My rabbit attacks me when I try picking him up

My beloved flemish giant, a neutered 10 month old sweetheart, is pushing my limits.

I love him, I really do, he is inside every day and can spend hours cuddling on the couch or sleeping in his basket - He has a good life I think, he has a, outdoor running pen which is about 50 square meters (predator protected and with plates dug into the ground so he can not dig his way out), and the "cage" he sleeps in and spends time in when the family is not home is an an old aviary with a 2 x 2 meter outdoor area (once again, predator safe and with plates at the sides of the cage and under, so he can dig 1.5 meters down freely) with a 1 x 1 indoor area which is warm and nice.

He has good food, has branches and toys to keep himself busy, and hay to munch on.
Indoors, he has a litterbox he uses without fail and his own indoor food and water bowl.

And yet, despite the fact that he loves sitting on my lap, and follows me around like a puppy, if I try picking him up, he changes into a devil.
He will grunt, stomp, run away and if all else fails - run at me and claw furiously at my leg. If I do pick him up, he will bite HARD on anything within reach, fingers, arms, clothes - he does not care.

I have no idea why he does this. I train with him everyday. I carry him correctly. I give him treats and pet him both before and after.
When I put him down after carrying him, he changes back instantly. He turns around and begs for treats with giant doe eyes and lots of bunny kisses.
What is happening here? My Bunny is a Mr.Hyde!

I have never dropped him, and when he went to the vet for his shots and to get neutered, I made sure not to carry him at all, I just guided him into his transport box. I can lips his bum and forelegs just fine without him reacting at all, but as soon as both my hands are under him, he freaks.

The people who sold him to me picked him up by grabbing his hindslegs and lifting him into the air while he squirmed like a worm on a hook
(They sell "meat rabbits" and nearly died laughing when I told them he was going to be a pet..)
Could this have given him some sort of phobia?

I have tried screaming loudly when he bites or scratches, but he still does it the next time. I have also tried grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and saying "No" loudly - It does not help.

Please, someone help me because this is really taxing my relationship with my bun who is otherwise the sweetest thing on the planet.

Firstly, hi :wave:

Secondly, please NEVER EVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES scruff your rabbit again and shout at him.

Next, to the issue.

He is a rabbit. Rabbits are prey creatures. Prey creatures are terrified of being attacked from above and being held would often be the last thing they felt before the predator that caught them would eat them - likely while still conscious.

So now, think about how you would feel if someone picked you up from above, and restrained you?

Some rabbits love to be hugged, but its in the minitory, not the rule.

Love your bunny for who he is, not who you want him to be

I would bet that the poor lad is traumatized by being picked up by his back legs :shock::evil::shock::evil::shock::evil:

Definitely don't scruff him and shout at him, this will only add to his anxiety and mistrust of being picked up He needs reassurance really.

None of my 4 like being picked up, they all wriggle and squirm, Charlotte even tries to take flying leaps out of my arms :roll: So I only pick them up when I absolutely have to, to clip nails, do health checks etc.

It sounds like you're already doing a good job of trying to win his confidence - your bunny's willing to follow you around & is happy to sit on your lap so you're doing great already.

Some bunnies aren't comfortable at all with being picked up and his treatment by the previous owners will have made him wary too; it sounds like he gets into a bit of a panic when you pick him up, hence the biting and scratching to make you release him. There are things you can try but it will take a lot of time and patience; even after all that he might still not be comfortable with it. Some members have bunnies who don't like being handled at all and we become very inventive with ways of getting them from a to b, giving meds etc.

I can understand why you gave the squealing and scruffing a try as it's often the sort of thing people would advise for dogs. Rabbits minds don't work in the same way though and it would just make him more fearful of being picked up in the future.

There are some links about aggression and also handling that you might find useful here.
http://www.therabbithouse.com/behaviour/problem-aggressive-rabbit.asp
http://www.therabbithouse.com/behaviour/problem-picking-rabbit-up.asp

.. Guess I need to talk to my vet again, he was the one who told me to grab him by the neck if he bit me.
The screaming thing is an advice I got from this forum: If he bites me, I need to say "EEEEEP" really loudly so he understands it hurts me. It worked great when he was younger and kept biting my trouser leg every time he felt I was not giving him enough attention, it worked very well, now he shoves my leg instead which is both cuter and less painful :lol:

I really do need to pick him up, the alternative is that he never gets to go out of his cage or to his running pen. So as much as I want to, I can not just "love him as he is" because that means he never gets to come out of his cage again, and he deserves better than that.

I am the last person in this family who even tries carrying him, it is not even my rabbit but his real owner (my mother) is scared of him because he bit her trough her blouse and she started bleeding really badly. I do not blame her, but I wish I could "fix the problem" for her. She adores him, but after that, she is actually a bit frightened when he tries sleeping on her lap because he: "might bite her".

Is there some alternative to me picking him up? A carrying case perhaps? Can I teach him to follow me inside, or to his pen on a leash?
.. I am not fond of rabbit leashes (legs get stuck and such) but I practiced with him so he can wear one and I have walked around with him outside twice.

