me/bop me. He seems comfortable to be stretched out and relaxed if I’m sitting on the floor and he definitely has no issues climbing on me if I’ve got treats! Maybe I could sit down and offer him a piece of romaine lettuce or something each time he approaches me. Just to reinforce the positive side of me being near him. He even bops my feet sometimes if I’m sat on the sofa. Maybe he himself is unsure of what attention he wants? I suppose even if he is a bun that doesn’t want to be pet, so long as he is comfortable and happy to be around me, we’ll be okay I’ll definitely try sitting with him again and offering something yummy when he approaches (I’ll have to hide it well so he doesn’t come over just for the yummy treats lol)

I don’t mind if he is a bun that doesn’t care for being pet, just want him to be happy and comfortable in his home and not feel left out! Buttercup on the other hand is an attention fiend lol!

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