As prey animals, rabbits are often scared to interact with new people. They’ll be quick to run away if any loud sound or sudden movement startles them. However, even shy rabbits want (an need) socialization. You just need to give them a little time and patience, and you’ll be best friends with your bunny soon.
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1. Let your rabbit make the first move
Forcing your rabbit to interact with you, or chasing them until they have nowhere to run, are quick ways to make a rabbit scared and distrustful. Instead, it’s best to find a spot near your rabbit to and wait for them to approach you first.
Keep some treats with you or place them on the floor near you so that your rabbit will be rewarded for coming close to you. This helps reinforce the behavior, and it will help your rabbit slowly gain confidence.
2. Sit with your rabbit
The most effective action you can take is to sit on the floor with your rabbit. When you’re standing, or even sitting up on a chair, your rabbit will only have contact with your legs. They’ll see you as a big scary giant and are more likely to be wary or run away whenever you move.
The goal isn’t to force your rabbit to come up to you and interact, but to give them the option to on their own. By sitting quietly on the floor and minding your own business, your rabbit will eventually get curious and come up to you all on their own.
If your rabbit is very shy, they might not come up to you at all the first couple of times you hang out with them, and that’s okay. They’ll still be getting used to your presence little by little.
3. Avoid cornering your rabbit
Whenever you are interacting with your rabbit, you want to make sure that they have an escape route. This could mean giving your rabbit a place to hide, or simply leaving space so they can run away around you. A cornered rabbit might even lash out aggressively by biting or scratching.
Likewise, most rabbits absolutely hate to be held. When rabbits are held in someone’s arms, they no longer have the ability to run away. They may even feel that they have been caught by a big predator. Rabbits will avoid anyone who comes and tries to pick them up all the time.
4. Keep quiet around your bunny
Rabbits are easily startled by loud noises. They are unlikely to approach anyone who is making a lot of noise and will continue to hide away until the loud noise goes away.
You don’t need to be completely silent around your rabbit, but keep the noises you make to a minimum. Speak in a soft and gentle voice and be sure there are no weird sounds coming from any devices your using.
Reading a book can be a great quiet activity. If you’re scrolling through your phone or playing a game, make sure to use headphones for anything that will generate noise. Even the notification beeps can be enough to startle a rabbit sometimes.
5. Give your rabbit their own space
Rabbits will feel more confident and in control if they have more space. It means they’ll have more places to run or hide if they start to feel scared. This goes for the space in their enclosure and outside of it for exercise time.
Make sure your rabbit’s enclosure is large enough for them. Rabbit enclosures should be at least 3 to 4 times the length of the rabbit. This will give your rabbit enough space to hop around and feel confident in their own home. I always recommend getting a rabbit exercise pen to use as their enclosure (such as this one!). It gives your rabbit lots of space and it’s a lot easier to clean!
To make your rabbit feel safe, you’ll want to make sure they feel that they own this territory. As much as you can, interact with them when they are outside the enclosure and leave them alone when they retreat back to their home. This will give your rabbit a home base they can escape to whenever they need to.
6. Give your rabbit places to hide
Having places to hide will help your rabbit feel more confident. They’ll know that if something happens, there will always be someplace nearby they can bolt to.
Some ideas for hiding places:
- Hidey houses: These are small wooden or hay-based rabbit houses. They will usually only have an opening on one or two sides and allow your rabbit to feel safe inside while also having a vantage point of the room.
- Boxes: A cardboard or plastic box on its side can make a great hiding house for a rabbit. For plastic boxes, include a towel or mat so that their feet don’t slip and slide on the bottom.
- Space under furniture: The space under sofas, chairs, and beds can serve as a safe hiding spot for rabbits. You might want to cover any carpet under these pieces of furniture. Rabbits will sometimes try to burrow into it.
- Space in back of furniture: The space behind sofas, bookshelves, and other pieces of furniture can also be good hiding places for rabbits. Just be sure there are no wires hanging there that your rabbit might try to chew on.
- Bookshelves: Rabbits can also hide in the bottom shelves of bookcases, especially if they are narrower cubby holes.
7. Respect your rabbit’s boundaries
If you want to bond with your rabbit and teach them to trust you, above all you have to remember to respect your rabbit’s boundaries. When they don’t want to interact right now, then leave them alone. Don’t chase them or force them to come back.
Most of the time when rabbits are eating, pooping, sleeping, or grooming themselves they won’t want to interact with people. Wait until they are finished with their solitary activity and then see if they’re interested in spending time with you. If they still prefer to be left alone, then respect that and give your rabbit their space.
8. Learn about rabbit body language
Rabbit body language is not the same as a cat or dog. It will take some practice to learn everything there is to know about your rabbit’s behavior. To start with, just spend some time watching your rabbit. If you’re a little stuck on how to start understanding your rabbit, check out my article that goes into all the behaviors you can expect to see from your pet rabbit (with pictures!).
Observe how your rabbit reacts to new places. Do they confidently zoom into the middle of the room, or do they sneak around the walls or hide under furniture? Do they get immediately startled by new sounds, or are they more interested in checking it out? Watch your rabbit to try to get a feel for what scares them and what makes them happy, so you can be ready to meet them where they are.
9. Give your rabbit treats (but not too much!)
Treats are a great way to gain the favor of a rabbit. Giving a shy rabbit a treat when they approach you is a form of reward training. You give them positive reinforcement for their curious and brave behavior, making it more likely your rabbit will approach you again in the future.
