Skittish Sophie Stories

[christineann]

My beautiful Sophia is four years old, going on five. When I got her, I had just moved from Texas to Pennsylvania for school and wanted to give my Wesley a friend because he was always so depressed in my absence. Wesley was spoiled from the minute I got him as a baby, always handled and cuddled, he was loving and would follow me everywhere, cuddled under my arm and slept with me every night until his unexpected passing. Sophie, unfortunately as I was not there was not as spoiled and accustomed to being cuddled, and grew up only knowing her brother. 
Once I moved in to a place of my own, I brought the two from my family home up to live with me. Sophie has always been very reserved, very very skittish when we first got her, as she is blind in one eye (which of course makes the world much scarier for a baby bun), she would run from EVERYONE except for me. She is also a lionhead, a breed I have read that are somewhat more reserved and skittish. But! She always loved her brother and followed him everywhere, and often accompanied him as he followed me around my room, slept up on the bed with us too. 

Once Wesley passed away, I saw a total transformation in Sophia. She began hopping up to my bed, crawling to lay by my side and either waking me up, or patiently waiting until I woke and then immediately begging to be fed. She seemed to be more dependent on me, we grew very close in our relationship, and she also got more social when it came to others seeing her and petting her. 

Since I have adopted her new brother Pepper, she is happy as can be, but she still surprises me! She was very territorial at first and did NOT like Pepper, whom she now adores and begs cuddles from. However, I have noticed that her skittish qualities have somewhat returned, and more so than I ever knew before. Two nights ago my boyfriend witnessed her mount Pepper, something I have NEVER seen her do before, certainly not ever with Wesley. (This could be unrelated and yes she is spayed, he neutered but it took me by surprise as Pepper is the kind of bun that is very non aggressive or dominant, he always showers everyone in kisses.) She of course, like many bunnies, cannot stand being held. She does not mind when I come down to her level, or she to mine, she enjoys pets and massages and purrs like crazy. If picked up even to go play outside she panics, shakes and I can hear her breathing heavily out of fear. Lately this has become a bit more frequent, although her moods are so off and on! She will run up to greet me one moment, and the next run away and hide from me. As I look at her now, she is loafed on the ground, nose slow twitching, content. She reached out her head to take my pets, but once I move my hand from her ears to her back, I hear her both purr and start to breathe heavily in fear at the same time. My boyfriend has noticed she has been more shaky around him, which could be because she is still getting used to him. Is this somewhat normal or is there a way to win her over? Its been years and I somewhat came to believe this is just her personality, although it saddens me when from time to time she seems terrified of me, and everyone even though she knows exactly who I am. At the vet, she runs to immediately climb up my body and into my arms to be held. 

I clearly do not know how to summarize, haha. Thank you all for your help  

[LongEaredLions]

It’s good that she has improved thus far, however minor it may seem.
She could have gone through something in her past that may have caused her to be skittish. The blindness on one side is certainly an attribute too. Has the vet checked the vision in the other eye?
It sounds like since you have had her for a while this may just be how she is. I would try to always talk to her as you approach her, she can recognize you by your voice instead of your appearance. Try not to pick her up at all if you can help it, and keep interaction at a level she is comfortable with, like getting down to her level like you said. And don’t forget healthy treats are a great bonding tool!
There may not be much you can do, sounds like you are doing well by just appreciating who she is.

[Author]

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