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My admission

I am starting to develop a fear of, Clayton. I feel as though this fear is caused by his aggressive behaviour towards me in the past and ever since he let out a loud growl and boxed my hand which he managed to grab when I was stroking him in his litter tray I hardly ever go near his enclosure if he is in there unless I need to change his food and water which are right by the entrance.

Whether I don't go in his enclosure out of fear or out of respect for his space is something I am still working out but I think it is out of respect more than anything else since I don't remember feeling fearful apart from a few occasions where I had to fix a few things. Not that I would deliberately go into his house and mess things up because I'd never do that.

I freak out a little when he gets too close for comfort to the point where I immediately lift my legs up and so on. By that, I mean when he starts to weave in and out of my legs, having a good long sniff of me etc. Basically having a good explore is what I am trying to say.


I have tried to keep still, not have a mini freak out and divert his attention to something else such as a toy or something. I'm naturally an anxious and nervous person which I suppose doesn't help things as, Clayton, could pick up on that but I don't think he would bite me or anything even if he did sense something wasn't right with me.

Any advice, suggestions and tips you might have would be very much appreciated
 
Try hand feeding if that Dosent work try to wear a thick glove and let him sniff you if you feel comfortable like that


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How big is his enclosure? Bunnies sometimes do this is they only have a small space as they get very territorial. Having a bonded bunny friend can also help to stop this sort of behaviour, so that could also be something to think about?

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I know how it feels, I was in a similar situation with my female bun Chloe. I think a combination of things helped to settle her down including a friend & a large home.
 
Is he neutered? As mentioned bunnies can become aggressive/territorial over relatively enclosed spaces, if they are unneutered/not spayed and if they live alone. If it is a sudden change in his behaviour, ie he has never been aggressive before, I would be concerned something is amiss health wise so would be looking into is he eating, toileting etc as normal?

My friends/family and I are scared of Beano, who I've had for 7 years! :oops::lol: She became very territorial and aggressive at 6 months old and was a nightmare, I had to feed her with a big scoop and only handle for health checks etc with thick gloves but settled down once spayed, in a big enclosure and then bonded with Gordon. She's always been a madam though, and will not hesitate at giving a hard bite if I am in her way or doing something she deems inappropriate! I just have to watch out when I'm in my bedroom particularly when feeding or she'll bite if she can't get past me.
 
Unfortunately I don't really have any advise to offer, but I hope you can find a solution, as it must be awful for you to feel on edge around him.

Has he done anything since the past incident? It sounds like it's the possibility of him acting like that again that causes your fear, rather than him doing anything now, sorry if I've understood that wrong. Maybe you will have to try and gradually build up some trust again, will he accept hand fed treats (obviously like a p.p said, maybe wear gloves) x
 
Thanks for the advice etc! He is fixed and has three fourths of my room which is like a large shed. After reading all of your comments, I sat down and had a long think about it. It turns out the issue is with me because I figured out that I freak out if I feel his sniffing/exploring me is longer than I feel comfortable with which is due to bad childhood experiences with animals especially dogs. It is not because of his past behaviour!

I sat down on the floor one night (spur of the moment) when he was out and about and he was very excited when I did that because he realised he had a chance to interact with me in the way he prefers which is what I would call a 'hands on approach' since he likes nothing more than to use your body as a climbing frame. I have also noticed that he is wanting to improve his bond with me as well as spend more time with me due to the little things he does such as sitting beside my feet and so on.
 
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Thanks for the advice etc! He is fixed and has three fourths of my room which is like a large shed. After reading all of your comments, I sat down and had a long think about it. It turns out the issue is with me because I figured out that I freak out if I feel his sniffing/exploring me is longer than I feel comfortable with which is due to bad childhood experiences with animals especially dogs. It is not because of his past behaviour!

I sat down on the floor one night (spur of the moment) when he was out and about and he was very excited when I did that because he realised he had a chance to interact with me in the way he prefers which is what I would call a 'hands on approach' since he likes nothing more than to use your body as a climbing frame. I have also noticed that he is wanting to improve his bond with me as well as spend more time with me due to the little things he does such as sitting beside my feet and so on.
Excellent, I'm really glad you now know what was causing it and that now you can start creating a stronger bond with him :)
 
I sat down on the floor one night (spur of the moment) when he was out and about and he was very excited when I did that because he realised he had a chance to interact with me in the way he prefers which is what I would call a 'hands on approach' since he likes nothing more than to use your body as a climbing frame. I have also noticed that he is wanting to improve his bond with me as well as spend more time with me due to the little things he does such as sitting beside my feet and so on.

That sounds really positive. Well done for sitting down with him and interacting, he probably loved that. Just take it slowly and see how it goes from now. Good luck x
 
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