She BIT me! *Edited to add a picture*

[TARM]

My job gives every employee 16 hours per year to take off of work to volunteer and get paid for it without using our vacation leave.  Yesterday I used 8 hours to volunteer at the shelter while the regular people were out of town at a pet expo.

There were four of us there yesterday, one board member who lives in the house, one regular Friday volunteer, me and Amber.  Since the Friday volunteer and Amber had the litter boxes and cage cleaning under control I took the opportunity to take pics for Petfinder and clip toenails.  I could swear I just did that but a whole bunch of bunnies had talons growing out of their feet!

Everything was going smoothly until I got to Gabby.  She’s a pretty agouti girl who had been sticking her nose out of the cage earlier for nose scritches.  I knew she was cage aggressive but I had stopped by, opened the door, and pet her a few times during the day before it was her turn to be clipped and she seemed to really like the attention.  I thought she was doing much better.

Until…

I opened her cage, said hello and talked to her, and moved in to scoop her up.  I didn’t do anything different than I normally do, it was a fluid movement, which I find works best with skittish bunnies, but she threw a curve ball.  She dodged me (which took me by surprise because that very rarely happens) turned around, and sunk her teeth into the underside of my forearm.  Not only did she bite and hold..but I instinctively pulled my arm back and she was DANGLING by her teeth 3 feet off the floor!  I screamed without realizing it becuase THAT HURT and everyone came running.  Gabby let go and dropped to the floor just before everyone made it to where I was.  They saw Gabby standing on the floor, she must have been stunned because she didn’t run.  Even though my arm felt like it was on fire I scooped her back up and put her back in her cage, then inspected the damage.  It was ugly.  It broke the skin and the wound is about an inch long.  It looked very angry yesterday, pink and purple, but today it looks more like a nasty scratch.  I should have taken a picture of it because today it doesn’t look like a big deal, but it still hurts. 

Of course this isn’t any near as hurty as being bitten by a dog, which has happened to me way too many times, so I felt like kind of a wus knowing I screamed the way I did…lol  Now I’m wondering if I will be hesitant to reach into her cage again.  Marshmallow bites me all the time (brat) but has never bit and held on like that.  What sucks is I know Gabby needs a lot of work so she’s probably the one I’m going to be dealing with more often.  *sigh*

When I tell non-bunny people this story I know they won’t believe me, even if I show them my arm.  No one ever believes me when I tell them bunnies aren’t always cute and cuddly.  Sometimes they are little Bunniculas! 

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/di…d=15422879

*Edited to add a picture: 2 days later….

[MirBear]

hehe if you think that was bad try being bitten by a gecko!!!!! 15 minutes i was screaming …

i had two gecko’s a male and a female.. i saw the male (blizzard) biting the female (lexen) ‘s neck.. i swooped in because i thought he was being the little wife abuser we all knew he was he didnt like that too much and then latched on to me… you know on your finger .. 1 joing up from your knucles.. its really tender there well he bit me there…. on the inside of my finger midlle finger… my mom ran up and thought i was being attacked by someone.. then she saw the gecko and started pulling , that did soo NOT work … thats what ripped the skin and made him hold on tighter…

so she leaves walks down stairs grabs the squirt gun and starts spraying him… he HATES being sprayed and holds on YET TIGHTER!!!

my mom is a very impaitiont person and VERY protectiove… shes like i hjave had enough with this and hits my poor little baby gecko in the head with a 500ml spray gun.. he finally let go, i finally stoped screaming, and the next day my finger FINALLY stops bleedeing!!!!!!

[MirBear]

no animals were harmed in that incedent… (we got him checked the next day) and my finger healed fine… and i later.. stupidly… found out that the whole biting the female in the neck… is how they mate…. (we had had eggs before but they deflated due to improper care) they have not mated since said incedent…. i do not blame the poor little guy

[LizzieKnittyBun]

oh nooooooooooo… scary stories both of them!!

Gabby’s a real cutie too, you weren’t foolin. But good gracious I’d be afraid of scooping after that incident…!

