Dwarf Rabbits “Less Friendly?”

[Kazzy]

So I’ve heard that dwarf rabbits tend to be “less friendly” which is, in my opinion, not true at all. I’ve been bitten by one of those giant brown rabbits when I was little (Flemish giant or something?) and NEVER once been bitten by a dwarf. The friendliest buns I’ve met, Callie, Stormy, Thunder, and Max, where all dwarf (excluding Max, she was a Holland Lop)

So why do some people believe that? And if you have heard it, please don’t fall for it. Dwarf rabbits are really sweet and make amazing pets <3

Also, why does it have to be dwarves? People also say dwarf hamsters are bitey, small dogs are “mean”, WHY?

[LBJ10]

There are certainly stereotypes for different breeds. I have never heard of dwarf breeds being “unfriendly” necessarily. Hyper, high strung, spazzy, energetic…… yes. This being said, not all individuals are going to live up the their stereotypes.

[Kazzy]

I didn’t say that people said that they were unfriendly. I heard that they were less friendly. There’s a difference.

[LBJ10]

Different degrees of friendliness are still going to fall in the stereotypes category. It doesn’t matter what type of animal it is or what breed it is. These stereotypes exist from anecdotal evidence. Probably a lot of it begins with breeders who spend a lot of time with many different individuals from the same breed. So in the case of dwarf rabbit breeds, breeders probably noted that some of the rabbits appeared less friendly than rabbits from other breeds. Perhaps they shared this information with others, like people buying rabbits from them as pets. These people notice (or perceive) this in their pet and the stereotype continues to spread and these experiences are shared.

Of course then we have the problem of what is perceived as friendliness or unfriendliness. Different people interpret these things differently. A rabbit can be friendly, but their idea of friendly may not be consistent with their owner’s idea of friendly. For example, my buns will run up to me when I go in their room. I will pet them on the head, give them treats, etc. But with Wooly, I had better not pet him anywhere except his head and ears. Someone who is not familiar with his behavior may think he is less friendly than my other rabbit, Leopold, because he would run away if they tried to pet him on his back or rear.

[Bam]

I think I’ve heard a long time ago, decades ago, that dwarfs were less friendly or even unintelligent. It’s probably a myth, but there could’ve been some “truth” to it aback in the day when dwarfs suddenly became popular as pets and breeders sought to produce as many dwarfs as they could to meet the demand (=make money). Perhaps they didn’t select for any other quality than small size. It’s often like that with certain dog breeds, when the breed becomes popular, it harms the breed because people don’t select their breeding material as carefully as they should, people will buy the pups no matter what.

[Gina.Jenny]

As mum to two quite small rabbits, plus two slightly bigger buns, I would have to say the bigger ones are ‘friendlier’, in so far as neither has ever snarled, or lashed out with a claw, when I go to pet them on the head, and both will happily lie on the floor and accept a decent ear rubbing. However, both bigger buns are both boys. The smaller ones are both girls, and I think part Polish Hare/Britannia Petite, a breed with a reputation for being highly strung. The smaller of the two girls, took eight months before she would even allow me to touch her, without her snarling and lashing out. Although both girls now welcome ear rubs, they are quick rubs, and they never settle down beside me for more ear rubs, like both boys do. How much this is due size, gender, and breed, how much to their bad experiences before we took them in, and how much simply to personality is hard to say. Three of the buns are rescues, including both girls. My thoughts are maybe smaller rabbits are quicker to become scared and defensive, and to many people, that could equate to being less friendly.

On the other hand, we have had nine guinea pigs, over the years, and the friendliest three were the smallest three. Red was probably the runt of the litter, and he was so friendly, we swore he thought he was human, not piggy. Silks would cuddle anyone, as long as they wanted, and cooed any time anyone held her, spoke to her, or fed her. Choco is always happy to come for a cuddle too.

[MoxieMeadows]

My Best friend (who has owned larger and smaller rabbits) told me that the small rabbits she owned bonded specifically to her (or the person taking care of him/her) and weren’t that friendly to others, while her larger ones were generally friendly to everyone.
Maybe it has something to do with the larger they are, the more confident they are? IDK though.

[Brambino]

Hey

I would agree with Moxie’s friend.
Bramble is a Nethie and she’s super affectionate with us but very reserved with strangers. I think dwarfs are renowned for being highly strung and this is certainly true of Bramble and other Nethies I know. She freaks out when there’s strangers around. Maybe this is where it comes from?

[Mikey]

I heard Nethies are known for their attitudes, and boy does my little Bombur fit the stereotype. During puberty he was the worst little ball of anger ive ever seen. He sprayed, bit, boxed, kicked, lunged, ect. He was terrible. After being neutered, hes gotten a lot better. But, he still boxes, kicks, and bites most humans most of the time. The only way i have found for him not to bite/kick/box is by offering him treats, veggies, or a small handful of pellets first. If you dont bring offerings, he will show no mercy LOL

He, like the other two, dont like when i clean their little box. Theyre all overly proud of pooping in their box rather than on the floor, so when i take it away to clean it out, they all get pouty. Bombur takes it to a different level though. He will sit in the box and not move. He will stare me down, spray the box, then sprawl in his spray. So, i have to pick him out of it, and this starts his scuffles with me. Ive got scars up my arms and hands from his biting and kicking. I just pick him up, set him on the floor next to me. It takes no longer than 3 seconds from point A to point B. On the floor next to me, he starts angry kicking the air. Normally by then, Blue (the oldest; mini rex) knows the drill and nudges him away for forced cuddles, and Badger (youngest; mini dutch) is trying to nose his way into my lap to weasle any last litter box hay he can grab before i clean it. I then have to get a warm damp wash cloth to wipe down Bomburs fur because hes a gross little bun, which is the main cause for my arm scars (he loves his back rubbed down with a damp wash cloth [he binkies after] but he lothes his tummy being damp. But he needs it clean when its covered in gross spray!). After the litter is clean and refilled, and Bombur is clean, they all get treats and some time to free roam the living room

He really loves his bunny brothers though. But its not always butterflies and rainbows with them either. He really loves Blue (bonded together since Bombur was roughly a month old) so if Blue gives too much attention to Badger, Bombur throws a fit and starts chasing Badger around and nipping his butt until Blue sits on both of them to force cuddles. We call them time out cuddles

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