By selecting for the best traits of each of these breeds, Devie created a breed of rabbit that had the compact, appealing body and lopped ears of the Holland Lop and Mini Lop, combined with the soft, short, hypoallergenic fur of the Mini Rex. Since her aim was to create the perfect pet, personality was of great importance in Devie's breeding program. Miniature Plush Lops today have playful, friendly personalities, but they are also docile enough to allow their owners to hold them for reasonably long periods of time. While they are adventurous and outgoing, they are easy to catch, and quite affectionate.
Standard Plush Lops were developed in 2002 in Australia by Christine Toyer. Christine developed the Plush Lop by crossing Dwarf Lops with Standard Rex. This breed is best described by Christine Toyer herself, who said, "Combining the velvety short coats of the Rex Rabbit breed, with the loving personality and cute looks of the Lop Rabbit breeds, the Plush Lop is a breed with a lot to recommend it, both for pet owners and for the serious breeder."
In Australia and UK, Plush Lops are still considered to be a breed in development, although it seems that it won't be long before Plush Lops become a fully standardised breed according to the British Rabbit Council. Plush Lops will probably never become a standardised breed with the American Rabbit Breeders Association, because one of ARBA's rules states that a new type of rabbit cannot be recognized as a "breed" if it only differs from an existing breed in coat quality. That is, if a Mini Plush Lop is the same as a Holland Lop, except the Mini Plush Lop has rex fur, it is not considered "different" enough to be recognized as a separate breed.
