bunny/human bond

Question
Hi! I had a few questions about a bunny/human bond, if someone could help me. I am trying to understand my rabbit's "language". I have a 3 year old neutered Dutch male, who I believe loves me. I have had him since he was 5 weeks old, I rescued him from very poor outside conditions, and he is strictly a house bunny. He has about 12 hours or more of "free run" time between my living room and kitchen every day. Anyway, when he isn't having his "free run" time, he is in his cage, which is a good size--it has legs on it, and stands about chest high. What I am trying to understand is this--Ben,(my rabbit)is extremely affectionate to me almost all the time. He sits on my chest for about an hour every night, and cuddles, and licks the side of my face CONSTANTLY. He grinds his teeth quietly, and sort of "gazes" at me, with this look of love and friendship. (I know that might sound "corny", but I don't know how else to decribe it)! Whenever he is out on the floor for his free run time, if I go up to him, and lay down by him, he usually licks the side of my face then, too. He is good about letting me pick him up off the floor and put him back in his cage, too. The problem I have is this...he has never been cage aggressive..I can do anything to him in his cage, except that lately he doesn't want to be picked up and lifted out of it. This has hardly ever been a problem before. When I go to "scoop" him up and out, he tenses up, and kind of grunts, or slightly growls. He has never tried to nip though, and after a few tries, if I persist, he relents, and I can get him out. Once I get him out, I hold him and pet him for a minute, and he always licks the side of my face. What does this mean, and why does he lick the side of my face afterward if I've just annoyed him? Does this mean he is trying to be polite because he loves me? He is pretty submissive..I can flip him on his back to cut his nails, and when I flip him back up, again--he licks the side of my face. What does it mean when he does this? The only time he has ever grunt/growled is lately when I've tried to lift him out of his cage for free run time.(I am also pretty certain he doesn't have any injuries that might make him act like that, because he hops, and plays, and doesn't mind me picking him up at other times). Today, I shoved a tall cardboard box that he likes to play in up to the door, and he came out himself. That seemed to work well, so I will keep doing that. He is never aggressive at any other time about anything in his cage, not his food, not his toys, not being petted...in fact, he frequently puts his head all the way to the floor, and "presents" himself to be petted in his cage. He looks very content, and pleased when he's being petted, or "presenting" himself. So, after all that, I guess my main questions are...does it sound like he is truly "bonded" to me? And, if he is, is he trying to show me he's annoyed about being lifted out of the cage, and if so, then what does the licking my face right after I get him out mean? The whole thing has kind of hurt my feelings, which I know sounds stupid, but he's never acted like that about being lifted out until recently. He isn't starting to not like me is he? I know I sound like a freak or something worrying about this, but I really want to understand, so I don't take it so personally. I would truly appreciate any help you could give me on exactly what he's trying to say to me. Go ahead and pass this email around to your other resources if you like...the more help the better! Thanks so much, Heather  

Answer
Yes, he sounds very bonded to you. You are very fortunate to have found one another. Congratulations! ;-)

As with human bonds, though, the relationship doesn't remain static. You might think it would, with a rabbit being a creature of habit with a relatively small brain, but in our experience they change their personal habits and preferences throughout their lives, sometimes with no apparent cause.

Next time you have a scheduled veterinary checkup for him, do mention this aversion to being picked up. There may be some change, such as slight chronic bloating not apparent except on palpation, that is making him feel uncomfortable about being picked up in a certain way. I know he doesn't seem to have a problem with it when not in his cage, but you never know--perhaps after being out and exercising, the possible slight discomfort it is more dissipated. It's worth a palpation or maybe an X-ray.

If there is no discoverable physical cause for his change in attitude, then we'll just have to ascribe it to the mystery of rabbits!

Is he perhaps sleepy when you are picking him up for run time? He may be getting a bit crotchety about his naps. Or just decided he doesn't want to be moved from his cage until he's darn good and ready.

Licking is, as you have intuited, usually affectionate. The amount of licking you describe is higher than most rabbits and in my experience amounts to habit as well. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point he started to lick the floor or other weird places.

Licking can also communicate an urgent request, usually for you to stop something. For example, we have had quite a few rabbits who would lick us when picked up because they wanted to be put down, or if they knew we were about to give them medicine and they didn't want to take it. I call it "supplication kisses."  Many rabbits would communicate this by nipping, so supplication kisses are certainly more comfortable!

Perhaps he's doing it kind of retroactively--"could you please not do that anymore?" Or maybe it's affectionate-- he's apologizing for having growled at you.

All in all, just something to monitor and not worry about much. From your description he is very happy with you in general. The cardboard box solution is a good one. This behavior may go away, may become part of his personality, or get worse. As long as it doesn't get worse, I don't think it's a barrier to a long and affectionate relationship.

Best of luck!

Gina