HELP, Were being bitten to death and it HURTS!

Does anyone have any tips for stopping a rabbit nipping you when it's not the cage aggressive, territorial lunge biting or the put me down and stop handling me type.

It's a very full on 'I want attention' or 'get out of my way' nipping aimed at the feet and legs and he is going out of his way to find me and Phil and nip us.

Phil is getting really angry and threatening to lock them in the cage when he is home as he liks to sit on the floor and is therefor a literal sitting target. I have to admit I'm getting annoyed because it's just darn painful!

The little blighter grabbed the hem of my jeans and dragged them earlier with quite a scary amount of force in order to move my leg.

The rabbit in question is none other than Mackenzie (surprise ), he has only had run of the hosue for the past few days.

Please help!

ooh, nippy nip nip! :lol: Carlton used to nip my tummy when i was sat down, i think he was saying "you gots a spare tyre there, you tubby tubbster"!

Mackenzie! :no: stop nipping Sooz!

It could be worse Sooz it could be Samson & Bessie:lol::lol::lol:

Have you tried wearing thick wellies or something (how attractive!) so he can nip away and you won't react. He might learn there's no point nipping you then.

kayj said:

It could be worse Sooz it could be Samson & Bessie:lol::lol::lol:

Click to expand...

That is an excellent point and a scary thought because they could indeed reach higher than me legs :shock::shock::shock:

I really dont envy you at all :lol::lol:

AlisonA said:

Have you tried wearing thick wellies or something (how attractive!) so he can nip away and you won't react. He might learn there's no point nipping you then.

Click to expand...

:lol::lol::lol: I dont own any wellies just knackered skateshoes but I may invest in some now. Any tips about the legs though?

Is it a case of just not reacting or will say a negative reaction, a squirt of water and a NO, help?

I would try not reacting, then if there's no results, try with the water spray. Sorrel soon learnt not to wee on the bed that way. hope he improves!

Have you tried "shocking" the rabbit e.g. screaming "OW" to let them know you've been hurt?

It's a long shot but I've heard in some cases it works...

x x

Not sure - it might be like a naughty child where any attention is better than no attention, so I'd be inclined to ignore completely. I've certainly had success with aggressive rabbits (usually fear aggression though) by completely ignoring any sign of aggression, no flinching or anything, and they soon seem to learn that their behaviour doesn't change anything.

So far, Phil hasn't noticed him peeing on the sofa

Were so used to Lexie being chilled out and flopping (she'e nearly 5 now) that having a manic 18 month old about is a shock to the system. Lex has barely left the Ferplast (out of choice, it's always open when were home) since Mack moved in but he is an absolute demon....into EVERYTHING!

I think I may have to get my Anne McBride book out again.

I know its different but with Hunter we have been completely ignoring him when he attacks us and he seems to be doing it less and less now :shock: But he will still suddenly just attack your head when your alseep at night :roll: :lol: Its really hard though not to react and I would imagine a bunny attacking is more painfull that a cat :shock:

Good luck! x

If he has recently been allowed freedom of the house then he will probably settle down after awhile. It sounds like he's just letting you know where you rank in the grand scheme of things :lol: You could try squirting him with a water gun or the 3 strikes and your out treatment. Meaning that if he bites then he immediately gets put back in his cage and made to stay there for 10 mins or so. If he does the same thing when you let him out again repeat the punishment untill he does get the message. I have tried this on a few rabbits abd rats and they soon learn that bad behaviour equals loss of freedom.

Well we used the water bottle and time out method to stop Lexie eating wallpaper which it did quite quickly so it may be worth a try although Ms Mcbride recomends total ignorance towards attention seeking behaviour because even a negative reaction is still a reaction.

She does mention the spray being OK because it's not directly associated as a reaction by us.

Well as you may know my bunny Arthur bites for no apparent reason and the injuries have been awful. I read Anne Mcbrides book and got all my old Rabbiting On magazines and went down the ignoring route. It is really difficult to do especially when they draw blood but it is working. He gets lots of fuss when he is good but if he bites I bite my lip and ignore it. After a while I walk away.

It is actually working and touching wood he hasn't biten me in two weeks