Extremely affectionate Holland Lop, already neutered

Question
Hello,
I have asked this another Expert here already, but they weren't much help. Seeing you are very experienced with rabbits, I thought I'll just adk you about my problem:

I have a 8 month old Holland Lop rabbit who is exuberantly affectionate. He'll immediately approach me, no matter if he is inside his cage or if I let him out in the evening when I come home. He'll circle my feet while I walk, jump onto the couch with me, gives bunny kisses, licks my hands etc. I have lots of work which I have to attend to in the evening and partly afternoon, and his non-stop 'loving-on' is getting very annoying. Keeping him in his cage all day long and 24/7 is not a possibility. I feed him everything he needs and clean his cage, he is not sick and doesn't show any signs that something's wrong. He is just super affectionate. Is there a way to stop him always inflicting attention like that? He has toys also with which he plays when I am not home (A friend keeps him company while I'm gone), but once I am back, he flips and cuddles etc. He IS neutered. Help please.

Thank you for your time.

Answer
Dear BL,

Many people would KILL for a rabbit like yours.  :)  Such an affectionate, loving bunny is not all that common.  It's too bad that he's a little "too much" for you.

There is no cure for this.  Holland Lops, in particular, seem to be extra affectionate, and many of them never seem to entirely lose their sex drive.  You don't say how long he's been neutered, but it can take weeks for the sex drive to go away after a neuter.  Also, he's very young and in his exuberant "teen" time.  His behavior is normal for his age, and he will mellow as he gets older.

But to save yourself a lot of grief, the best solution here would be to contact your local rabbit rescuer (I don't know where they might be in Germany, but you could Google it) and set up some "blind dates" with some eligible, spayed females.  If he has a bunny companion to love, it will actually make life with him more pleasant, since he will turn his attentions on her.

Bonding must be done with care, and you can find helpful tips here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=bonding

It is wise to let the bunnies choose each other, as their chemistry is something of a mystery to us humans.  :)  You just never can predict which bunnies will get along, and which will fight like tigers.  (And they can!)

I don't ordinarily recommend this, but I have been trying something a little unorthodox with my female rabbits who stay with me.  We ask the vet to do a hysterectomy, but *leave the ovaries*.  This prevents the personality changes that we often see in spayed females, and she will remain sexually receptive to the male.  They can have a honeymoon just the way wild rabbits do, but without the babies.  :)  The downside is that she might still spray and have other potentially objectionable behaviors.  But it's a thought.

So that's my suggestion:  Blind date and possible marriage for your super-affectionate bunny.  In this case, two rabbits will be LESS work than one!

I hope this helps.

Dana