# How to tell if my bunny is enjoying pets, or just putting up with them?



## pani (Dec 10, 2013)

Hi everyone! Felix's paranoid mama checking in with another (probably dumb) question. :}

I've noticed that when I go to pet Felix, he'll either run off and do his own thing (which is fine, important bunny stuff needs doing!) or he'll sometimes kind of smoosh into a bunny loaf (pull all his paws in and sit) and sit and accept my pets. He does the same thing when he's in his hutch, and he's often backed into a corner at that time, but to be fair he also just likes to sit in that corner pretty often.

My question is, is there a way for me to tell if Felix is happy to be being pet when he's making his 'bunny loaf', or is he just sort of putting up with me? Is there any telling sign that he's enjoying or not enjoying something? I'll sometimes be able to feel his head sort of vibrating, which I think is probably him grinding his teeth in a happy way, but I guess I'm just paranoid that I'm pinning him down for unwanted pettings against his will!

Paranoid mama signing off for now. It's pretty embarrassing, but he's my very first bun, and I don't want to be accidentally upsetting him. :>


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## MikeScone (Dec 10, 2013)

As a general rule, if you're petting the rabbit and he could run away, but doesn't, he's enjoying it. 

Tooth purring - a gentle grinding of teeth in response to petting - is another sign. If you rub the back of the bunny's jaw you can feel the tooth purring (most rabbits love that). 

If he's got his eyes half closed, and flattens out into a fur puddle, that's another sign of contentment.


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## pani (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks, MikeScone - put my mind at ease. :}

He tends to half close his eyes if I'm rubbing around his head, but I assumed he was just being cautious and protecting them in case my fingers got too close. Maybe they're his favourite pets after all!


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## Sophie's Humble Servant (Dec 10, 2013)

Sophie licks her lips after I pet her. I think that's a good sign...also if I stop petting her before I'm supposed to she will nudge me or open her eyes really wide and give me a look as if to say, "hey hoomin, get back to my grooming!" Lol

Sophie also likes when I clean or groom her eyes


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## lozeldatkm (Dec 10, 2013)

MikeScone said:


> If he's got his eyes half closed, and flattens out into a fur puddle, that's another sign of contentment.


I love it when they flatten into fur puddles!


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## Nancy McClelland (Dec 10, 2013)

:yeahthat:Mike pretty much got all.


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## Imbrium (Dec 10, 2013)

pani said:


> he'll sometimes kind of smoosh into a bunny loaf (pull all his paws in and sit) and sit and accept my pets. He does the same thing when he's in his hutch, and he's often backed into a corner at that time, but to be fair he also just likes to sit in that corner pretty often.



My lionhead, Nala, will often practically press herself into the floor as I pet her from head to tail. It seemed pretty odd until I got used to it, as the body language looks neither happy nor unhappy. If she doesn't want those pets, though, she'll make a quick escape so I quickly realized that she's enjoying herself when she's pressed to the floor like a little loaf 

And yes, soft chattering of the teeth while being pet is the bunny equivalent of a purr.


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## PaGal (Dec 10, 2013)

With my two rescued girls if they don't want petted which is most of the time they run off. If they are enjoying it then they will settle into a meatloaf position.

With Thumper he will kind of rock his body a little as he settles into the meatloaf. When I'm kneeling on the floor cleaning his cage he will come in front of me and nudge some part of me or sometimes he will just bounce around me a lot trying to get my attention.

Buns can be picky about where you pet them. Luckily Thumper enjoys most petting. He's even to the point where petting a foot at least for a little while is fine. Most buns do like having their cheeks rubbed. Depending on which hand I am petting with and which side of me Thumper is on I will pet his head from his nose to between his ears with either my fingers or thumb and at the same time I pet his cheek with either my thumb or fingers. He loves that and will now come over and either lay just his head on my lap for me to do so or will put everything from his front legs forward into my lap and will lay the rest of his body down on the floor.

Also if your bun is young he may be more interested in playing and checking things out. I have noticed with Thumper that as he has gotten older he plays less but enjoys being petted even more than he used to.

There are no dumb or silly questions. I applaud you for asking and wanting to be a good bun mother.


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## Imbrium (Dec 10, 2013)

PaGal said:


> Depending on which hand I am petting with and which side of me Thumper is on I will pet his head from his nose to between his ears with either my fingers or thumb and at the same time I pet his cheek with either my thumb or fingers.



I've found that just about every animal out there loves to be softly pet from the tip of their nose to the top of their head 

My bunnies also really enjoy ear rubs.