Mir, it takes a true animal lover to call an animal poor little baby when it’s trying to eat you alive, lol

[MirBear]

i miss themm…. my little sweethearts…. i did take hiom for a nice walk later that afternoon though.. and gave him a rare treat of bananna to make up for it

[TARM]

Ouch Mir. I used to be a reptile person but I finally outgrew that when I was in my mid-20’s. I’m pretty sure I’d be afraid to ever try handling a gecko again!

[MirBear]

i dont know what it is… every type of animal i have ever been around i have been bitten somewhat severly by… dogs cats geckos bunnies snakes… even my fish bit me!!!!!

i almost lost my life to a dog

[TARM]

Oh man, I once spent over 6 hours in the ER with three doctors and two techs actively working on me to stop the bleeding from a dog bite to the back of my leg. My tendons were exposed and it was so gross. But, I got a shot of something that blocked the pain from that so by the time my adrenaline got back to normal I couldn’t feel it. It took 3 months before I was able to kneel down and/or bend my leg somewhat comfortably.

It was my dog. A female Rottweiler. I’m thinking that if I can still own a Rottie after that I should be OK with bunnies…I’m just not sure about that particular one.

[bunnytowne]

I know what you mean TARM    With cotton last nite we brought in Laith.   I went to feed Cotton right away after putting Laith in the tub til we got her house set up

Wht did Cotton do?   Well he growled of course and his little tail puffed up.    Yes I was scared he would bite me.  Fortunately he jumped out his house and I was able to feed him. 

Since then Cotton has done good and has not attacked me. 

And dogs yes after that dog attacked me I was  nervous with ours for about a week.   I can’t believe that cause we had our 2 dogs  for 3 and  the other 7  years already.  And I am not a wus.  I finally got over it tho.  

[MirBear]

my uncle had a dog who was a husky / malimute and had 1/6 wolf (he got the dog because it had wolf in its background)

the dog only had one eye and when i was for i went to feed it with my cousin and approached the dog on the blind side… the dog got scared and jumped on my to protect itself. 9it must have thought i was another animal or something) andways nobody really knows if it bit me or scratched me but it riped my neck open thankfully missed my arterie… my half sister saved my life she ran to the closest neihbor (if you havent realised already yes they lives FAR out in the country) and called an ambulacnce… im here today

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Wow you guys…. these are some seriously wild stories

[MirBear]

ouch.. pic looks infected :S

[MimzMum]

Fiver got hold of me once. I’d been using the grooming glove and he charged for the part of my arm that was unprotected by the glove. Put a nasty cut and a big bruise that I didn’t think was possible for a mini-rex. I’ve been very wary of him since them.
Nasty cut, but omg…Gabby is so cute! ^_^ I’m lucky she’s not close, or I’d have to risk getting bitten myself!
((((((((((((Feel better, TARM))))))))))))))))

[jerseygirl]

Ouch! Hope you have better luck when working with her.
TARM, on your rottie, did something make her turn? I know you’ve mentioned cautions with the breed before. I have heard they can be gentle dogs but then turn suddenly. Maybe due to age or health? Or is this a myth. I had heard same with german shepards too.

[Barbie]

Yikes that bite looks nasty! And man… everyone sure does have some scary stories!

[Cassi&Charlie]

Aaaw, Gabby looks like my Layla. I have scars all over my feet and ankles where Layla has gotten ‘cage aggressive’ inside my house. She’s free range and doesn’t always want to share the hosue with the stupid hoomans lol.
Just keep it clean and hopefully it’ll heal with only a small scar. Gosh though, the inside of the arm is soo tender! It must have hurt like heck!

[TARM]

Jers, she had some screws loose. She had no hip sockets so when she was 7 months old she had one hip replaced, then was confined to a crate (surgeon’s orders) for 3 months. The day after she was out of crate confinement she tore the ACL on her other leg, went back into surgery, and was back on crate confinement for another 8 weeks. I’m pretty sure that between being in constant pain since she was born plus living five months in a crate with only bathroom breaks and being stuck on a leash when I felt sorry for her and let her out…she went what they call “cage crazy”. Her temperament was just evil. She would see a stranger and go from being happy and silly to kill mode in a snap. I hired behaviorists and trainers and even though it’s very rare for them to say this…two of them told me she couldn’t be “fixed”. Her rage couldn’t be managed and they both suggested that I put her down, which I did after the hospital incident.

