Realistic Expectations

[Harley&Thumper]

Right now when I try to approach Harley and Thumper when they are in their relaxed and stretched out position they immediately get up to either get pet or to put some distance between us, depending on their mood. Is it realistic to expect them to eventually let me pet them while they are in their relaxed position?

[Sirius&Luna]

My bunnies let me do that, but I think the best thing with bunnies is to not ‘expect’ them to do anything, as they’re all different. Maybe they won’t ever get used to that, maybe they will The fact that sometimes they get up to approach you for pets is pretty positive

[Bam]

I wouldn’t say it’s an unrealistic expectation, but as S&L says, all buns are different. I don’t remember the first time Bam let me pet him when he was all stretched out and relaxing, but I’m pretty certain it didn’t happen until I’d had him for a long time. At least more than a year.

[Deleted User]

For Bombur it was day 1, but he’s also pretty needy. Asriel will sometimes let me, and other times you’d think I’m a ferocious animal. So definitely depends on the bun and length of time with them.

[Deleted User]

That’s realistic. I think that even the buns that are less affectionate will (over time) be comfortable receiving pets from human, just maybe not all the time.

[joea64]

I generally watch to see whether they put their heads down when I approach them (the most reliable sign of asking for a pet) or whether they approach me and don’t shy away when I reach out my hand. Fernando has been consistently more amenable to petting, but Panda’s starting to ask for pets, a little at a time.

[Heaven]

I can pretty much pounce on Sam and snuggle him into loaf mode, but only for as long as he feels like it. Sometimes he stays there & closes his eyes, sometimes just wriggles away after a few seconds. He’s an absolute nightmare for spraying at the moment though, so I figure his angelic-ness definitely evens out :l

[Author]

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