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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Trying everything we can think of…so frustrated and sad.

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    • Amanda_Evan
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        So my husband and I bought a bunny in August.  He was 3 months old at the time and was neutered a little over a month ago now.  We neutered him because we knew it was best for him of course but also because he was getting really aggressive.

        Since the neutering, he has become even more aggressive.  We have a huge box in there which he loves and has torn up half of, another box for him to tear up when he’s done with the other one, a tube for him to run through, pinecones for him to chew, and paper towel rolls for him as well.

        We don’t even lock him up in his cage–he has the whole room to himself but i’m afraid we’re going to have to start locking him in his cage because he’s just gotten so bad.  :-(  He is constantly ripping up carpet in all corners, managed to chew a nice big chunk of closet door off, and will not even consider the thought of sitting on our laps, or letting us hold him in any way. (He does like to be pet but not in the morning or night when he’s active–only in the afternoon when he’s sleepy.)

        He is litter trained and we do spend time with him…but he just doesn’t seem to like us. 🙁 We don’t even have kids, so it’s not even loud in our home.  I’m just so frustrated because I keep trying and trying everything I can think of but he’s destroying the room and charges at us frequently too. I just don’t get it.  It’s gotten much worse since we neutered him. Shouldn’t it be the other way around??

        I don’t want to have to find him another home but i’m scared of him biting me, and ruining the rest of the room in our home.

        I am ALL ears for any suggestions anyone may have. It would absolutely break my heart to give him away but when all he does is constantly destroy things, flip over his food bowl, flip over his litter box, and charge at us it’s very hard.

        Sad and frustrated,

        Amanda and Evan


      • Stickerbunny
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          Chewing is a natural bunny behavior. In order for him to not destroy your home, you have to bunny proof. You can attach cardboard to the walls/baseboards/doors to keep him from chewing it (or block off certain things with NIC cubes), you can get a cheap piece of linoleum to put over the carpet to avoid it being dug up (line the edge with something like NIC cubes to avoid bun chewing the edges of linoleum), etc. Rabbits are not dogs or cats and chewing/digging are not “bad behaviors” you can train out, it is just part of their nature, it is how they play and enjoy themselves. He isn’t trying to be bad, he’s just trying to dig himself a den, or enjoy himself. Making a dig box can also help, a box filled with paper etc that he can dig to his hearts content.

          As for aggression – don’t try to hold him, or pick him up. Rabbits again are not dogs/cats, they don’t like being held or cuddled – they are a PREY species, so to them being picked up is what happens before they are eaten, it is quite negative and scary for them. To bond with him, sit in the room and ignore him, read, or anything besides pay attention to him – he’ll eventually get curious and come to you. If he nips, let out a high pitched squeal, it is rabbit for “you hurt me!” and will usually make them stop. Let him choose when to accept pets, a lot of times buns would prefer to be left alone and just watched most the time. It is also possible he’s territorial about the room that is “his”, some buns become cage territorial and since he doesn’t really have a cage, he may be room territorial. You could try an x-pen run outside his room for play time and see if that helps if that is the case. He may become less aggressive about that once you bond with him more.


        • FrankieFlash
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            Welcome to site. First, *hugs*. I know it can be frustrating when they destroy stuff. Second, I have a few suggestions that have worked for me but I know when other members see this they might be able to offer even more helpful suggestions.

            As for pets and holding- Rabbits don’t like to be held. Period. Its hard to accept sometimes because they’re so cute and soft but it’s really rare for a rabbit to like to be held from what I gathered on here. Mine can’t stand it and gives me the bum after I pick him up. He likes pets though but on his conditions. I usually offer my hand gently near him and if he bows that is the green light is okay to pet.

            Next I would say no un-supervised play until you can trust he won’t go destructo bunny on your house. Mine is only allowed free reign of the room when I or my boyfriend are in there and as soon as he starts to tug at carpet he gets sprayed with water bottle we keep handy. If this means for you he’ll be spending more cage time (I have no clue what your setup is so sorry if this is irrelevant) you might want to consider adding playpen around cage so he has more exercise room and you can put sheet vinyl or solid piece of cardboard down to protect carpet. At least mine hasn’t figured out how to chew a solid piece of cardboard if all the edges are outside a pen.

