Circling

Last night, Walter did something new.  He started circling Paul.  Paul was standing in the middle of the living room and Walter hopped over to Paul’s feet and slowly started hopping around them.  When Paul moved, Walter stopped and waited until Paul stood still again.  At this point, the bunny continued his rotations around Paul’s feet.

Paul gave the rabbit a few rubs and went back to his work on the computer.  Walter followed, waiting for my boyfriend to notice him.  When Paul got back up, Walter began his circling all over again.

Clip Art depicts what happened last night.

Circling, in unaltered rabbits, is a sign of sexual arousal.  Fortunately for Paul, we had Walter neutered in the beginning of the summer so it’s unlikely that Walter was trying to court my boyfriend.  In cases of altered rabbits, circling is simply a way for rabbits to get someone’s attention and signal an interest in playing.

This is the first time I’ve seen Walter actively try to engage us (especially Paul!) in playtime.  Usually, he’s content to binky around the apartment by himself, but it was certainly refreshing and entertaining to see him trying to solicit some attention from someone, even if it wasn’t me.  (No, I’m not jealous or anything…)

Does your rabbit circle?  How does your rabbit try to get your attention for playtime?