Anyway, during this time she also went from seeing my other female dog as her best friend to her mortal enemy. She tried to kill her (literally going for the throat) three times. I had to pull them apart all three times.

Side note: a pit bull of correct temperament will NEVER bite a person, even if it’s in the middle of a dog fight. Jezebel never once tried to defend herself when I was in the way because THAT’S how they’re bred. Where as the time Jezzy DID defend herself she stopped as soon as I was in the immediate area but Brandy didn’t…and she bit me then too…in the arm…as she was going for Jezzy.  Poor Jezebel wound up with scars from both of those incidents because she wouldn’t open her mouth when I was in the way.

Back to the story…we were doing a variation of “crate and rotate” so that both females weren’t ever in the same part of the house at the same time. Many pit bull families do this. Jezebel was out in the back yard on a beautiful spring day and Brandy was inside with me. Brandy saw Jezzy through the window, went into a fit of rage, and redirected on the first available thing, which was me. It was an awful experience and not one I’d ever wish on my worst enemy.

Many, many rotties are same sex aggressive. I did not know that until after it happened to two of my rotties. I had to specifically look for that information because at the time it wasn’t in the general information I had read. I don’t know about now. Brandy came from a breeder (before I was as into rescue as I am) and we had her from a puppy, so “raising her right” and with another female dog didn’t do squat to keep that from happening.

Anyway, that’s the story behind that.

[jerseygirl]

She had a tough start with the surgeries/recovery by the sounds. I should be more careful not to repeat or believe sweeping generalisations about breeds. So much comes down to the individual dog it seems.

[TARM]

I tell that to everyone. Just because a breed characteristic might be that terriers are hyper doesn’t mean there aren’t lazy ones out there. Not all herding dogs nip the heels of their people. Sometimes dogs of breeds that are known to be gentle are biters. It’s hard to explain to people, especially when they’re only really half interested in listening. *sigh*

[KytKattin]

I know this started with a rabbit bite (ouch, and healing vibes TARM!), but the whole rottie thing really surprised me. I always thought they were more docile guard dogs. Scary to look at, and certainly able to pack a punch, but certainly not same sex aggressive, or quick to turn on people. I see people in our neighborhood walking two rotties of the same gender. I’m sure it comes down to breeding, as well as raising (though obviously your case was different). I suppose I’ll stick with my chihuahuas. I have yet to meet a (purebred) chihuahua that is scary, no matter how much of a show it puts on. Plus, at least with my 7lb and under chihuahuas, their teeth probably can’t do even as much damage as a rabbit. Actually, I know that my chihuahuas can’t do as much damage as a rabbit could.

We used to have collies when I was growing up. Gosh, I sure do miss them. Except the fur…

[TARM]

My female dog, it turns out, was born to a mother who was dog aggressive. Her mother didn’t have tolerance for ANY dog and had to be muzzled during mating. I found this out when I spoke with the breeder after the dog bite.

I talked to this breeder at length before I purchased my dog from her. She had OFA paperwork stating a rating of excellent for hips and elbows, yet my dog had no hip sockets. Her dogs were trained and competed in schutzhund. I met the mother and the father and both were big teddy bears…though I didn’t realize at the time that I did not meet them together. They were brought out one at a time, which I didn’t find strange at all because the woman was holding our puppy and talking to us and the man was handling the parents. I emailed and talked on the phone with this woman for weeks before I made an appointment to go to her house and then we spent 4 hours there observiing the dogs. I truly felt that she was a responsible breeder. She did rescue work, only produced one litter per female per year, and genuinely seemed intent on bettering the breed. They put on an obedience demonstration for us and told us that they host training at their home every weekend.

