Help with an 'aggressive' rabbit

[Abbiebutler]

Please excuse me if there's something already on the forum that I can read on this topic, I am not here often and am still trying to work my way around the forum!

We have a girl called Toffee. She can be very 'aggressive'. She constantly stomps around, she grunts, growls, lunges, bites. She seems to hate every sound that exists, even opening a dvd case will cause her to grunt and stomp in anger. Cleaning her out can be a nightmare, she hates you touching her or her cage. We have tried and tried and tried to spend time with her and bond with her but she has none of it. The only thing she will happily do, is take food from our hands. If we try and touch her she will stomp and attempt to bite and scratch. She IS spayed, which barely changed the way she is acting. She is currently alone as we had plans to try and bond her with my Acorn (who some of you may remember passed away after having after spay problems). She had a bunny husband, Thomas, who passed late last year. However being with a friend didn't make Toffee any tamer either. We do want to get her another friend but I am still trying to get over the loss of Acorn. I start volunteering at a rescue center on Sunday and eventually would like to take her there for bunny dating.

I hate to say it but looking after her isn't fun now. It's becoming more of a chore and i'm just in need of some advice now! She is about a year old and we have had her for most of that year and she just doesn't seem to want to bond with any of us. She also lives indoors.

Its probably just her personality and not alot we can do but if there is any tips to help calm her down a little, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Mrsmcarey]

not sure if i can help but i have a grunter who hates me messing with her stuff but isnt a biter thankfully.

Do you stand your ground or back off?

if you pull out when she lunges then she has worked out this behavior gets her own way

you need to stand your ground get some non offensive padded gloves so if she goes for you she cant hurt, dont give her treats if she lunges only if she is calm, you need to re-enforce good behavior not bad

give her a treat and stroke her whilst she is eating it this will establish touch is good and i get a treat

i would say if it was a new thing then maybe she needs a check up at the vet for pain or other problems if its a long term thing then its behavior related

keep trying it may take a while :thumb:

Rosie has always grunted but doesn't lunge if i stand my ground :thumb: Good Luck

 

[Tamsin]

I've an article here that might help: http://www.therabbithouse.com/behaviour/problem-aggressive-rabbit.asp

It wouldn't surprise me if some of what you are seeing isn't angry aggression but fear-aggression. She may have had some bad experiences before you got her or just a lack of good ones and she's learnt that acting this way keeps people away - it's a coping mechanism for a rabbit that might be quite scared/anxious.

It's tough, because I expect you are always very nice to her, but it can be hard for rabbits to learn that you are nice because it's tough to learn new things when in the middle of panicking.

I'd try and adjust your routine to minimise stress to her, and then gradually introduce the idea that people might actually be nice. So, avoid touching or putting your hands in her space - you can teach her to hop into a carrier so you can clean out etc.

Then spend time near her but not interacting - like you would for any nervous rabbit. Feel free to pop on tough boots and thick clothing so you can ignore aggression safely. Once she's stopping reacting to you being there aggressively and ignores you then move on to positive interaction eg offering treats

 

[MummyBunnyEm]

I have a bunny a bit like this, she's settled down much more since I introduced a male. I used to volunteer at a bunny rescue and smelling like other rabbits would really set her off with the lunging/biting so just keep that in mind. I had to shower and change clothes before going to her! Bunny dating sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[rolo]

Hi,

Sorry that youre having problems with your bun.

Our bun can have days where he is very bad-tempered and aggressive. He has taken chunks out of all of us and we have battle scars to prove it. He growls and lunges, boxes with his front paws and can be generally grumpy. The bast way for us to tackle his behaviour is to ignore him when he has bitten one of us or lunged. Other than feeding and watering him, we behave as though he isnt there. He is a free-range house-bun, so not left in a cage alone. Usually, after a day or so, he realises that no-one is paying him any attention and comes to us for petting. I dont know if this might work for you, but just thought Id tell you how we cope with ours.

Good luck.

Rach x