How do I know my bunny is “bonded”?

[owlesque]

Hello everyone,

 I’m a first-time poster, though I have been haunting binkybunny since I adopted my little Opal (female, 2 years old, spayed) about 3 weeks ago.  She was very, very skittish when I met her at the animal shelter where she was adopted, but I had hope that she would warm up to me when she was in a less chaotic environment (her big, gorgeous eyes were also convincing ).  Since bringing her home, she has become significantly more at ease.  She no longer cowers away from me, whether in her cage or when hopping around my bedroom.  She will also approach me when I’m on the floor with treats and very readily eats out of my hand.  

My problem is that she doesn’t appear to have any interest in being pet.  When I’m sitting on the floor and I don’t have treats, she completely ignores me.  When I do have treats but then run out of them, she quickly loses interest.  She may do a drive-by sniff when she’s roaming about the room, but she has never stayed for more than a second without me offering food.  She’s far more interested in trying to find a way under my bed (which she is not allowed to do) or flopping down underneath my bureau.  I don’t think that she acts afraid of me, per se, just completely ignores me unless–and only as long as–I have food.  The only time she tolerates my petting her is when I’m hand feeding her or occasionally when she’s eating hay in her litter box.  I feel like it’s less that she enjoys being pet at these times and more like her desire to stay where she is at the moment is greater than her desire to get away from me.  I’m pretty sure she’s not scared of me anymore, so does this mean that she’s “bonded”?  Can I look forward to her to getting any friendlier, or is this as good as I can expect? 

This also raises a second, more serious concern.  Since she won’t be pet, holding her is completely off the table.  But if I can’t even pet her, how will I cut her nails?  How can I groom her, especially if/when she starts shedding?  My vet has offered to help the first time or two, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do it on my own if she keeps this up. 

 I’ll be honest–there have been times that I can’t help but regret getting her.  I’m a very affectionate person and live alone.  I just want something that will snuggle with me on the floor.  It’s seriously distressing to me.    I get that they’re prey animals; I get that they don’t like to be picked up.  I just thought that she’d at least like to be pet, that she’d at least acknowledge me when I come home from work.  It’s so much work cleaning up after something that doesn’t want anything to do with me.  Will it get better?

[Sarita]

It can take awhile for a rabbit to feel comfortable and trust you and ask for pets – 3 weeks seems like a long time to us, but in the rabbit world, that really is not that long.

Just keep doing what you are doing – I would suggest stopping the food treats if that is not getting you any results. Many times just sitting on the floor and allowing your rabbit to come up to you out of curiosity is a good idea…don’t grab or try to pet them at first though.

As for the grooming – she may only need it in a serious molt, otherwise she probably is fine unless she has long fur. The nails – I say if you don’t feel comfortable with this, continue allowing the vet to do it.

Honestly, rabbits just aren’t really snugglers but they are wonderful pets – you just have to change your expectations. Also try not to put your emotions on your rabbit – because they don’t give affection in the way you would prefer doesn’t mean they aren’t affectionate or have affection for you.

Just give it more time and I promise it will be worth it….sometimes you just have to think more like a rabbit and less like a person.

[LolaBuns]

It took Lola more than a month to let us touch her without having treats to give her. Even longer for my husband because he couldn’t stop trying to touch/pet her. Now she follows us around the room buzzing at us if we forget to say hi to her and give her ears/nose a rub. It does take time (sometimes lots of it) but like Sarita said, once the bunny trusts you it is so worth it. We are working on getting Berry to trust us now. I just sit on the floor and let him run around me. If he comes near me I talk to him in a low quiet voice but I don’t usually try to pet him more than once or twice (with a craisin) at the end. He is slowly getting better too. In the beginning he wouldn’t even come out of the condo if someone was in the room. Now he runs around and binkys all the time.

[manic_muncher]

It took Bumpy about 6 months before he’d let us give him nose rubs. He is extremely food-oriented, and just like yours, when the food ran out, he was gone! Now he will come up to us, bumps our legs and look up at us while getting head pets. He still doesn’t want to be touched anywhere else on his body. In a few days, we’ll have had him a year.

He does get excited when he sees me coming down the hall after I wake up. And he comes and visits me in the bathroom (with the dogs) whenever I go in there. Watching him run down the hall with the dogs, ears flapping is pretty comical. Give her more time, she’ll come out of her shell.

[owlesque]

Thanks, everyone! I guess I’ll just have to be more patient. I’ll stop attempting to pet her unless she approaches me first, and then only a few times with a treat as LolaBuns suggested. It’s great having community support like this! I don’t know anyone personally to ask these questions to other than my vet, so thank you all very much!

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