Chuck came from a shelter. He was not dog aggressive at all until he hit 2 years old. Now the only dog he will tolerate is Jezebel. He almost killed my male lab twice. I have no idea what his breeding lines are but I’m guessing his breeder didn’t attempt to breed out dog aggression.

[Sage Cat]

Tarm – It is so great to hear somebody talk intelligently about Rotties and Pit Bulls! I have only had good experiences with the two breeds.
I did use to know 3 huge Rotties that would sleep in a big pile – like cats – but, they were mother and 2 siblings. I’m sue that had something to do with it.

While I am sorry you got Bit – by a cute little bunny – I’m really glad you know exactly why you got bit, and are not just blaming it on “a Stupid animal” as so many people do.
In fact every one who has just shared a “bit” story realizes what happened and why. To bad most people don’t get that there is almost always a reason an animal attacks.

[TARM]

Pit Bulls are my passion. I’ve handled hundreds of them and have never been bitten by one. People always look at me like I’m nuts when I tell them they’re the only breed in history bred specifically NOT to bite people. Explaining that the ones who do bite people were either taught or a dog with an unsound temperament was bred for that specific purpose generally falls on deaf ears and drives me bananas.

[MarkBun]

One of my friends used to have a pit bull. Whenever I’d come in, she’d bark, growl and snarl at me for about 4 seconds, then give me a sheepish look of “How’s my pitbull impersonation?” It’s hard to fear a dog when you first meet, they come at you as if they want to tear your head off and then once they’re within 5 feet of you, immediately flop over on their back and wait for tummy rubs.

[TheBunnyGirl]

no offence mir bear but thats a really funny story. squirting him and all…sorry.
\
im sure a bunny in a hat will cheer everyone up.

[TheBunnyGirl]

or if not… A DANCIN WABBIT!

if it works

[TheBunnyGirl]

aww sad… it was a cool dancing wabbit…

[LizzieKnittyBun]

This has definitely been one of the most interesting threads I’ve read on this site! Very educational. I’ve always been a little wary of rotties and pit bulls because of the hype, and it’s good to know that that’s what it is…. hype. I do know, intellectually, that each dog is different, and it saddens me that some are raised to be aggressive and to attack people and other dogs.

The reason I understand why hype can be so damaging is that… I grew up with poodles! People think of poodles are frou frou snobby show dogs, when they were bred for the exact opposite. Not only are they among the top five smartest breeds of dogs, they were actually bred to be hunters, specifically as water dogs and retrievers. The word “poodle” comes from the German pudel or puddeln, meaning to splash in the water. Before the poofs of fur on their shoulders and hips became the standard at dog shows, they were cut that way to keep poodles warm while they dove in water to retrieve birds, while the rest of the body was shaved so they could swim more quickly and easily.

So while poodles are thought of to be fussy, dressy show dogs…. they actually hardworking, tough, brilliant animals with an incredible history. And I’ve never known a more human, more compassionate, and more feeling breed than my poodles.

So hype can go take a long walk off a short pier : P

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Jeez TARM, you have bad luck with animal bites, eh? I had a similar rabbit situation before where it was a small bunny, it bit me when I was trying to break up a bunny quarrel and hung off of my arm for a couple seconds too! I have a scar from it 3 years later. No fun.

[TARM]

Lizzie, I actually knew that about poodles! And the pom on the tip of the tail was like a flag so hunters could find their dogs in tall grass! Standard Poodles are STRONG and smart as all heck. I know of a pair who would probably thrive if they were actual working dogs instead of the show pieces they were purchased to be. :0(

Yes, Rachel, I have had some crappy luck with bites. BUT I am now in a position to educate people about temperament and the dangers of dog bites BECAUSE I’ve been bitten and I have the scars to prove it. So, while it isn’t worth it, at least it wasn’t for no reason either.

[bunnytowne]

I didn’t see the link for the pic of your arm. 

[bunnytowne]

duh found it.    ouch  that looks tender.   Gabby is pretty tho

[MirBear]

lol dontworry bunnygirl… i stared laughing after we got him off me, and i checked him… it was very funny… (or i was in shock )

but i still think it was very foolish… no offencw taken

[Author]

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