Should I pet my bunny? Vet said I should!

[Serawyn]

 I’ve read somewhere on this board that people said to let the bunny come to you. I’ve also read it’s important for the bunny to learn to trust you and one way of doing this is just to spend time on the floor while reading a book and letting the bunny come whenever s/he wants. 

Yesterday we took Fiona to the vet (who we really, really love since she’s also our cat’s vet), and the Vet told us to try to pet our bunny and get her used to being picked up and petted. The vet handled Fiona really well, and although I can tell Fiona was nervous, she let the vet pet her and did not move/squirm much! Fiona even let her clip her nails and everything! 

When I went to pick Fiona up, she’d try to get away from me by hopping a bit. However, if I pick her up and just hold her, supporting her behind and all she’s really ok. She sits on my lap for up to 20 minutes before wanting to bolt. She even took her treats which to me means she’s not that scared to not even eat. 

So, my question is, should I start petting her more like this even if she jumps away from me? The vet says this is normal and that with time, bunny will get used to it and learn that I won’t hurt her. I’m so tempted because I love petting her and the bunny *loves* it when I rub her head. She fell asleep once! However, I don’t want to keep doing this and then have Fiona learn to fear, not trust or be annoyed at me. :\

[Sarita]

Your vet is right. Rabbits do love to be petted. I don’t think you will annoy her at all by petting her on the ground.

I think it’s a natural response to hop away from you when you want to pick her up…rabbits are prey animals and don’t enjoy being picked up but sometimes you must do this.

[jerseygirl]

That’s great she stayed on your lap. To me it seems she has come to trust you more. The tip with being on the floor etc is super useful and helps circumvent their prey instinct as Sarita said. So, when you want to cuddle your bunny, the bunny might not want to, so you don’t want to be chasing it around freaking it out. But when you have some trust going (seems you do ) it’s not bad to handle them more to get them accustomed to it so it makes grooming, nail trims, gland cleans, that bit easier.

[MarkBun]

The ‘let them come to you’ theory is for those rabbits that are overly aggressive towards people when they try to pet them. You want it to be on their terms. But it is important to try and handle your rabbit so that they get to know that you’re not going to eat them – as well as them being used to it when it comes time to take them to the vet or pick them up for their nail clipping. Most bunny owners will be able to tell if their rabbit doesn’t want to be held. Dono breathes so fast and hard you’d think he was running a marathon so I try not to hold him too long. maryann just hunkers down in my arms and begins to doze off while I pet her.

At various shelters, when you get a rabbit who is anti-social and scared of people, it is important to handle them regularly.  It seems to go against what most people say otherwise but you want to have the rabbit develop a trust of people.

[Elrohwen]

I try to look for body language that suggests he’s interested or not in being petted. When Otto wants to be petted, he’ll squish down to the floor and stay very still. If he doesn’t want the attention, he’ll get up and hop away, sometimes to a place where he knows I can’t reach him easily. So I wouldn’t suggest chasing your bunny around, but if he sits still while you pet him, chances are he likes it!

[wendyzski]

It took a long time for Pepper to decide that maybe I wasn’t planning to eat her after all, so you’re one up on me!  I think it was nearly a year before she accepted head-pets, and even now it still has to be her idea and she has to be able to get away.

Buns generally don’t like to be picked up, although most can be taught to tolerate it.  Pepper HATES being picked up and fusses like crazy.  But as soon as I let her go she runs to the kitchen and stands up next to the shelves where she knows I keep the treats, because she knows she gets one for putting up with handling, nail trims, etc.

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