Juliet. My crazy Juliet. I have been living with her for almost 2 months now and I think I've got her pegged. But she, for sure, a dog trapped in a bunny body. Really.
I just don't know where to start in trying to explain Juliet to you. She hates her cage...well, she doesn't hate her cage. She just wants to be out, all the time. She will scratch at the door and pull at it with her teeth. If I pass too close by her cage, she will jump up and run to the door and wait. If I don't open the door, she will pull at it with her teeth. When I do open the door, she stands right behind it (kind of in the way) and will grab it with her feet or her mouth and pull it open the rest of the way. Then she will stick her head out of the cage as far as she can...terrifyingly far and even though I have read in a bunch of books that rabbits are fairly safe placed on a table because most won't try to jump off, I am certain Juliet does not fall into this category. She is NOT a cautious bunny. When I take her out to groom her, she practically jumps into my arms and scrambles to get down. Once I get her to the table, I need at least eight more arms to hold her there and brush her at the same time. Although once I get started, she seems to enjoy getting brushed and will tuck her head in close to my body and just sit, kind of cuddling with me while I brush her out. Then when I'm done, she will put her feet up on my shoulders and sniff at my face and hair. Like a little bunny hug. Then it is impossible to get her back in the cage. She really does not want to go back in once she is out. Really. Not a fan of being inside the cage.
Juliet loves to play. She has a red whiffle ball that she likes to chase around the cage, but she doesn't like cardboard tubes like Gnomeo. Since she enjoys being out so much, I did go to Petco and buy a small dog play yard that folds down flat. It's just a little pop-up fence that's maybe 2 feet high that opens into a circle. I put it in the garage and let Juliet play out there with Madison (the 6 year old). This is great for two reasons. One, Juliet gets out to play and wears herself out and Madison LOVES to be able to play with her. Two, because the garage has cement floors, if she plays out there enough she should file her own nails by running around on the cement and I won't have to clip them! We haven't tried this with Gnomeo yet...mainly because it has been over 100*F every day here and I really don't want them to over heat. We have taken Juliet out only once, on an overcast day where it got down to 87*F, which was still dangerously hot for the bunnies. Once it starts to cool down, I am hoping to make the garage or patio play time a regular thing. I really think Juliet liked it and if it helps me with keeping their nails in check, all the better!
The other thing about Juliet is that she is LOUD. How can a rabbit be loud? Oh, they can. She digs in her food bowl. She scratches at the hay manger. She bites the metal end of her water bottle. She scratches at the door to the cage. If my house is quiet, it means Juliet is sleeping. It is really annoying trying to watch t.v. when Juliet is awake. Really, really annoying.
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