This is going to sound really weird and/or stupid, but do your lop bunnies tend to be seriously snuggly or is it just mine?
All the rabbits I have ever owned have had the following list of priorities, in order of importance:
1. Food
2. Freedom aka out-and-about time
3. Affection from people (holding, petting, etc.)
#3 was always about as far down the list as you could get, especially once they got a taste of #2. They never minded being held and petted until the very first day they got to roam outside the cage, then it was "putmedownputmedownputmedownputmedownputmedown". The occasional petting was accepted, but in general, they were completely uninterested in socializing. Even Karnage, who would circle my feet and grunt his love grunts at me, had little interest in being held or petted for the most part. I have gotten used to this, and it's never been a problem; as long as they were happy, I was happy.
Mickey, however, is a whole 'nuther kettle of fish. This is his list of priorities:
1. Affection
2. Affection
3. Affection
4. Affection
.
.
.
10. Freedom
11. Affection
.
.
.
.
25. Food
When I open his cage in the morning, he's looking to get petted. He wants his nose stroked and his chin scratched, and how dare I actually interrupt this by trying to feed him? Anyone who opens his cage door had better be planning on petting him for at least an hour, otherwise he's not interested. He will stretch out on my chest and watch TV with me for hours, tooth-purring and clucking away while I pet him. He especially likes a good shoulder or tummy massage and a scratch just above the cottontail. If I stop, I get my face licked until he decides it's time to be petted again. His exercise time is about the only time that he's not as interested in being petted, but he'll still bop over to me regularly for attention when he's not flopping on the floor or tossing things around. When I finally allowed him to roam the house the other night, I figured that would be the end of him wanting to sit quietly and watch TV when he was out of his cage, but surprisingly, that was not the case. Tonight, it was 3 hours of him flopped on my chest while we watched baseball and he was about the happiest bunny in the world.
I'm not complaining about all this, mind you; I absolutely love having this snuggly bundle of fluff keeping me company, even when he's nipping my neck on occasion, chewing on my shirt or leaving a mass of fur on my clothes. It just seems odd to me that he craves so much affection when I'm used to my rabbits generally snubbing me. It's like having cats for years, and then suddenly getting a dog. It doesn't appear to be a case of loneliness; he's in an area where he can see and be seen and he generally gets attention from everyone who passes his cage. It just seems like the more affection he gets, the more he wants. I had a golden retriever like that once; if you could pet him 23 hours and 59 minutes out of the day, he'd want to know why you didn't pet him that one minute. Is this something common to the lop or could it be the result of his early neglect? From what I could gather from the humane society, he didn't get much of anything from his previous owner except the bare necessities, so I'm wondering if that had an impact on his personality. Any input would be appreciated.
All the rabbits I have ever owned have had the following list of priorities, in order of importance:
1. Food
2. Freedom aka out-and-about time
3. Affection from people (holding, petting, etc.)
#3 was always about as far down the list as you could get, especially once they got a taste of #2. They never minded being held and petted until the very first day they got to roam outside the cage, then it was "putmedownputmedownputmedownputmedownputmedown". The occasional petting was accepted, but in general, they were completely uninterested in socializing. Even Karnage, who would circle my feet and grunt his love grunts at me, had little interest in being held or petted for the most part. I have gotten used to this, and it's never been a problem; as long as they were happy, I was happy.
Mickey, however, is a whole 'nuther kettle of fish. This is his list of priorities:
1. Affection
2. Affection
3. Affection
4. Affection
.
.
.
10. Freedom
11. Affection
.
.
.
.
25. Food
When I open his cage in the morning, he's looking to get petted. He wants his nose stroked and his chin scratched, and how dare I actually interrupt this by trying to feed him? Anyone who opens his cage door had better be planning on petting him for at least an hour, otherwise he's not interested. He will stretch out on my chest and watch TV with me for hours, tooth-purring and clucking away while I pet him. He especially likes a good shoulder or tummy massage and a scratch just above the cottontail. If I stop, I get my face licked until he decides it's time to be petted again. His exercise time is about the only time that he's not as interested in being petted, but he'll still bop over to me regularly for attention when he's not flopping on the floor or tossing things around. When I finally allowed him to roam the house the other night, I figured that would be the end of him wanting to sit quietly and watch TV when he was out of his cage, but surprisingly, that was not the case. Tonight, it was 3 hours of him flopped on my chest while we watched baseball and he was about the happiest bunny in the world.
I'm not complaining about all this, mind you; I absolutely love having this snuggly bundle of fluff keeping me company, even when he's nipping my neck on occasion, chewing on my shirt or leaving a mass of fur on my clothes. It just seems odd to me that he craves so much affection when I'm used to my rabbits generally snubbing me. It's like having cats for years, and then suddenly getting a dog. It doesn't appear to be a case of loneliness; he's in an area where he can see and be seen and he generally gets attention from everyone who passes his cage. It just seems like the more affection he gets, the more he wants. I had a golden retriever like that once; if you could pet him 23 hours and 59 minutes out of the day, he'd want to know why you didn't pet him that one minute. Is this something common to the lop or could it be the result of his early neglect? From what I could gather from the humane society, he didn't get much of anything from his previous owner except the bare necessities, so I'm wondering if that had an impact on his personality. Any input would be appreciated.