Tag, You're It!

Last night, Walter and I played what I can only describe as Freeze Tag. After being out all evening, I came home to a very snuggly rabbit, in desperate need of attention. I gave him some forehead scratches, but he seemed to be in a much more playful mood. So, while kneeling on the ground with Walter, I did a (very modified) binky. At first, Walter was really confused, but he was definitely paying attention. So I did it again. And then, to my surprise, he binkied back!

I just need some love!

I used to do this stuff with my dogs, make the “I want to play” pose (stretching your arms out and sticking your butt up in the air). They would always respond in kind. But I never expected my rabbit to do this, too!

We traded binky hops for a few minutes, and then Walter turned the game up a notch. I would fake-hop, he would dart around the room and end with a jump. But then he would freeze. Until I gave him a gentle bop on the nose with my finger, at which point he would wait for me to fake-hop and freeze, and then he would run over and bop his nose on my nose.

This went on for a while! It was so cute and silly to feel like I was actually playing a game with Walter, rather than trying to engage him and failing, or just watching him entertain himself. I could tell he was having a fun time too. After our hour of freeze tag, he happily hopped into his cage for bedtime: no stomping, no struggle. This was also a nice surprise.

Okay, Mom, I'll go to bed..

All in all, Walter’s been doing great, so long as you don’t count the fact that his nails have grown wildly long and he still won’t let me trim them. I found out his veterinarian (who I posted about here) moved to the Upper West Side, so I either need to find a new vet, or trek across the park to get Walter in for his check-up and nail trim. I have noticed an uptick in Walter’s need for attention lately. This is definitely due to my late arrivals home after class or the gym for the past few months. In the mornings before I go to work, Walter has taken to standing between my feet while I ready our breakfasts. Hopefully I can find some rabbit-only time for him this weekend to make up for my neglect during the work week!

What games do you and your bunnies play?