            I hope I was somewhat of a help!


          • Sam and Lady's Human
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              Well, to start I would erase whatever concept of “pet rabbit” you currently have.

              There might be a few issues at hand. One, when he charges you, are you reaching into his cage? Is he charging when you go into “his” room? Those are both completely natural behaviors, as rabbits are extremely territorial of their space. I had a situation where my Samson had a cage that was always open, that opened into the kitchen which she had full access to. She started getting territorial (even when spayed) of the entire kitchen, and would charge my feet when I’d walk around in there. Obviously thats not ideal, so I ended up needing to change it all up a bit, and put her in a 4×6 ft xpen in the dining room as her “home”, with access to the rest of the house. I stay out of her pen when shes in it, and she no longer charges me or feels invaded upon. So for this, I’d get him an xpen that has ALL his stuff, then keep it open for him to come out to *your* space daily, instead of you going into his space. Once he stops charging and understands, you can bring some of his stuff out.

              Rabbits dig. They are burrowing animals. The biggest thing that I found that stopped Samsons digging was kind of 2 fold. First, I lowered her pellets so they were about 1/4 cup a day, which made her eat more hay. Eating more hay seemed to have either filled a need or tuckered her out, but the carpet digging for the most part stopped. Second I made a couple “burrows” around the house, with a cardboard box and a couple tunnels ( concrete forms) and stuffed those with hay. Every couple of days I refresh the hay, seems to make them happy.
              There are a couple spots that she still digs, so we’ve moved boxes/put down cardboard over them and she stopped.

              Rabbits do not like being held, cuddled, picked up, sit in laps etc. They are not that kind of pet. Being confined or picked up to them is akin to getting flown off to their death by a large bird. Its not a natural thing for them, its uncomfortable and scary. There are exceptions to the rule, but clearly yours is not one. The good news is, when they do let you give them loves in their bunny way, its SO much more rewarding hah. Check out this website -http://language.rabbitspeak.com/rabbittalk_intro.html. Its a little dry, and I wish it had more photos, but it is SUPER informative to the minds and methods of our furry friends. It’s completely different than what I’ve always know with a dog, for example.

              For the food bowl, just don’t use one. I use a treat ball for Samson, she chases it all over to get her food. And Lady I generally sprinkle a bunch all over the floor. I also toss some in that tunnel/burrow I was telling you about earlier. It really caters to their need to forage that way. And since they only need 1/4 cup per 6lbs of bun daily, bowls aren’t super necessary. For a litter box, just get a larger one. They can’t flip it if its too big. As for the destruction, changing things up and trying to find games that call to them is your best bet. But for the persistent ones, I’ve heard a little lime juice works great, and I’ve had success with Fooey Spray on our wood furniture.


            • FrankieFlash
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                So many good suggestions made. I’m glad you mentioned the language of rabbits site S&L Human, it’s a great resource. It’s a lot of reading but so helpful. No joke, about 2 weeks after studying it, my bun started asking for pets and attention where he hated me before. Understand rabbits makes a huge difference in day to day life and I still refer to it when my bun throws a new behavior my way.


              • Sam and Lady's Human
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                  Yup I read it a lot too. I’ve actually got a photography project started, I’m taking photos of all the different body positions and such, I think it’ll help visual people like myself


                • bunnyfriend
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                    Welcome to BB, I am so sorry that your going through this.

                    My suggestions are for the aggression:

                    Go into his room and sit or lay on the floor but do not pay attention to him, focus your attention on reading a book or a computer or something else. This has been found to be a great method to get bunnies to warm up, get comfortable, and see that you are not going to hurt them. Eventually a rabbit usually will come up and investigate, when he does this remain not paying attention (do not reach out to him).