You can try teaching him to go into a carry case - some bunnies will happily hop in if there's tasty food in there or you might have to be a bit more inventive. Have a search on the forum for clicker training as you could probably use the basic idea behind it to train him to go into the carrier too.

KarenM said:

You can try teaching him to go into a carry case - some bunnies will happily hop in if there's tasty food in there or you might have to be a bit more inventive. Have a search on the forum for clicker training as you could probably use the basic idea behind it to train him to go into the carrier too.

Click to expand...

I will definitely give it a try, thank you =)

None of my five like being picked up, and they have a sixth sense which tells them when I am about to or need to. They invariably try to hide and stamp at me. Once I have them in my arms the put up with it apart from Rosie who goes rigid. She is almost 7 now but still is very uncomfortable being held.

Given your bun's experiences early on in life it is understandable that he reacts in this way when you try to pick him up. Using a carrier ito transport him is a really good idea, give the clicker training a go too.

I think Karen's right, what you are seeing is panic, not aggression. When he reacts like that, he's not trying to hurt you, he's probably too panicked to realise it's you holding him and certainly not aware he's hurting you. The techniques you'd use for aggression won't work because he's really really scared not trying to boss you around. I imagine his extreme reaction is down to how he was treated as a baby before you got him.

My recommendation would be to stop picking him up for now, using a carrier to transport him is a great idea. Pop a treat in there are you'll have him hoping in by himself in no time.

You can then start work on helping him learn that he doesn't need to panic at being picked up - it's going to take a lot of time but you sound very dedicated so hopefully you can work through it with him. This link has the steps: http://www.therabbithouse.com/behaviour/problem-picking-rabbit-up.asp

You need to take things really slowly so he never gets into that panicked state. The first thing you'll need to work on is being able to touch him without him panicking. He'll know that putting a hand on his chest/bottom means you're going to pick him up and start panicking before he gets off the floor. You'll need to start with one hand stroking him normally and then just getting closer to tucking under his chest or under his bottom. He'll move away at first but gradually get more relaxed when you don't pick him up as you're breaking the association.

Most buns don't feel very safe when they are lifted and given his size I think he'd feel even less supported, so I agree its probably fear related. I too would avoid any sort of lifting until he is more comfortable and then slowly work up to it.

Thank you so much everyone. I put him in his pen earlier today (after spending nearly 2 minutes trying to pick him up and him scratching my legs to death)
so when I needed to get him inside, I tried putting his transportbox down in his pen with a few pieces of banana (his favorite treat) and sat down next to it with a book and a few pieces of carrot and proceeded to read out loud to him.

He jumped into the box all on his own after 10 minutes and seemed relatively calm when I let him back out in the living-room.
This seems to be a good alternative to carrying him, so I am going to try and use the transportbox from now on.

Thank you everyone.

I have 6 Buns, all loved the same, but they have different personalities. Peggy and Tonic do not like being picked up, but once you have them they will sit there (untill you sit down then they will hop off), Bunyn and Benji will let me lift them. Misty is a bit temperamental but Timmy (who is a lovely bun) turns into psycho bun if you try to lift him! Ive looked like Ive been in a fight when Ive tried. So the answer is dont lift them, pop some treats in a carrier and get them from A to B that way x

Hi,

I might have misunderstood, but is he both inside your house and outside in the garden? If so, I am wondering if perhaps you need to stick to one location and enhance that so that he gets the quality of life and you don't have the hassle of getting in and out of the house. Also, at certain times of the year, the temp changes is not necessarily a good thing for a rabbit.

None of my rabbits have ever liked being picked up, but some were better to handle than others. One in particular - we would have to put on the 'anti nipping' gear as she would bite frantically anywhere she could :lol:

My current two rabbits are free range in the garden (with full access to kennel/run at all times). They are in a routine so that when they have to come in for the evening, they know they are getting their veggies and so will happily run into the Kennel/run and so do not have to be picked up.

I think you are very lucky your rabbit is so very affectionate even though on his terms. None of my rabbits have been particularly cuddly, but I have adored them all

Bella doesn't mind being carried to and from the run, indoors or for health checks, and she loves cuddles - but binky on the other hand has to find her own way to the run, she will sit on your lap for two minutes before going to explore her surroundings unless shes tired :lol: and health checks are a two person thing due to the resistance :lol:
These two rabbits are sisters, and they're completely diffrent but I love them both the same, they're both just as affectionate!

When trying to win over your rabbits trust, if you just sit still and do what you normally would-they will get braver and come to give you a sniff,maybe even put a paw on your lap-which takes them courage.
As soon as you reach out to stroke them they retreat to where they came from and you've effectively broken that confidence your buns just built up to sniff you.
What im trying to say is although you dont have problems with stroking your bun you've got the same problem with picking up-there are links posted above that might help your rabbit become more tolerant toward being picked up, which may work or may not, depending on your bunny
But when your picking up your bunny at the moment, you're actually making it even more scared to be picked up (no fault of your own, of course everyone wants to be able to easily transport their bunnies)
Personally, I know its annoying having your carrier out-but that might be the best form of transport for your bunny!

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