Weird personality?

[Emi]

I have this lovely little 2 year old bun called Snul. I love her to bits, but she stresses me out so much with her behavior.

I am out of work at the moment and have been for some time, which means I have plenty of time to socialize my buns. I have “sessions” with Snul every day, but I have a different outcome every time. Most days I like to bring her with me into bed while I watch a movie and just have her lay on my chest and pet her on the forehead – sometimes she will lick me all over my face and chat her teeth and just almost fall asleep while enjoying her cuddles, but next time I do the same she will act like she’s never tried it before and almost panic in an attempt to get away. 

This morning I sat on the floor with her while giving her breakfast on my lap, trying to teach her that being on me is not a dangerous thing, which is something I do often. She will sit on my lap and eat a few pieces of food, then she will jump down and then jump back up again, and I will calmly touch her ears to get her used to being pet. And it usually goes really well until all of a sudden she runs away in total panic and doesn’t dare to come back and just curls up in the corner. 

Also, I’ve taught my bunnies to “accept” being lifted and held at certain times (for example at the vet and when being transported) so they are easy to handle, and Snul accepts that almost always, except for those days when I go to pick her up (she will usually just sit still on the spot and let me lift her) and she runs all around the kitchen in complete panic stomping and flicking her feet. 

I will often lay down on the floor when my buns are running free in the house, and most of the time they will both come up to me and sniff around, jump on me and just be very curious, but sometimes Snul will curl up in the corner and just sit there while stomping continuously.

Sometimes she will change the way she behaves several times a day – today is a great example. She follows me around, wants to be pet, eats breakfast, all of a sudden she’s afraid. I leave her alone for a bit, come back out and now she wants to talk to me again. 

In short, what I’m trying to say is: It’s like living with Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Hyde, one moment she’s this super cuddly cute bunny and the next she acts like she’s never even seen a human being before… 

Is there anyone who knows what the cause of this could be? 

**** Just to clear any misunderstandings (after I might have misused the word “cuddle”, I’ve changed it to “pet” instead): I don’t “force” her to cuddle up with me, I pet her without holding her, both when I’ve brought her into the bed – yes I carry her there, but I let go of her again, and she then either lies down on my chest or runs away, it is her decision and I respect it, when I lie on the floor with them I let them come to me, etc. I Never “hold them down” to cuddle  

[Wick & Fable]

It’s great that you’re being observant and looking for ways to improve your interactions with your rabbit, especially when the only language we can communicate with is body language — but alas, that is difficult when we’re completely different species, isn’t it?

I like to think of those inconsistencies as simply a dynamic personality, just like with humans. I can simplify some people as really liking social interaction or really hating social interaction, but that doesn’t mean they want to enact the same actions every hour of every day. I’d like to think that, similar to humans, there are times when your rabbit may want to “chill” with you from afar, rather than all up next to you. Wick commonly gets up from our cuddles, moves a bit away, then lounges down near me instead. I think between my breathing in his air, me not being able to pick up “rabbit cues” of “You should be (not) petting me here and there right now…'” and other non-verbal factors, it’s justifiable to respect a rabbit’s autonomy of saying, enough is enough.

The fear and panic that you may see may be because it sounds like you have a pattern of initiating these interactions yourself and it is the rabbit who needs to escape it, rather than you stopping it. It may be worthwhile to let her have more autonomy to decide when is lap/cuddle time, and also you cut short the cuddle time before she feels like it’s overwhelming and she needs to escape. These kinds of gestures can help let the rabbit know they are in control of their environment and when they interact with you, rather than seeing you as someone who imposes a presence, even if it’s wanted sometimes. Fear comes a lot of perceived power, and it sounds like you demonstrate that by dictating when you want cuddle sessions and interactions to be. A more balanced ratio may be beneficial!

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.

[Emi]

I’ve completely stopped bringing her to the bed for the moment, to give her the freedom to choose for herself. I’ve often fed her like I did this morning without trouble, today was the first time she sprinted away all of a sudden during breakfast (hence why I’m beginning to think she’s acting strange..) When I lay down on the floor I usually just pick a comfortable spot to lie, not necessarily near them, and let them come to me if they want. When on the floor I will only pet them if they want it, I’ll put out my hand for them and wait. If they push their head under my hand I’ll pet them, and if they don’t I’ll just accept that.. I think I might have misused the word cuddle, in lack of a better word to describe my interactions with her.. I’m danish, so my english vocabulary isn’t entirely perfect 
I just find it a bit strange that I’ve socialized both Harvey, Donna and Snul the same way since I got them, and Harvey and Donna never “panicked” like Snul does, they would just do as Wick does, hop away and lie down somewhere else, out of reach. Snul gets this crazy look on her face when she runs away almost as if I’ve insulted her grandmother or something insane like that  

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