                    Maybe give clicker training a try. Clicker training is a fun way to train your bunny to have good behaviors and at the same time you will be bonding with your rabbit. There’s a good book on clicker training here in the BB store, I am currently clicker training one of my rabbits and can say it has been fun and rewarding.

                    Again, as the others have said, rabbits have a natural instinct to not want to be held, picked up, or cuddled. The literally think they are about too be eaten. One of my rabbits is a no-touchy bunny for the most part, but to get her to be more comfortable I used treats. I started trying to get her to follow a treat and sit next to me, and eventually got her to come onto my lap, now she will jump up on my lap and put her paws on my chest to beg for a treat.

                    Perhaps he is territorial of “his area” (like most rabbits). What exactly are you doing when he is charging at you?


                  • kinggoblin
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                      You can spray things with vinegar to temporarily stop bad behavior, but there really is no stopping destructive behavior like digging or chewing except blocking the things you don’t want ruined off and trying to get them to do something else.

                      Mine likes running through cat crinkle tunnels ( ~$10 @ walmart ) & connectable pop-up cubes ( $2 @ walmart ), he also likes chasing his new slimcats treat ball that I fill with his daily pellets. Oh, and anything willow, baskets, tunnels, balls, cubes, wreaths, etc… he loves those.

                      I’ve been nipped at a few times as a warning from him, but he’s never drawn blood. The best way to get his attention is to ignore him, nothing makes him more annoyed at me is sitting on the floor with my laptop, he will pop his head up over it and try to shut it or stand on the keyboard and stare me down until I pay attention to him. Mine has NEVER let me hold him and I don’t even try, he comes and sits in my lap or on my shoulder on his own now, but it took a long time for him to want to do that – I had to bribe him with dried fruit to get him to sit on my knee and now he knows its okay and safe to be that close to me and he will get all up in my face when he wants attention.

                      Mine flips his bowls too, he broke 3 ceramic crocks. He also was flipping his litter box but I learned that was because it was too small, he has a much bigger one now and doesn’t flip it anymore.


                    • jerseygirl
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                        Some rabbits can be a little worse directly after neuter while the hormones level out. One month post-neuter, you might be at the turning point and now start to see a change. Fingers crossed!
                        It could also be a little age related.

                        This may seem a silly question but does he get hay in his diet?


                      • lindsay715
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                          if you don’t have a hay setup for him yet, hay can actually be a really great distraction/plaything (and also necessary in a bunny’s diet!) i recommend getting either a hay rack or what i personally use, a product called “tidy feeder” which is a cardboard box full of hay with an opening at the bottom. you can attach it to a cage or pen. bunnies love foraging & pulling the hay out. you can’t stop a rabbit from chewing/digging, and even with distractions, bunnies are not easily fooled… if he loves chewing on the closet door, chances are he’ll be back at it eventually; the best you can do is bunny-proof and provide alternatives that are better for him & your home!!


                        • Elrohwen
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                            He sounds like a really typical teenage rabbit and the behaviors you described didn’t seem aggressive at all – tearing up carpet and wood trim isn’t aggressive at all, just what bunnies do. The vast majority of bunnies don’t sit on laps or like to be held, so that’s completely normal too. The fact that he does like to be petted (on his own terms, as all bunnies do) means he definitely likes you and trusts you, he just shows it in his own way.

                            I think you should work on bunny proofing better – get some plywood and cheap stick on linoleum tiles to cover the floor so he can’t get to the carpet. Use NIC grids to block off wood trim and other things around the edges of the room that he shouldn’t chew. Try to find new toys that he would prefer to dig and chew (cardboard boxes are always popular, but smaller toys like paper towel rolls are usually ignored). Set the boxes up as kind of a maze so he can run from one to another while chewing them up.

                            He’s still very young and quite into his adolescent stage. Give him time and he’ll settle down as he ages.


                          • bunnnnnnie!
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                              As the others said, that really just sounds like standard bunny behavior. .  Bunnies dig and chew, it’s part of their.. charm? .


