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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Anybody else with a deaf rabbit?

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    • Serla
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        I’m just wondering if anyone else came across this situation before.

        I’ve noticed a short time after I had my rabbit (a Holland Lop) neutered (around December 2010), my rabbit wasn’t responsive to any sound at all.

        Before his surgery, he would respond to my clapping which I would do when he would misbehave. He would also be easily startled by car noises coming through the window or the vacuum. 

        However, I noticed a short time after his operation, he wouldn’t respond to my clapping. I thought nothing of it, thought maybe he was being a bad boy. However, slowly I came to realize that he is actually deaf and did some tests myself to be sure. I would sneak behind him and clap. No response. At one point as he was sleeping, I even got some pans and banged them together as loud as I could. It would sure wake up the entire neighborhood. He didn’t move at all and was sound asleep. So I went over and touched him, and only then was he startled and looked at me like “What are you doing?!” 

        I told the vet about it (a different vet than the one that did the operation), and he tested his ears for parasites, and didn’t find anything unusual. He did say that it could be nerve damage from when they were cleaning the ears during the operation. 

        This is a problem that has been around for about 2 and a half years, but it still bothers me, so I wanted to ask if anyone else has been through the same thing. 

        Also, is it still possible to teach him tricks even if he’s deaf? Any ideas?

        I’m sorry if my English is not perfect! It’s not my first language.


      • Monkeybun
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          My lop boy is deaf as well. He has been since he was a baby though, not through an accident or such. If his ears were damaged during his neuter, I definitely would never take him back to that vet, they obviously don’t know what they are doing!


        • bunnylova123
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            For training, I have a lop who might be partially deaf or deaf ( I’ve only had him a week ) and the way I train him is that I’ve attached a small plastic kids ball to a chopstick by cutting a hole in it and using lots of sellotape, if he touches the ball with his nose I give him a treat, eventually he’s learned to follow it and go round in circles etc I am working towards getting him to jump over stuff.


          • RabbitPam
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              We have had several members with deaf bunnies in the past. I would suggest, if you’d like to read about them, doing a search in the Forum post search bar for keyword deaf and see what posts pop up. We ask that you keep them read-only if they are older than a few weeks, but you may find a lot of great tips and knowledge about it from other members who have similar questions and concerns. I know that they were able to live happily with their bunnies and make them comfortable as well with a few lifestyle modifications. (Using floor vibrations, that sort of thing.)


            • peppypoo
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                Like RabbitPam said, there are several members around here who have or used to have deaf bunnies, It seems that this is more common in lop-eared ones, but they do perfectly fine. Maybe you could teach him to come to you by tapping the ground? I suppose it depends on what kind of flooring you have, but he might be able to feel the vibrations from a few feet off and learn to come to it.


              • LBJ10
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                  I would hope that it would not have been the result of his surgery. Deafness seems to be fairly common with lop bunnies, particularly Hollands. We are pretty sure mine is deaf. I wouldn’t see it as a disadvantage though. He is doing really well, but it also helps that he has a friend. He will rely on him for signals as to what it happening. Like if I have the treats out. LOL

                  In an odd way, I am somewhat thankful that Leopold is deaf. With all the noise going on in my house (my husband still thinks he’s “remodeling”), it is nice that he is calm. This makes Wooly calm because I think he sees that the loud noises are not bothering Leopold.


                • mocha200
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                    My Holland lop is partially deaf. He can sometimes hear certain noises but I can’t ever decide which ones. I agree LBJ10, It helps he has a friend. It is a little hard for me to let him know I am in the room but most of the time turning the light on and off until he sees me helps.


                  • LittlePuffyTail
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                      My Mini-Lop is very hard of hearing. He can hear very high-pitched or super loud noises. I’m pretty sure it’s due to his many past ear infections. It doesn’t seem to affect him much, he’s perfectly fine with it.


                    • HippityHopMom
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                        My Holland Lop is deaf.  I adopted her 5 yrs ago.  Her previous owner did not advise me she was deaf… I doubt her owner even realized it as she did  not own the bunny very long.  It took me several months to realize my bunny was deaf. She is the first house rabbit I had ever owned.   She is completely deaf.  Once I realized she was deaf, we began communicating with her better & she became much tamer with me.   I turn on a light in her room where she roams before I enter so I do not scare her.   I often get down on the floor to her level and use hand pats and different hand signals to have her come to me … and another signal to let her know I want to pet her.   Just use repeat hand signals and your bun should learn them.   Just by doing things “by routine” … you can teach your bun.   For instance, I like to cage Bonnie Lee at night for safety reasons…. so just before I go to bed …. I pour her a few pellets in her dish in her cage.   She learned this was the routine very quickly.   She roams my entire home, but near bed time she is near her cage and anxiously waiting for her pellets … as soon as I put her pellets in her cage, she jumps in and eats and I lock her door.  Very simple each night.   If someone comes over with a child and I want to put Bonnie Lee in her cage during this time so Bonnie will be safe …. I just let Bonnie Lee smell my container of rabbit pellets …. and she knows she only gets them in her cage … so she runs excited to her cage and jumps in.  


                      • bmt87
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                          we are about 99% sure Lola is at least partially deaf….which would explain why she is infatuated with the vacuum. And she’s a lop. I didn’t realize it was so common in them.


                        • Elrohwen
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                            As others have mentioned, it’s very very common for hollands to be partially or mostly deaf. Mine can definitely hear things, and swings his ears around, but he is not sensitive to noises at all and often acts as if he can’t hear. He will run up to the vacuum and follow it, while my mini lop hides in the other room.

                            He’s never had an infection or any type of trauma, so it’s just how he was born and I think that’s common. I can’t imagine the neuter would have had anything to do with it.

                            I don’t treat him any differently than my hearing bunny and it doesn’t cause him any issues, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.


                          • Serla
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                              Thank you all so much for the replies. I didn’t realize how common it is for Holland Lops to be deaf!
                              I hope in my rabbit’s case it was natural, and not as a result of a mistake during his neutering operation.

                              I read somewhere that you can train rabbits using a light, instead of a clicker. I thought that was interesting.

                              My rabbit Mochi is smart though. I began to teach him the “Up” command at the motion of my finger. I think he’s getting the hang of it =)

                              Thank you all once again! I appreciate the replies.

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                          Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Anybody else with a deaf rabbit?