Meet my awesome buddy, Rabby!

[rabbyrabby]

So I’m a 23 year old dude who lives alone in an apartment.

Exactly a week ago I picked up a rabbit.  The “breeder” (I put it in quotation marks because I don’t know how knowledgeable she actually was) sold me a Netherland Dwarf that she claimed was about 4 or 5 months old.  The fact that she couldn’t give me a more accurate age had me lose a little bit of faith in her, but, I’m not one to judge, being a new rabbit owner.

I made a big no-no when it comes to pets.  This breeder had about 7 or 8 of these rabbits in a sheltered area outside, with all sorts of rabbits.  As soon as we approached the cage, it was like one of those sardine hurricanes you see on Blue Planet or some other ocean documentary on the discovery channel.  

It was like a grenade went off in that cage and they were hysterical.  Literally every other cage was calm and wasn’t moving.  For whatever reason these buns were absolutely terrified at the sight of the two of us, but a few brave souls were curious of us.  I spotted a bunny in the back corner, face buried into the tummy of a slightly bigger rabbit, shaking in horror. 

I don’t know what it was but it made me feel really bad for that bunny, and so, in one of the most sacrilegious moves in pet choosing history, I opted for this rabbit.

He was completely mortified the entire ride home.  He was in a corner of the box I had (I had plenty of bedding and hay in there), in the smallest ball he could possibly contort into, bug-eyed, and barely moving. 

From here on I will post some pictures of this adventure.  Again, the breeder told me he was a Netherland Dwarf, but since she couldn’t even tell me the age, I would like some other confirmation.  I don’t really care that it is or not, I just want some closure on this issue!  I will love him no matter what.

This is my bunny (whom I call Rabby) the day I brought him home.  He hid in this little cardboard hut I made him.  He wouldn’t come out to eat so I put the hay holder right in front of the entrance.  He stretched his head out and ate the hay from there.

Well, it was a tough week to say the least.  This bunny is in constant fear of me.  I guess it doesn’t help that I don’t have a female voice that is more soothing and nice.  But the transformation he made in a week really surprised me.  The following pictures are where he is today, just a week later.

This is him keeping an eye on me, hanging out of the cage entrance like a dog.  The apartment room isn’t big, but there’s a lot to see for a little bunny.  Yes, there is a cardboard piece of a 6 pack of Corona outfitted in his cage.  I think it looks pretty cool, and I think the bunny does too 

Here he is again, sniffing the camera.

This is what he does when he wants to get out of his playpen.  I tested it out a few times, just free roaming, and amazingly, he hasn’t pooped, peed, or chewed on ANYTHING.  Thought it was pretty impressive for an in-tact male.  

Kind of has a dwarfish cheeks and facial structure, but his snout (do we call them snouts on rabbits?) are a little longer than the pictures of pure Netherland Dwarf rabbits I’ve seen.  His ears are longer too.  But he’s definitely got a tiny dwarf body. 

No longer fears me whatsoever.  He climbs on me and watches football with me.  He definitely enjoys being petted and doesn’t mind being picked up.  I do train him that it’s OK to be carried, though.  In fact, the only time I EVER give him bananas (which he loves) is while I’m carrying him.  He eats the bananas right out of my hand, while I carry him with my other.  He’s small enough to where I get a pretty good football grip on him the whole time.  And when I put him back in his cage, he doesn’t thump or get grumpy, he’s still trying to lick my hand clean.

He has sprayed about twice in the 7 days I’ve had him.  Mostly when I introduce new things into his cage.  He just kind of sits in front of it and the pee shoots out horizontally.  He doesn’t have the ability to aim up, and so far, the pee just stays in the cage.  Ironically, he seems disappointed by the dirtiness that he himself caused.  

Anyways, thanks for reading!  I just wanted to share because when I researched about dwarf rabbits, the common consensus seemed to be that they were often aloof and even aggressive.  Sometimes weird and high-strung.  

Just sharing my experience on how far a rabbit can go if you show a lot of love for it, even when picking out a super difficult rabbit at the start.  I do believe he is sexually mature.  I’ve checked his underside and you can clearly see the works.  He has also sprayed on a few occasions, that I’ve mentioned above.  

But no aggression AT ALL, and he seems to be genuinely enjoying himself!  I am going to have him neutered soon, though.  I know some people have mentioned their bunny’s personality can change over night due to hormones!  Hopefully I can avoid that.  This bunny is just too awesome!

[JackRabbit]

Welcome! He is adorable! He’s looks so much like my Kieko. If he turns out anything like her, watch out! Kieko is a cuddle bun after she burns off energy, but is super nosy and has enough attitude for 10 much larger bunnies!

Don’t know if you’re planning on having him neutered, but the spraying won’t really stop unless you do, and its very likely that your new football buddy will eventually take a liking to and spray *you*, among other possibilities! Also, even though he hasn’t chewed on anything unforbidden, you still want to make sure to bunnyproof any area that he will be in. Bunnies are fast, and you just never know when a new bunny might decide that something that’s never interested him before suddenly looks tasty!

Can’t wait to see more pics!

