Miles & Willow Hate Me. HATE Me.

[Miles and Me]

 Willow has always been afraid of people since I adopted her from the rabbit rescue in July.  She got an URI and I had to give her medicine twice a day.  Now she HATES me.  Foot stomping and running away, more foot stomping… It’s sad.  I come in the room and she bolts under the bed, if they’re out, or into her hidey box, if they’re in their cage.  If she escapes there’s no way I can get her to go back in their cage.  She just hides.

Miles, on the other hand, has been socialized since he was a wee little bunbun and is more bold about hating me.  My dad picks him up in the WORST way possible and he now hates being held.  I’m working on that with him by picking him up very carefully and slowly, waiting a couple seconds, and then putting him down if he doesn’t freak out.  Freaking out entails kicking, biting, squirming, etc.  He’s supposed to calmly allow himself to be loved on.  I mean, what rabbit doesn’t love attention?  Oh, wait, mine do.  Today I held him and he was freaking out a little bit.  When he’s being held I think he gets nervous and starts chewing on whatever’s closest – clothes, fingers, etc.  I had a stick ball toy thing nearby so I grabbed that and let him chew it while I held him and pet him for a minute and then let him go.  After, I leaned down to let him kiss my nose like he ALWAYS does, but he lunged and bit me!  Hard!  I was bleeding!

What the hell am I doing wrong?  Please help.

[peppypoo]

Try just sitting down in the room with them and grabbing a book, laptop, whatever…ignore them and get them used to you. After some time, they might come exploring and sniffing you..then you can venture a treat or a pet here and there. Let them come to you on their terms. Bunnies usually aren’t very fond of being picked up in the first place, so picking up Miles might not be the best way to make friends with him; there are plenty of ways to give a bunny love with their feet firmly on the floor.

[bunnyfriend]

Awhhh I don’t think they hate you! Bunnies can hold grudges, but only because they care and they get it over it. Most rabbits don’t like being picked up, even my Totoro is seemingly doesn’t care, still gets scared when he doesn’t feel fully secure. The best way to earn a rabbit’s trust is to let everything be on their terms and to go slow. Peppypoo is right about ignoring the bunnies. Best way to get them comfortable with you. They’ll learn to trust you eventually

[Miles and Me]

I used to know all of this :/ I let my buns down! I’m going to spend as much floor time with them as I can. Hopefully they come around!  Miles used to be my little buddy.  He didn’t mind being picked up, and loved hanging out with me.  Oh well.  I guess I’ll settle for being friends again.

[Sarita]

Rabbits don’t have the capacity to hate. With rabbit’s it’s about building up trust and you can do that by keeping a routine with them so they know what to expect.

I also don’t think you should try to pick up Miles, he obviously hates it and that is going to make him trust you less.

[Elrohwen]

I agree with Sarita that spending a lot of time picking up a bun who hates it is just going to make him mistrust you more. Just hang out on the floor with them and ignore. When they show interest, maybe hand them a little treat or a pellet from their dinner. They don’t hate you – they just need more time to build some trust. One of mine hates to be touched and loved on, but he’s my little buddy and we have other ways to interact like training tricks – not all rabbits will ever enjoy being petted and fussed over, but you can build a relationship in other ways.

[Sarita]

That is so true what Elrohwen mentions as well that not all rabbits enjoy being petted and fussed over. In fact, none of mine do and appreciate that I don’t fuss with them too much and just let them lounge and eat and enjoy themselves – it’s much less stressful on them.

[Stickerbunny]

Was Miles still a baby when he didn’t mind being picked up (under a year)? Most babies start out cuddly but then as they get older, don’t like being picked up. They are prey animals, they feel insecure and their reactions are out of fear, not anger. And I am going through the same thing with Stickers about the medication causing a grudge – just ignore your bun til they get comfortable enough that you aren’t going to pick them up. I am making slow progress with mine, but I know it’s going to take a while, she doesn’t trust easily. lol Neither of mine have ever liked being picked up though, even if Powder will sit “calmly” his heart rate still goes up and I know it stresses him out so I don’t do it much.

