A story of hope

Hi there - I'm new to the forum & I just wanted to share my story which might give some hope to anyone living with a difficult bunny. I got Daisy 2 years ago & from the moment she became my house rabbit I sensed trouble.
She was very hyper,bold & not very friendly & so different from my previous bun who had been quite timid & loving. He had had his own problems - detested being picked up, so in the end we gave him floor hugs in between our feet!
To be fair to Daisy, she was only a youngster when I got her & we all know that young animals can be quite a handful with all of their energy & adventuring. For the first six months together Daisy was pretty unbearable. She would wee on my bed, seemed restless all of the time, racing endlessly round looking for something, she charged me frequently and quite aggressively, she would grunt all of the time & if I was lying on the bed she would run fast right over my stomach & come right up to my face grunting loudly to be stroked. As I have M.E. (chronic fatigue) my bed is my sanctuary & as I only live in a very small flat it was awful that the bed became the scene of many battles & of Daisy's attempts to intimidate me, be top rabbit & bid for world dominance.

Unfortunately, the vet had advised us against neutering her because she has ongoing pasturella problems so that option was out. I considered handing her over to rabbit rescue because there were many times when I was in tears & just didn't feel I could cope. I ended up shutting her up in her cage more than I wished to just to get some peace but that wasn't what i had hoped for, always intending her to be free range as my other rabbit was.
In the end, the turning point was watching 'The Dog Whisperer' programme. Here it was shown with amazing clarity, how to deal with various doggy behaviour problems, including dominance, by using calm, assertive behaviour techniques. I determined to try these on Daisy. Immediately I started a policy of ignoring her totally when she came up on the bed demanding attention or at any time when she was grunting. I would only stroke her when she was submissive/not expecting it. I started picking her up & hugging her very tightly (not when she was demanding) in order to make her feel safe & this induced much happy rabbit sighing and teeth chuntering. Whenever she started grunting & chasing me I would sit on the bed & point at her & give a sharp hissing sound. The results of this were hilarious - she would sit like a little dog on the floor in front of me (important to keep higher than her I realised) & the grunts would slowly subside & she would start to look rather sheepish. When she stopped grunting I would pick her up & hug her.

I am delighted to say that Daisy is now 2 years old & we are living very happily together in my small space. What amazed me was that she actually seemed visibly relieved when I took over the role of top rabbit in a very obvious way - she lay down more instead of running around constantly, she groomed herself more & she was happy to leave me alone more as long as she had her special tight hugs - which we both enjoy! Of course, she has grown up too, which all helps, but despite that we still have to be careful withthe dominance problem. One day I got careless & stroked her when she came up onto the bed & within no time she was back to her old tricks again - so back to the plan!

I hope that this might help anyone who is struggling with similar problems - I'm so glad that I didn't give up on her as she's taught me such a lot & is now a delightful companion!

What a wonderful story and I'm very impressed that you stuck with her - many would have had Daisy rehomed with all those behavioural problems.

Hopefully your story will inspire others to stick at difficult bunnies and how nice that she is now more relaxed herself now that you are the alpha!

That's amazing, well done I don't have a dog, but I watch the odd behavioural programme every now and then, and I'm always amazed at how something really simple can comletely turn around an animals life. I'm lucky enough to have an eminent bunny behaviourist as a neighbour, and I've learnt so much about these small but important things, and as you say, it's making the buns life better as well as yours.

When my Bertie was being a terrible teenage I tried some of your techniques, and he didn't pay me the slightest bit of notice So I reckon you've got a smart bun in Daisy.

Welcome to the forum too

Firstly welcome to HH.

Secondly, what a lovely story, it's great to read such wonderful success stories. I'm really pleased you persevered and found something that worked, when others would have given up. Well done!!

Thank you so much for the welcome & support. I found it quite therapeutic writing our story & it made me realise how far we've come together!
I really hope that telling Daisy's story might help someone else to keep a bunny that they would otherwise feel they had to hand over to rescue.
I'm looking forward to reading all about other people's bunnies now!

What a lovely thing to share. It is wonderful that you stuck with her and now your are reaping the rewards.

Welcome to HH and please post some pictures of the remarkable Daisy soon.

Welcome to HH and thank you very much for sharing your story with us, as has been said, all too often people give up at the first hurdle as they see a bunny as a soft & easy pet.....imagine their suprise when the little fluffball not only growls at them but bites them too!

I have a little foster bun here who came from a school and went through a period of growling at people, he hasn't done it with me yet but he is obviously very nervous. I do feel they pick up on our fear in a similar way to dogs.

Great story! Glad you stuck with her!

Welcome to Happy Hoppers!

Welcome to the forum my darling. Your story is truly inspirational. Thankyou so much for sharing it with us. Daisy sounds like a wonderful bunny and you sound like a fantastic bunny mummy. Can't wait to see pics! xxxxx

wow what a fantastic story. And i love Caesar Milan! ace that is works on bunnies!