I’ve never been big on having animal companions for various reasons but I do admit I enjoy them when they are around. Bambina has been a cuddly companion whose luscious fur begs to be stroked. The unpredictability enhances my journey with her.
I’ve lived with dogs and cats before but never a rabbit.
Dogs are pack animals. They want companionship and they accept hierarchy. In relation to humans, dogs are subservient. We are their masters. If we punish them for bad behavior, they will learn to avoid that behavior. It’s easy to teach them to do things. They are smart and they want to please us.
Cats for the most part are solitary. They accept us because we feed them. They don’t mind that we’re around but they are off in their own little world doing their own thing. If we punish a cat for bad behavior, they don’t learn to avoid the behavior, they learn to avoid us. They don’t care what we want them to do.
Rabbits have elements of both. Rabbits are social, they live in groups. They want companionship and they will bond with us. In relation to humans, they are always dominant. You cannot make a rabbit do something it does not want to do. For awhile I tried to get Bambina to come when I called her. I told this to one of the women at the shelter and she said, “IF she wants to.” She got that right. Every day first thing in the morning I’d try to get her to come when I called her name. She usually comes to me pretty quickly anyway because I give her fresh greens but I was trying to get specific. I’d stand near her with a dried cranberry and call her name repeatedly. She would either eat hay and ignore me or sit and stare at me, looking at me like I was some kind of fool. “What you calling my name for, human?” Eventually she’d decide to come and I’d give her the cranberry and stroke her. I’d tell her, “Good girl,” as if it mattered but the fact is the rabbit could hardly care less about what we want them to do. In that respect they are very much like a cat. It’s an interesting combination because they do definitely show us affection by grooming you and that is bunny love. Of course, they expect us to stroke them back and are quite persistent about it.
I like that rabbits are quiet. Cats are pretty quiet, too. I have become easily triggered by dog barking after having had several neighbors over the years who had dogs that would bark for hours at a time. It is torture.
Those are my conclusions from observing dogs, cats, and rabbits.
What do you think about various animal characteristics? What do you like about having animals around? Or dislike?