[bunnyfriend]

My rabbit only let’s me pet her when she feels like it, once or less a day. It’s just her personality. So I’ve learned to just go with what she wants, otherwise she will not trust me at all.

[kinggoblin]

I wouldn’t try to pick them up or pet them if they don’t seem to like it. Mine doesn’t let me hold him at all and has freaked out when I try so I just don’t try anymore. The only time he wants to be pet is when he thinks I am ignoring him and he comes over and bumps me with his nose.

[Miles and Me]

No more picking them up! I’ll spend lots of time with them on their level and see how it goes

[Monkeybun]

I pick mine up regardless if they like it or not. I need to be able to do so in emergencies without chasing them around, trying to herd them into carriers. I know how to hold them securely so they can’t kick out anyway, so it works. They can be the boss the rest of the time, but I decide when they go tot he carriers lol.

[mint]

They don’t hate you, they just have a lot of personality. Bribe them with treats! My girls hate me too but when they hear me shake the jar of treats they can’t help themselves but run up to me.

[Stickerbunny]

Posted By Monkeybun on 12/04/2011 04:54 PM
I pick mine up regardless if they like it or not. I need to be able to do so in emergencies without chasing them around, trying to herd them into carriers. I know how to hold them securely so they can’t kick out anyway, so it works. They can be the boss the rest of the time, but I decide when they go tot he carriers lol.

Mine are so different in that! If I pick them up a lot, they run from me. But if I just leave them and only pick them up when I have to, they sit and just look at me like “oh fine, get it over with”. And they just walk right into the carrier of their own free will, then turn around and wait for me to close it, even though every time they enter the carrier they get taken to the vet. So funny how different rabbits can be.

 

[Monkeybun]

It took Monkey over 2 years to learn to deal with it lol.

[Elrohwen]

Stickerbunny, mine are similar to yours. Otto will let us pick him up once in a while and doesn’t fight it much, but if we do it all the time he gets very reactive and takes off the second we touch him.

With Hannah, trying to pick her up is a huge struggle and she’s very strong. It’s tough to hold her for long. However, if I put the carrier on the floor and open it she runs right in. lol

[mindy10]

Hi I will tell you what I have learned from my rabbit.  I always thought she hated me to.  Its been two months and now I know her moods. First thing in the morning and during the day she likes to be left alone.  I use to try to pat her then and I could tell she wanted nothing to do with me.  She would hide to.  Now I realize her best time is at night,  thats when she comes out for her pats and her binkys and if I come into the room she will come over to me and nudge me for a pat.  I never thought this would happen but now it is.  So it does take time and also you need to know when they want to be touched and when they dont.  Mindy

 

 

[BarbaraHeidenreich]

Hi there!

I thought I would share some thoughts that might help. I would highly recommend you become a treat dispenser. What ever food item your rabbits prefer (that is also healthy) should only be made available when you are around. Right now your attention has no value to them. So you have to resort to a known valued item to get started. Be careful not to do anything that causes a fear response or aggressive behavior and only be the deliverer of good things and you will see things start to turn around. Just toss or place a treat on the ground if you bunnies wont come to you at first. Overtime you will be able to shorten the distance between you and the rabbit. For rabbits that dont like being picked up, I would train them to enter a crate if you need to move them for now. They can learn this very quickly and they feel more stable on the flat surface. As you build trust you can get back to working on picking them up. For now I would focus on only associating good things with people if at all possible. Hope that helps!

Barbara

Barbara Heidenreich

http://www.BunnyTraining.com

[MarkBun]

To follow up on the treat idea, I’d suggest giving a whistle when you give the treat. They’ll quickly associate the whistle with a treat so that when you whistle, they’ll come towards you. (this is what is also called ‘clicker training’ but you use a clicker instead of a whistle).

My little boy doesn’t like me either and runs and hides from me. However, even after the hated nail clipping and combing, I can whistle and he’ll come back from under the bed and right up to me.

P.S. had my boy for 4 years and only over the last couple of months, he’s let me pet him a couple of times before he runs away. Guess he’s checking for food first.

[Author]

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