Rabbits make exceptional pets. Each rabbit has its particular personality. Some are energetic and want attention; some are affectionate and involved, while others are afraid and territorial. Bonding with your rabbit will allow you to understand better and appreciate its nature. A rabbit will never be like a cat or a dog. It is a unique species with numerous gifts to share.
But it takes time and patience for your attachment with them. Depending on how much they were around people when they were raised and how old the rabbit is, it can take 2–3 weeks for them to settle in properly. Your children may be eager to play with their new pal, but hurrying the procedure could make your rabbit feel threatened. Some older rabbits take a more extended period to adjust to a new, unfamiliar environment. Many domestic rabbits exhibit signs of panic during their growth. When trying to pick up pet rabbits, almost 60% of rabbit owners report that they struggle and sometimes even turn hostile.
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How Your Rabbit Can Trust You?
Rabbits are prey animals and are different from cats and dogs, which are predators. It requires more effort on your part to develop a bond with one. A rabbit may be timid, fearful, self-reliant, or unwilling to trust you at first. Building trust and mutual understanding with these sensitive, clever prey creatures require conscious action on your part. So, what can we do to strengthen our bond with our pet rabbits? It is essential to know how you can develop a special bond with your rabbit so that he trusts you. We’ll go through several ways for bonding with your rabbit in this article.
Patience And Calmness
Allow yourself some alone time. This is especially crucial if you recently adopted your rabbit, as he will need time to adapt to the people and environment in which he now lives. Pressuring your rabbit to spend time with you will almost certainly result in the opposite reaction. Set some time to just hang out with your bunny instead. Don’t expect any type of specific attachment from your rabbit if you go in there. Simply relax in a bunny-safe enclosed space and let your rabbit explore. They’re curious creatures, so they’ll come over to look at you right away. Help them to reinforce the concept that being near you is a good thing.
Talk With A Soothing Tone
It’s also possible that the way you talk to your bunny will help him trust you. Always speak to him in a calm tone. Do not make your tone loud, harsh, or shrill even if you are angry at your rabbit. Avoid doing anything abruptly or quickly while engaging with him. Doing things hastily can be a shock for a sensitive rabbit.
Let Them Come Towards You
At the very first interaction with you, they are not used to your way of handling. They don’t like it if you grab them in your hands or pull them out of the cage. Allow him to come to you rather than uprooting him from his tiny home to spend time with you. You can open the door of its cage and wait for it to come out and investigate.
Follow A Schedule
Keep in mind that rabbits are most active at sunrise and sunset each day, and they spend the afternoons resting. If you want to start playing with your bunny or bonding with him, do so while he’s most active and likely to want to play.
Giving Space To Your Rabbit
Knowing when your rabbit is displaying fearful body language will help you determine whether to give them some space. If your rabbit appears to be content and confident, he or she may be willing to participate in a training session. It’s probably better to give them quiet time in their hutch if they’re afraid or distressed by something.
Click-Training Technique
You may be surprised to learn that you can clicker-train your rabbit. In this technique, you can give your rabbit an option for picking him. It can help ease some of the problems that rabbit owners problems when dealing with their fluffy pals.
You have to practice creating “cluck” sounds with your tongue for such training with your rabbit. This sound, when produced, shows your rabbit that they are doing the right thing.
The first stage involves holding out your hands and clicking when your bunny comes between them. Click and reward your rabbit with a treat when it is on the floor and between your hands. In the next step, use your hands to apply mild pressure with your hands on the sides of the body of the rabbit. Please do not pick them up. Let them remain on the floor where they feel safe. Squeeze, click and reward your rabbit.
When your rabbit is comfortable with this stage, you can lift your rabbit a few inches off the floor for a short time. Keep in mind to click and reward.
You may also train bunnies to leap into your lap. Your rabbit has a choice with clicker training, and it’s fine if they decide they don’t want to be picked up at that time; you may try again later!
How To Spend Time With Your Rabbit?
Select a private and quiet space where you want to spend quality time with your rabbit. It should simply be you and your rabbit, with no other animals present and nothing to occupy your rabbit’s attention.
Give the bunny some healthy snacks. These can be used to calm down a nervous animal, and they’re also helpful for your rabbit. A baby carrot, a small slice of apple or banana, or a small scoop of oats are all good options. The first time, don’t feed them from your hand. Let them pick from the ground you throw for them.
Play with toys in a group. The majority of rabbits are amusing, and certain games are ideal for two players. Tossing and knocking over stacking cups, plastic baby keys, and wooden blocks give a lot of fun.
I am a graduate of a veterinary university. Dealing with all the kinds of pets from the dawn to dusk, it’s like understanding their language. That is the best time ever, I must say!
Writing has always been my orphenadrine. I love to share my experience and talk about the most common issues people have been facing with their pets. My writing career began in 2015. I aimed to work for pets to share my experience and make pet humans relation a lot better. I usually talk about the most significant or recurrent cases of the day. During my practice at pet centre, I face a lot of questions by pet owners. Moreover, I also own a variety of pets myself including different species of mammals, birds and reptiles.
Therefore, I have decided to educate all the pet owners about their little friends who can’t talk the way we do. Understanding what they are telling us is all we need to do. And most of us fail to perceive.
So, I am here to serve the purpose. Let’s help each other in better understanding the needs, behaviours, and problems of our best friends with the best possible solutions!