                            • bunnyfriend
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                                Posted By bunnnnnnie! on 01/27/2012 08:05 AM

                                As the others said, that really just sounds like standard bunny behavior. .  Bunnies dig and chew, it’s part of their.. charm? .

                                Good thing they are so darn cute.

                                 

                                Hang in there!!! I’m sure things will get better, and when they do you will find all the work you did so rewarding 


                              • Beka27
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                                  Rabbits CAN have too much freedom too soon. He might not be ready to have an entire room. Some of the aggression may also be BECAUSE he has the entire room, and views all of that area as his space, which you are then invading.

                                  For bonding and working on aggression, if I were in your situation, I would remove him from the room where he may feel isolated (I’m assuming this is just a spare bedroom with no other purpose?) and relocate him to a central family area in an xpen. Make the xpen HIS kingdom, but the rest of the bunny-proofed room during exercise is your space, he’s just allowed to come out and play in it. You might try doing short bursts of exercise at first when you can supervise (20-30 minutes at a time, several times a day).

                                  Rabbits typically calm down after neutering, but they still have adolescence to contend with, so he may be a handful until 12-18 months old.


                                • kralspace
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                                    It is so frustrating, but like the others have said, a lot of it may calm down in time. My Pringles was a holy terror as a teenager and now she’s just a big old mush. I use the NIC cubes to line some walls and block off corners. In one bedroom where they all just insist on trying to strip the wallpaper off (it’s not that ugly, really!) I cut a sheet of sheetrock into 15 inch wide strips and just put them again the walls and if they must, they can work on those.

                                    I’ve had 2 biters, both girls that came to me later in life. Hershey had always lived at the rescue and when we took her home, she would charge my hand with teeth bared. I learned however, that if I didn’t move my hand she would stop just a whisker short of my hand, freeze for a few seconds, then everything was ok. She never got over that, but she never bit me if allowed to ‘challenge’ me for a few secs. She did bite anytime you had to pick her up.


                                  • Ali925
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                                      Sounds a bit like my Blu. He’s two but sometimes I still think he acts like he’s 5 months old! If I left him alone in the family room he’d tear up carpet and chew molding to his heart’s content. On the other hand my other bun wouldn’t do either of those…and they’re the same age. I also know he’s not crazy about being touched or “bothered” when he’s out playing like you mentioned….but early morning or early afternoon when he’s sleepy he loves a good head rub.

                                      Oh and neither of my bunnies sit on my lap . So don’t worry about that! I just sit on the floor and let them come to me when they want to. Rabbits like being in charge, so I agree with everyone’s suggestions already..but I’ll reiterate just sit on the floor with him and let him just sense your presence. He might like you to watch and sit with him. I know my Blu is like this…if we aren’t in the room with him during his playtime, he’ll run back to his pen or follow me around the kitchen if I’m there… So you’d think he wants to play with me, but then I’ll go in the room with him and he runs laps and does his own thing. Oh and even though he’s neutered he still circles my legs lol.

                                      So I would say just give him time and try to be patient. Blu wouldn’t let me pet him in the beginning and I’m just getting to the point where he’ll tolerate more pets and even has warmed up to visitors…so there is hope! In fact I even had my sister in law comment that he seemed like he was a lot more social than she remembered him being a year ago and I agree. A big part of that I think had to do with us spending more time with him one on one. We have two and its not always easy splitting evenly but I know we give him more attention now. Sorry this is so long, but just be positive and give him some time.

                                      As far as tearing up things like carpet and wood….my remedy has been to make our family room look like a cardboard room. I lay some pieces flat to cover problem areas where he loves to go and put some boxes with holes cut out for running through. Plus the usual toys, and such to keep him entertained. If I don’t watch him though, he’s bound to chew something at some point while he’s out. And we hope that he outgrows some of this eventually! Hope this helps some.

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                                  Forum BEHAVIOR Trying everything we can think of…so frustrated and sad.