Hey there everyone!
Today I wanted to share a video blog I made with my foster bunny, Brigitta. It’s a fun “How To” video about making bunny portraits out of their favorite treats!
An important note: fruits contain a ton of sugar and it’s best for your pet rabbits to have limited amounts of them. Brigitta only ate a little bit of her treat portrait and lots of hay afterwords to balance out her diet 🙂
Every rabbit deserves to be spoiled. Our furry friends do so much to show us love and affection and they ought to be shown the same kind of attention in return. Here is a step by step guid on how to properly spoil your pet bunny.
Rabbits are wonderful pets and our best friends. They are only in our lives for a brief time, but we are there for all of theirs, so they deserve to be spoiled. So go ahead, give your bunnies some bananas from me 🙂
Dear Ringo,
I don’t think words can describe how much you meant to me. Ever since you came into my life over 9 years ago, I knew we had a special connection. We didn’t have to share the same language to instantly bond to one another.
After only ever having pet fish (and one crazy aquatic frog), I never thought that humans and animals could become friends. I knew that dogs were loyal and cats were cuddly, but never in my life did I expect a rabbit to be so devoted.
It didn’t take long for you to start following me around the house. I got used to you running circles around my feet and waiting for me to sit down for dinner at my usual chair.  I still laugh at the fact that my dad used to tell me that I was your girlfriend and that you were never happier than when you were in my arms. Some of my fondest memories were our nighttime routines of racing up the stairs to the third floor where you slept at night. I loved running around the room in circles with you always at my heels. And then once I was tired, we would sit down on the couch where you would demand to be pet until it was time to go to sleep. I remember many of those nights becoming tearful when your health wasn’t at its best.
But you always persevered. No matter how sick you seemed, you continuously bounced back, better than ever. You taught me how to never give up hope.
You also helped me through some of my lowest points. You were a great source of support and always a wonderful listener. You motivated me when not much else did and grounded me when the rest of the world seemed like too much at times. It’s amazing how holding and petting you could instantly improve my problems. Knowing that you were always there, wanting to spend time with me as much as I wanted to spend time with you, was an incredible source of comfort.
I still can’t believe that you’re gone, and the pain of missing my little fluffy buddy is still very present in my life. I know how special you were and how lucky I was to have such a deep bond with you for all of those years. We had a unique animal to human chemistry that isn’t easily replaced. I’ll never have another pet like you and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I will forever cherish you, Ringo. I hope you’re eating tons of basil and binky-ing around in bunny heaven.
Love,
Dylan
A popular topic of debate amongst rabbit owners is whether or not it is okay to hold your pet rabbit. I have a lot of opinions on this matter. I know that I may not be as informed as some of you out there, so I encourage everyone to discuss this in the comments below. Every bunny and bunny owner is different, so I think it’s important to hear as many voices as possible.
To start out, I am a firm believer that you should hold your rabbit. However, I think there are a lot of outside factors that go into whether or not this can be a reality for every pet. This, however, is my personal story with Ringo.
When we brought Ringo home, he was around six weeks old. He was a tiny little fluffy thing that could fit in the palm of my hand. The first thing we were told was that we shouldn’t handle him for the first two weeks after bringing him home in order for him to adjust to his new life. That piece of advice was completely ignored.
As a twelve year old who had just gotten her first pet (that didn’t live in a fish tank), there was no way I wasn’t spending every free minute I had cuddling with my new bunny. The rest of my family didn’t know this, but I spent hours sitting in my room, holding and petting Ringo. His cage used to be in my room initially, so I had tons of time to play with him before bed without the rest of my family knowing. As Ringo grew up, I never stopped picking him up and holding him. He was handled constantly as a baby, so the transition to holding him as a post-pubescent bunny wasn’t difficult at all.
Ringo continued to love being held. He never struggled or kicked while being picked up and he could be held for over a half hour before getting squeamish. A lot of that had to do with the fact that we were originally taught to trance him. This is another giant debate in the rabbit community. People say that holding rabbits on their backs like a baby, or “trancing,” can harm your rabbit and potentially cause it so much stress that it could die. Back in 2007, every rabbit book and how-to guide told us that that was the way to carry bunnies, so that’s what we did. What I can say is that he never struggled while being picked up and carried. When he was cradled in this way, his head was usually upright and responsive and we knew his signals for wanting to be put down. I personally believe that he was never in harm. And he wasn’t exclusively held this way. He enjoyed being held in all kinds of ways.
Now, I think that holding Ringo at a young age made him much better socialized than if we hadn’t handled him for the first few weeks. I think that the amount of cuddling and handling I did really helped Ringo bond to me, as anyone could see. So I believe that if you have your pet bunny from a young age, you should definitely try to handle them.