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## degrassi (Dec 11, 2013)

I can tell when my bunny is enjoying pets if he stays and sticks his neck out. He loves when I rub his ears and behind on his neck. He'll stick his neck out and rest his head on the floor. So cute! He doesn't like being pet much on his back and if I start moving towards his butt he'll usually get up and leave. 

Basically "if they dont' get up and leave" its a good sign.


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## pani (Dec 11, 2013)

Felix has been in a back-and-forth mood today, sometimes happy for pets and cuddles, sometimes he darts away. At least now I know if he doesn't want to be touched, he'll just run. Thank you! I've been petting from his nose to between his ears, and rubbing around his cheeks/jaw/back of neck, and he seems to like that too.

Not to hijack my own thread, but I feel too ridiculous making a second thread so soon after this one - Felix ate a few plastic buttons off a TV remote control a little while ago. My housemate left it on the couch and I went to the bathroom for a minute, and came back to find him going to town on the remote. I'm concerned about the buttons, firstly (I think they're rubber), but also the germs. Remotes don't seem like the cleanest place, considering everyone handles them so often. Is my Felix at risk of getting sick from the germs that may have been present on the remote? If so, what signs would I have to look out for? :{


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## MikeScone (Dec 11, 2013)

pani said:


> Is my Felix at risk of getting sick from the germs that may have been present on the remote? If so, what signs would I have to look out for? :{



I wouldn't worry about it. He spends his life running around the floor, which has lots more germs. Generally, cross-species infection isn't a big issue in any case.


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## pani (Dec 11, 2013)

Phew - thanks for putting my mind at ease again, Mike. :>


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## MaryAnne (Dec 11, 2013)

Here's a good chart to go by on where to pet a rabbit. 

MA


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## Imbrium (Dec 13, 2013)

Hilarious! I like to "get" their little tumms, just because they don't want me to


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## pani (Dec 15, 2013)

Felix actually never seems to mind when I touch his back or sides, or even when my hands brush against his tummy or his tail/butt! Sort of makes me wonder if maybe he IS just putting up with all of my touching, haha.


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## Sophie's Humble Servant (Dec 15, 2013)

I've also noticed with Sophie that if she's not happy with what I'm doing to her in regards to petting, her eyes grow very wide like they're going to pop out of her head and her nose twitches faster than normal. At this point I have about 2 seconds to smarten up before she takes off lol


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## pani (Dec 15, 2013)

Felix's eyes are kinda always super wide, unless I get closer to them when I'm rubbing his head, then he closes them for protection. I think that's why I'm so confused when petting him - his eyes always look scared, and he's always shaky. Even when I'm not petting him. He doesn't give too much emotion away!


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## Sophie's Humble Servant (Dec 15, 2013)

If you rub their nose up between their eyes and they close them, it's pretty safe to say he's ok with what you're doing. However, if his eyes are really super wide when you pet close to his eyes, he closes them for a second, then opens them really wide again, I might tend to think he's not liking what's going on.

Usually their eyes should look relaxed if they are feeling relaxed. They might close their eyes for protection but trust me if they hated what you were doing, the eyes would go quickly from wide, closed, wide in like one second. Or they still might be ok with what you are doing but maybe they sense danger or hear something they don't like from afar. Not sure if that explanation makes sense or not

I think you have to look at the whole rabbit to make a guess how they're feeling. Ears, eyes, posture, nose sniffing etc.


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## pani (Dec 16, 2013)

Felix always looks a bit nervous. His ears are always shaking with his fast little heartbeat, and his eyes always look quite wide, unless he's closing them happily. I think he's just a nervous-by-nature bunny.


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## Sophie's Humble Servant (Dec 16, 2013)

He may just be very nervous. Sophie was very scared of everything when I got her, she'd been in the shelter twice and her previous humans gave her up because she was nervous. I've spent a lot of time with her and she's come a long way with her confidence. There are still many issues although I'm not sure what's an "issue" and what's just normal rabbit nervousness. I know that as she gets to know me more, she'll be less scared. I'm sure your bun will become less nervous too


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## pani (Dec 17, 2013)

I hope so! It doesn't help that I have 3 housemates who interact with him too, not to mention their friends coming over and interacting with him, not always as gently as I want! After some playtime with them while I was out he was acting shaky and off for a couple of days, and today someone went to pick him up and I had to politely ask them not to. I'm trying to teach him to be calmer while he's being handled, and being picked up by people he probably views as strangers wouldn't help!


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