You do want to be careful with the amount of treats you give your rabbit. Too many sugary treats are not good for a rabbit’s health and can lead to a gut slow-down or dental problems. I recommend breaking your treats into small pieces.
If you’re having trouble finding a treat your rabbit loves, try this sampler pack from my friends at Small Pet Select. They have lots of different kinds of healthy treats so there’s sure to be a kind that your rabbit will love. Once you know what your rabbit likes, you can use it to teach them to associate you with good and yummy things. (Use the code BUNNYLADY to get 15% off your first purchase at Small Pet Select)
10. Pet your rabbit
Most rabbits really enjoy being pet. Some even enjoy getting a good massage more than they like to get treats! Teaching your rabbit to not be afraid of hands and petting them is an excellent way to befriend your rabbit.
Sometimes rabbits will be afraid of hands at first and will need to learn how to stop being afraid of people hands before they will enjoy when you pet them.
To teach a rabbit that they don’t have to be afraid of your hands:
- While you give your rabbit a treat, slowly move your hand toward your rabbit. If they run away, don’t chase them, wait for them to come back for another treat.
- When the rabbit doesn’t flinch away from your hand coming toward them, gently touch them on the forehead while you give them the treat. Just one small touch.
- As the rabbit gets used to one touch, try giving them little scritches on their forehead and behind the ears.
- Once your rabbit gets used to that, try giving them longer strokes down their back.
11. Make a daily routine
Rabbits thrive with the predictability of a routine. A rabbit that feels confident that they know what will happen next will also be braver and more likely to spend time with you and other members of the household.
Some ways to develop a daily routine that your rabbit can depend on:
- Feeding routine: Keeping a consistent feeding schedule is the easiest way to help your rabbit settle into a routine. You’ll want to feed them around the same time every day. This way they’ll feel assured that they don’t need to worry about their next meal.
- Exercise schedule: If your rabbit is kept in an enclosure, they’ll need a lot of daily exercise. If you keep this at the same time every day, your rabbit will start to get excited, ready to zoom around the room.
- Daily interaction: Instead of randomly choosing times to interact with a rabbit, choose a few times a day to consistently sit with your rabbit so they’ll learn to be ready for you.
12. Train your rabbit
It can be really adorable to teach a rabbit some cute tricks, but the real value of training a bunny is in the bond it creates between you and your rabbit. Training means you are spending quality time with each other. Your rabbit is using their brain to get a yummy treat and trusting that you will eventually give it to them.
Training also encourages a rabbit to readily approach you without expecting a treat right off the bat. While it’s good to give a shy rabbit a treat for approaching you (coming up to you is the first trick that they learn!), you don’t want them to expect a treat every time after they have become a friendly rabbit. That could inadvertently lead to the rabbit getting impatient and nipping at your hands. Training your rabbit will teach them to slow down and earn their treats.
13. Copy your rabbit’s behaviors
Just like humans don’t automatically understand rabbit body language, rabbits don’t usually understand humans either. We can do our best to mimic them and see if they understand.
You can try twitching your nose at your rabbit, to tell them that you are interested and curious about them. Or you can try giving your head a little shake or jumping up and down to mimic a binky and tell your rabbit that you’re happy.
You can lay down near your rabbit to let them know that you trust them. Petting is also a way of mimicking grooming behavior. Watch your rabbit and see what other behaviors you can copy to try to tell your rabbit how much you love them!
14. Give your rabbit toys
Even if you are not directly interacting with your rabbit, giving them fun toys to play with will make them happy and excited. This is especially true of toys that are puzzles with treats hidden inside for your rabbit to find.
My favorite toy for my rabbit is a ball food dispenser (check it out here). I’ll put a small handful of her pellets inside so she can roll it around a figure out how to get the food out. You can also make a number of hidden treat DIY toys. I’ve made a step by step guide for how to make some of these fun toys using only toilet paper rolls and some other simple objects you probably have lying around your house.
15. Spay or neuter your rabbit
If your young rabbit is reaching maturity (around 4-6 months), it may seem like they suddenly hate everyone. As many sweet bunnies reach adolescence, they may develop some territorial and aggressive rabbit behaviors that make it difficult to bond with your rabbit.
At this point, it will be important to bring your bunny to a rabbit-savvy veterinarian to be spayed or neutered. This will solve many of the behavioral issues that cause a rabbit to act out, making it much easier for you and your rabbit to bond.
Sources:
- Krempels, Dana Ph.D. “Winning Over a Shy Bunny.” University of Miami: Biology Departments. http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/shybun.html.
- Ramnaraine, Amy. “Bonding With Your Rabbit.” House Rabbit Society. January 12, 2017. https://rabbit.org/behavior/bonding-with-your-rabbit/.
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Recommended Products and Brands
Important: These are Affiliate links. As an associate to Amazon, Small Pet Select, and Chewy.com, I may receive a small commission from qualifying purchases.
The two brands that I use when buying food for my rabbit are Oxbow and Small Pet Select. These both have high quality rabbit products and are companies that care about the health of our small animals. If you are purchasing anything from Small Pet Select use the code BUNNYLADY at checkout to get 15% off your first order.
- Hay: Second Cutting Timothy Hay from Small Pet Select
- Pellets: Oxbow Garden Select Food for Rabbits
- Treats: Oxbow Simple Rewards
- Toys: Small Pet Select Natural Toys
- Enclosure/cage:A rabbit exercise pen
- Rabbit carrier:SleepyPod Mobile Pet Bed
