Bonding with a bunny can be tedious or quite easy. It all depends on the temperment of you unique fur baby and how you go about establishing a trusting relationship. Bonding is essential if you are hoping to have a fun and interactive relationship with your rabbit. I am going to list a few tips and tricks in developing this kind of relationship with your rabbit!
First, you are going to want to find a small space. Sitting in a small space like a bathroom with your bun bun is a very easy way to establish trust and familiarity. It's important that you merely sit and not move. Its ok to talk a bit so the bunny gets use to your voice, but you want the bunny to gain trust. If you keep trying to pet the little thing each times it comes up to "explore you" with a head bump or a sniff you might do more harm than good.
Once you have done the small space activity a couple of days in a row, try laying in the room you keep your bunny and opening up their cage. The best thing you can do is lay down and be low to the ground. It's less intimidating to your rabbit and will encourage them to come "explore" you. Again, the first few times you do this activity try not to move too much. You are still gaining your bunnies trust. They are prey animals, so it's in their nature to be causious of all humans. When I first bond with a bunny I usually just read a book on the floor while the bunny explores it's surroundings and me.
You'll know it's going well when your bunny is coming up to you and even jumping up onto your back for a quick sit. Don't be discouraged if it takes your bunny a while to get to this point. Each bunny is completely different! My Rufus took less than two hours to bond with me, but when my Pippa passed away we had been trying to bond to eachother for 6 months.
Once you feel successful with gaining trust, try hand feeding your bunny treats. Nothing says love better than a yummy carrot or bannana treat. If you are new to bunnies make sure you research what is ok and not ok to feed your bunny because you may be surprised.
If you have not purchased a rabbit yet and know you want one as a companion, I would suggest visiting an animal shelter or a breeder with lots of bunnies. It's essential to sit and play with the bunnies to observe their personalities just like you would when considering to buy a puppy. This way you can weed out which bunnies are too meek and shy. These timid rabbits will be the hardest to bond too, but if you are really sold on a rabbit with this personality don't give up! You can do it, it will just take some time.
What are some of your tips and tricks? Do you have any suggestions to add? What worked for you? What didn't work? I'd love to hear from my followers! If you guys have any further questions please feel free to contact me!
Don't forget to follow my bunnies' instagram @Onceupona_Whisker !!!!!
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