Certain astute blog readers have noticed the lack of bunny-related posts here lately. Peeper the Bunny is also acutely aware of the extent to which this household has gone, quite literally, to the dogs.
More specifically, little Luka has taken over near every moment of leisure that used to be devoted to the spoiling of bunnies. Of course they’re being fed and petted and cleaned up after, but play and snuggle sessions have been relegated to the dark of night when the pup is sound asleep and I’m forced to tiptoe out to the bunny room in fear of waking the sleeping beast and undoing the night’s work of settling him in for bed. I’m not singing Luka lullabies yet, exactly, but bedtime seems to have become more difficult the last few weeks.
The bunnies, in the meantime, are content in that way that only bunnies can be. It’s in those moments of peace, when the house is dark and finally quiet (read free of barks and whines) that I am most content also, and glad for the gentle affection of my long-eared companions.
Peeper’s list just states the obvious: bunnies and puppies are very different animals. I have to thank my lucky stars for Buddy’s constant gentleness with the bunnies, but he was a mature dog of six years when I brought my first bunny home. I imagine that the bunnies must not even recognize this growing and yapping streak of black fur as the same type of being as the generally quiet and always obedient dog that Buddy was.
Peeper’s Top 10 Reasons Bunnies Rule:
10. Bunnies are civilized and use pooty boxes; they do not require near quarter-hourly *walks* nor must their *business* be picked up in blue plastic baggies.
9. Bunnies don’t do *tricks* for treats, nor are they expected to be *obedient*. They simply get treats for being cute.
8. Bunnies have good taste. They like fresh lettuce and crisp fruits and vegetables and they have naturally fresh breath. Lord knows what Luka’s had in his mouth!
7. Bunnies are self-cleaning and don’t require the indignity of an unnatural *bath* with the garden hose. Bunnies do not roll in unmentionable things.
6. Bunnies save *humping* for members of their own species. Puppies are not nearly so selective in their *affections*.
5. Bunnies know how to be subtle. Puppies do not. Enough said!
4. Bunnies do not wear their hearts on their sleeves and do not give their hearts to just anyone who comes along offering a cookie.
3. Bunnies dance gracefully when they’re happy, puppies tend to fall all over themselves with joy and are anything but graceful.
2. Bunnies chew up useful things like telephone cords and computer wires. Puppies chew indiscriminately with no proper sense of revenge.
1. Bunnies are quiet. They live and love in near silence. If you’re close enough and they trust you, you might hear them grind their teeth when petted or hear a gentle whuffle, or maybe an angry grunt or a thump of their strong feet, but mostly they do nothing to draw attention to themselves. Puppies, on the other hand, are all about getting attention.
What have I left out? I know there are some readers who have both bunnies and dogs… what are some of the biggest differences you notice?
Tidbit would add that bunnies always smell good and require no special action on the part of a human to make them that way.
Tidbit also thinks it’s a good thing you’re showing bunny pics again! 🙂
Bunnies DO smell good. They smell warm like grass and sun with a sprinkle of cardomom. Dogs LIVE to find a stink to roll in.
Laura, I’m swooning over your bunnis with fresh breath. I giggle picturing you tip-toeing to the bunnies while Luka is snoring away… Life with animals is precious. We all make an effort.
Hug the bunnies!
Yay for the bunny post! And Peeper’s list is awesome and oh so true. I love to put my face right into Niblet’s neck and just smell him. He loves it too!
Perhaps I’ll do a related Buns vs. Kitties post–though I think it would focus more on similarities than differences. Kitties and bunnies are a lot alike.
Bunnies are cheeky. When I was a teenager, I had several rabbits. My Rex used to hop around quietly and then suddenly bite me on the leg. He did the same thing with my German Shepherd — he would slowly hop up to her while she was looking out the window or otherwise occupied, then bite one of her toes very hard. Lucky for him, she had a gentle disposition. Btw, speaking of rabbits chewing on cords, I had an Angora rabbit that chewed the wiring on our deep freeze so that it stopped working and wrecked quite a lot of food! Guess that makes bunnies sneaky as well as cheeky. (-:
bunnies sound wonderful….that photo is adorable and makes me want to bury my face into that bunny!
my doggie is responding well to antibiotics and we hope that an infection was the cause, and not liver cancer. Sheesh, but we love and need our animals!
Very Funny!I think I might have learned something about bunnies too-but I’m not sure.
I know you don’t want to hear this but bunnies and cats, according to this list, share many of the same virtues. Except cats don’t chew cords. 😉 I love your new pup and I can see how he would be a real presence with all that energy. But lucky me! I love bunny posts.
“Lord knows what Luka’s had in his mouth!”
Too true.
I once watched in horror as my toddler son stripped off his full “PULL UPS” training pants and our lab pup devoured the contents in one gulp.
I think that for the first year of it’s life, a lab puppy is very much like a sixth grader in it’s wacky behaviors, noise, and ability to destroy things.
Oh man! this is the GREATEST POST ever to be posted! Man oh man, my life has been ruined ever since Mum got that dumb blockhead Rhodesian ridgeback puppy. He has no manners and I don’t get to come out and play much anymore because the whole world revolves around getting him enough exercise to mellow him out!
Dogs are impetuous, bunnies are thinkers…