He is definitely not scared of me anymore, but I still feel like he doesn’t view me as a “friend”, but he views me as a food source. Whenever I enter his room he immediately starts running towards me but it’s always for food. He never grooms me, he never lets me pet him, and he doesn’t really approach me unless he thinks I have food
Sometimes I lay on the ground so he can approach me, but he usually just comes up to me for like a min and then looses interest
I got him like 9 months ago (I adopted him in August). Do bunnies usually just need more time or something? Or is he simply independent
by k4ndikid
33 Comments
He’s trained you well.
Hooman=Food Machine
I’ve had my bun for a year now and still that’s all I am. Like you, I used to pine away for something more deep. I’ve come to accept it, and even feel its my privilege to be able to feed/tend to such a lofty and perfect little creature as Neville. No matter how he takes me for granted, he will always be my best little dopamine dealer.❤️
It will take a while. You can speed up the process by spending more time in close proximity to him, but it will still take a while. Like, sit down in his pen with him and just hang out for like 30-40 minutes a day. Read a book or something. Keep letting him come to you and as he gets more comfortable you can try to pet him more. He may not really be the type of bun who’s very affectionate, or he might become more affectionate a couple years from now, who knows.
How much time do you spend with him? Can you bring him to your room?
Rabbits are generally not the physically loving creatures that some internet posts show. And it takes a very long time for rabbits to warm up, theyre prey animals.
Especially a rabbit whose total history with humans you dont know.
I got ours to warm up by bringing snacks and feeding it to her on the floor next to me. She’ll boop me for pets now. Generally will be with me at her discretion. Ive felt watched over while sleeping a couple times. And watched over when I had a surgery. But cuddles, hugs no. I dont get licks, but she will sometimes lick the floor while I pet her and I’ve been told thats kind of the same thing.
I have accepted that this is my bunny’s world and I’m just a food delivery vehicle in it.
My bunny has never groomed me because he is very dominant and grooming others is a sign of submission in rabbits. He never accepted pets until I got another bunny and now he constantly wants me to pet his head and acknowledge him as top bunny of the house.
Getting an automatic feeder really helped with this. She gets treats from me and doesn’t see me as food source anymore. Wages become more loving and spending more time with me
I mean, my bunnies usually lick me as a manipulation tactic for treats 😅 So you’re always gonna be a food dispenser…
I have the same issue, I love my buns so much, but they’re a bonded pair and don’t really have much need for me outside of food. I adopted them from a rescue, and they are way less timid now and let me pet them while they’re eating or I’m cleaning the litter box, so I just keep doing that and hope they’ll get comfortable or like it enough to do it without food eventually.
use the good as a conditioning technique
Then what are you?
You don’t. You are the tit that feeds eternal.
Rabbits can see us outside of being food dispensers?
/Jk
When I bring in the good I mostly dont Talk to them, once I start Talking with them they know there is no Food involved. So they clearly know when I am only trying to spend time with them and when I am only dropping off food. Maybe that helps? Idk
My previous pair had their own room and saw me to some degree as a food provider. Current pair on the other hand are free roam. I work from home. They have developed a routine that generally puts them in whatever room I am normally in at that time of day. When I am working, they are in my office. At night, the bedroom. They also have expectations about when I should get up and open the office for work, and will wake me to make sure I meet those expectations (and possibly to prevent the alarm clock from going off). Zoomies when I start work in the morning. Sleeping by my feet under my desk by 11am. Waking up by the time 5pm rolls around.
Bunnies take so long to warm up, just spend time with him with zero pressure to interact with you.
I know it’s not the point of your post, so I’m sorry in advance for the off topic comment, but do you happen to know what breed your bun is? Mine looks just like yours and I’ve been trying to figure out what she could be! Also, for what it’s worth, mine does the same. She’s always very happy to see me but is usually uninterested if I don’t have food. I’ve noticed that bringing her into other areas of the house and just existing with her while she does her thing has made her warm up to me though. Good luck!
Start marketing other things to them, like crypto, timeshares, and extended auto warranties!
But you are a food machine… The best thing possible from a bun point of view.
Love from a bun is accepting you into their fluffle (and often you recognizing them as the head bun of the house). Basically the human serves the queen/king and not the other way around.
Each bun has a unique personality and habits but almost all feel superior to us ugly buns.
It is a different relationship than you might have with other pets. The honor of being accepted into the fluffle is so special that I will always treasure it.
You will forever be marked as a free vending snack machine, im sorry op.
Thats the first step. Continue to be a reliant food source, be around and offer to pet by holding you hand flat a bit before the head of the rabbit. It the rabbit lowers the head, you are allowed to pet. If not, remove the hand and try again later.
For 9 month, this is not bad. One of my rabbits needed 1 1/2 years and an episode of GI stasis where we saved his life to understand that we won’t kill him. That was far away from being okay to be touched or even like it. That came years later, and now he gives me the “you don’t want to stop petting me, right??” stare if I stop petting him.
You need to stop viewing him as a pet and start accepting the fact that he is your master.
But… You ARE a food machine.
It doesn’t matter how much affection they have for you, you will always be treat dispensers
My rabbit sits in our living room and sees most of the first floor so it’s always hanging out watching us. We are 50-50 a food machine still
Get a bean bag chair to spend your life on the floor.
“Don’t try to be more than you are” – your rabbit
[That’s the neat part, you don’t.](https://tenor.com/view/thats-the-neat-part-you-dont-invincible-gif-27194608)
One game that I played with my bunny for bonding was setting up a blanket fort on the ground and hanging out inside. He liked the whole production of setting up the fort, and he liked when there were collapsed parts of the fort that we could excavate together lol
It felt like he really began to view me as a friend when I started participating in bunny activities 😂
How do you square a circle?
Just seeing you makes your bunny hungry…
I don’t think it can really be solved, it’s a feature not a bug, of pretty much all bunnies to be intensely food motivated. But you can use it to get them to do what you want, like training them to accept pets in exchange for treats or teaching them lots of tricks (jump over, go under, up on hind legs, around in a circle, even some accept vehicle training ie jump in a basket to be carried) which also helps them to bond with you.