I do also know that not all rabbits are the same. It is said that Rabbits prefer having all their feet on the ground. Every rabbit might be different, but I suggest gradually learning how to pick up your rabbit because you will at least have to try clipping their nails one day or giving them medication, so you might as well start getting used to it.
Please, let me know what you think about handling rabbits! How do your bunnies react to being held? I’d love to hear anything you have to say and learn from other rabbit parents out there!
I would like to review this wonderful product: Ringo’s blue bed.
I bought this awesome pet bed at Pet Supplies Plus off the Addison Brown Line stop in Chicago, IL. I had been searching the store for a while for the perfect bed (in the perfect color) and I had a very helpful employee working with me. There were some giant beds meant for dogs and cats, but I wanted something that would be the right fit for Ringo. After a long search, we finally found a bin of kitten beds that were on sale. This bed (pictured above) was just a little over 10 dollars.
In old age, it’s important to keep your elderbun as comfortable as possible. After Ringo moved into my apartment, I got him a number of rugs and blankets to run around on. Rabbits that live indoors can develop sore hocks on their heels from hard floors and that happens more frequently as they get older. Ringo’s feet were doing fine on the carpets, but I thought he deserved a step up and decided to go out and find him a little bed.
When I brought this bed home, he initially was not interested in it. It was new and different, so he sniffed it a little, rubbed his chin on the edges (to mark his sent on it), and hopped away. Keep in mind, Ringo was blind at this point, so I’m not sure he knew what it actually was. I picked him up and put him in it, which was confusing for him for a minute, but he quickly warmed up to it.
Compared to other pet beds I’ve tried, this one was much better at staying upright. Most beds I’ve gotten tend to fall backwards when Ringo would jump in. This one was sturdy.
Most importantly, the bed washed VERY well. Ringo always had not-the-best with his litter box and loved marking his territory, so the bed was peed on a lot. But I could easily throw it in the washing machine and everything would come right out! I was really impressed by it.
I would definitely recommend this bed for any rabbit owner, I will definitely be buying many more in the future. You can find it at any Pet Supplies Plus store.
Ringo passed away on October 1st. Even though that was over two weeks ago, it still feels like it was yesterday. It has been incredibly difficult trying to adjust to life without my little bunny, but I’ve been able to find happiness from reflecting on his life and the time I had with him.
I wanted to create a gallery of Ringo through the years to show what it looks like to grow old as a bunny.
Rabbits definitely age quickly once they become elderbuns. They become very scruffy and messy, but they also become very bonded and appreciative of their owners. Ringo made sure that I knew how much he loved me every day. Whenever he would smell me when I entered the room, he would hop around until he found my feet to greet me. He constantly cuddled up next to me and gave me plenty of bunny kisses every day. I hope these photos don’t just show the aging process of rabbits, but also the way their personalities shine as they grow older.
Ringo was always the perfect model and it was a pleasure photographing him throughout his life.
Rabbits are extremely intelligent animals. Like dogs, they can learn their own names and come when called. You can also teach your pet bunny tricks pretty easily. It just takes plenty of treats! Rabbits can learn to paint, spin around, stand up, and even high five.
In this video you can learn how to train your rabbit to give you a high five. This bunny’s name is Exempel and he lives in Sweden. You can follow him @exempelthebunny on Instagram. Exempel was one of the first rabbit Instagram accounts I ever followed and I’ve always been impressed by the many tricks he has mastered! His owner is an amazing photographer and captures some of the best bunny moments I have ever seen, so you should definitely give their account a follow.
Ringo didn’t know too many tricks, although he definitely would come when he was called. We also taught him to stand up and walk on his back legs! He would do anything for a carrot!
On the surface, getting a pet rabbit doesn’t seem like a life changing decision. You might expect it to be as simple as going to your local pet store and picking out a new goldfish. But even the most well prepared bunny parents-to-be have no idea how much their new pet will impact their homes. Here are just 7 of the ways having a pet rabbit will change your life. Continue reading “7 Ways A Rabbit Will Change Your Life”
In the world we live in, humans are either a Cat Person™ or a Dog Person™. For most people, these are the two best pets you can have. Dogs are loyal, they’re fun, they love you and wear their hearts on their sleeves. Cat’s are independent, sweet, entertaining, and provide great company at home. These animals are both wonderful pets, but I would have to argue that there’s a third fluffy friend that should get as much recognition as our beloved cats and dogs. And yes, I’m talking about rabbits. Continue reading “A Bunny is a Girl’s Best Friend”
Ringo's Bunny Blog 