[Daisy1015]

Wow that is an amazing change ! Your writing style had me crAcking up! Yes I did notice the corona box… I thought it suited a 23 yeAr old man, it did make me giggle!

If the rabbit is sexually mature you shouldn’t notice any personality changes from puberty qnd neutering will only settle hormonal related behavior but shouldn’t make a sweet bun turn on you.

I think a better description for dwarfs is strong personality. The original ones were more high strung but over the 20 years or so more attention has been paid to temperament. That being said they are active with big personalities. Honestly, i really like dwarfs and their antics. I have had two over the years, my first when i was a single gal alone in an apartment like you. She was very in tune to my emotions and like to be pet but not held indefinitely but would hop up on me on her terms. She got moodier at puberty but settled back down. My male i had after her was un neutered and sprayed only a couple times ever. He wasn’t as outgoing or sensitive or active. He had some cage territorialness but we figured out what worked for him and he still would let me pet him in his cage and liked to sit on my lap if being groomed. Had i neutered him
that cage territorial would have probably stopped but back then the price was more than double what it is now. I jokingly called him my ornery old man and yet he loved my toddler! He sought him out for pets more than me! Silly guy! If my kids weren’t so young i would definitely get another dwarf!

He does look dwarf to me just not show quality/ well bred but if younger than you thought maybe a mix cuz of “snout”. Definitely small!
Welcome!

[LongEaredLions]

Welcome to the forums!
Rabby is just the cutest little thing. So glad that he has warmed up to you and is living the spoiled life!

[Eepster]

He looks enough like a nethie that I believe it, but he won’t be winning any ribbons.

[litheandgraphic]

Sounds like yet another one of those breeders who may or may not know exactly what they’re doing… well, let’s just say this little bun is lucky he got a ride home with you. He’s soooooo cute! That fourth picture is to die for. It’s great to see that you put in the time and patience for this little bun to come out of his shell, and look how it paid off!

One thing I would suggest: as he grows, you may want to consider getting a larger enclosure, like a large dog pen. Even though he’s a small Nethie, he will have 5x the energy of any larger buns and will need some space to stretch his legs while he’s not out with you or in his playpen.

Welcome to the forums!

[rabbyrabby]

Once he’s neutered and litter trained, I hope to leave him free roaming in half my apartment room that I will bunny-proof 

[litheandgraphic]

Excellent!

[Sindri]

Welcome! I think he is a netherland dwarf as well just not show quality. I also got a netherland dwarf male who is on the bigger size. Mine came from a farm where they breed lots of rabbits and lots of types of rabbits. They just gave me an estimate of how old he was they didn’t know his birthday either.
Anyway your bunny is very cute!

[Lea]

Oh he is just adorable! Love the story! I just got a red-eye white nethie and he gives me tons of kisses but doesn’t let me pet near his head or pick him up. I hope he warms up to me, he’s had two previous owners so he may have trust issues.

I must say I’m glad you went with your instinct rather than the standard pet-choosing rules! The poor thing needed your patience and perseverance.

[rabbyrabby]

He was so terrified when he saw us it made my heart melt.  Like his life had just ended haha (Oh noeeee humanzzzz!). 

I kind of wonder what was going on at that farm to make him so terrified… but none of the other rabbits except for the young netherlands showed any such emotion and there were many friendly rabbits there too.  Probably just because they were young and frantic haha.

He’s getting bigger for sure since I first got him.  Still as friendly as ever.  His personality is more like a dog than a cat.  

Not sure if this video will show up~

**EDIT:  Doesn’t seem to work but try clicking the Photobucket button on the bottom right.**

He’s been an absolutely great pet!  The only thing is he seems to have no regard for where he does his business.  Last night he pee’d in his hay and then was like “aww, it’s dirty…”

[rabbyrabby]

[Daisy1015]

It worked for me! Both ways! Love the video clip! He’s so svelte and tiny !

[litheandgraphic]

What a cute little bean of a bunny!

[Lea]

Sooo cuuute! Mine saves his business for when he’s behind me on my bed. Not allowed on the bed anymore which is a shame because that’s where he lets me pet him lol.

[Cottontail]

He’s adorable. I always love seeing happy rescues of any breed.

[Flopsie]

Your bun is so cute!

I m curious does he try to stick his head through the playpen cage bars? I wouldn’t want him to get stuck and panic. But if he’s getting bigger that’s probably a moot point

Love the pics

[Flopsie]

Your bun is so cute!

I m curious does he try to stick his head through the playpen cage bars? I wouldn’t want him to get stuck and panic. But if he’s getting bigger that’s probably a moot point

Love the pics

[rabbyrabby]

Posted By Flopsie on 9/22/2014 9:23 AM

Your bun is so cute!

I m curious does he try to stick his head through the playpen cage bars? I wouldn’t want him to get stuck and panic. But if he’s getting bigger that’s probably a moot point

Love the pics

This is a good point and something I haven’t thought of.  But he hasn’t tried to fit through the bars, he just puts his face against it indicating he wants to get out.  He’s been growing since then so I’m not sure his head would even fit through anymore.  To be honest I haven’t been putting him in the pen much, I just let him run around my apartment.  If I close the doors and block off some small crevices I can keep an eye on him at all times!

[Author]

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