Submissive rabbit avoids me

[Ditta]

Hi!I have a bunny couple: a girl and a boy. The boy is the dominant and the girl is the submissive one. Both of them neutered/spayed. They get along well with each other,  but the girl doesn’t not accept any cuddle/pet from us, humans. The boy loves to be cuddled. What is the problem? I use the same bonding techniques for both of them.

[DanaNM]

How long have you had them? Most buns don’t like to be held, and some are less interested in pets. It generally works well to play “hard to get” with shy bunnies, meaning spend a lot of time with her but don’t force any interactions.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Ditta]

Thanks for the answer. I have had them for five years now. Ginger (the girl who keeps distance) was friendly before spaying and before she got a bunny friend. I don’t try to lift them up, I leave them on the ground while I’m making contact. I usually just lie on the ground near her, give her treats from my hand. Then time to time I reach out slowly but that scares her. She jumps on my back rarely when I lying on my stomach.

[DanaNM]

Hmmm, I wonder if you could try some clicker training with her as a way to bond and interact that doesn’t involve petting? You would prob need to separate briefly from her partner (as simple as just keeping one in the pen and letting the other one out). If she takes treats from your hand then she would probably enjoy it 🙂

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wick & Fable]

Some rabbits don’t seem to enjoy how human pets feel. Maybe it feels to unusual or unnatural, considering how large our hands are compared to another rabbit licking them with their tiny mouths!

I agree in some sound association. For my past rabbit Fable, it was helpful to do some repetitive baby talk with exaggerated tone and song to give her a heads up/signals on what my plans are in terms of leaving her alone vs am going to try and approach her for a pet. I will say starting with just a single nose “boop” then stopping was a valuable starting point.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Ditta]

I’ ve never tried clicker I thought it works only with dogs. But that sounds interesting. I’ m going to look it up how does it works, thanks! Yesterday evening we separated them for a short time (my husband  played with the sociable one in the other room) and I stayed close to the roaming shy one but no touching. I’m going to spend some time this way everyday.

[DanaNM]

Rabbits learn clicker training very easily! I always make a kissy noise when I give a treat and my buns come running from all corners of the house LOL

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Ditta]

I’ve had a song that I used to sing to them when they were sick or in hospital but it never occurred to me that this way the song is associated with pain and bad feelings. Thank you for the tip! I find another song/sound/clicker and use it when something good happens, like treats.

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