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Forum BEHAVIOR Extremely Aggressive Rabbit

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    • mocha200
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        My new rabbit (who we are currently calling Chaco) is EXTREMELY aggressive. She is 1 1/2 and is spayed. This rabbit is scary. My mom is afraid of her and calls her evil. She wants me to get rid of her. I don’t want to give up on her so easily as I have heard rabbits can get better, but right now I will admit, it’s tempting. Anytime you walked by her pen or walk in it she lifts her tail and comes running over. If you put your hand down she would let out a vicious grunt and box your hands. Today I moved her into the bunny room as the cat was torturing her and when I picked her up she used her back feet and kicked me over and over again! It was the most painful thing! It hurt so bad and it felt like my pinky was swelling up.

        How am I going to go about bonding with this rabbit when I’m honestly a little afraid of her?


      • Sarita
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          She is a Netherland isn’t she? Boxing is pretty common with the little rabbits – it’s not meant to be aggressive, I think they are small and they just are more prone to try to protect themselves. Bobby can be a bit of a boxer too but he’s really a lover. Have you tried approaching her from the side and down on her level…these bitty rabbits seem better when you approach them down on the floor.

          I do find picking Bobby up I have to really have a firm grip on him and while he’s small he’s strong.

          What does she do when she runs up to you – just runs up to you or tries to box you?


        • Sindri
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            I don’t know your new rabbit’s history but I will say my netherland female will run full force to greet anyone. I have noticed she is stand-offish to most people though. That might be her personality. They are small rabbits its best like Sarita says to get down to her level to visit her. She probably still needs time to get use to her new home. Also you mentioned the cat she could also be agitated because of it as well. Like Sarita says you do have to get a firm grip on them. Mine don’t like to be picked up at all. They will kick to try to get away. I wish I was of better help. I hope things get better for you and her so you aren’t afraid of her or have to give her up.


          • mocha200
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              She will run up to the edge of the cage and stand on her hind legs trying to sniff me. She will sometimes let you pet her but other times just growls and boxes you.


            • LBJ10
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                Have you tried bonding with her through bribery? Maybe enter the room at her level and slowly offer her something yummy?


              • Sarita
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                  The times she growls at you trying talking to her and approaching her from the side. I think she may be very protective of her cage too and if you are trying to pet her in her area she may feel threatened.


                • Sarita
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                    I also know she hasn’t been with you for very long – only since the 1st I think so she is probably still settling in – it doesn’t sound like her former owners were very rabbit savvy so perhaps she has learned this to protect herself and just needs some time learning to trust.


                  • Monkeybun
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                      She’s probably still scared, give her more time Bribery worked with Monkey


                    • Peony
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                        Just wondering because of your sig area, are you on you tube with Mocha and Lulu?

                        For the aggressive bunny I will agree with the others, some take longer to settle in and if they were mistreated it could cause issues. Think about this for a bit, if you do give up Chaco to a shelter, don’t you think it would be hard for her to find a home unless she is lucky enough to be adopted by someone really rabbit savvy?

                         Some rabbits do not like being picked up so if she is scared and adjusting, that is a bad idea to try right now. I only picked up mine twice so far and the second time was a bit forced. Only reason I did that was to show her the second floor of the hutch (Had a hard time figuring out that ramp from ground level) and to pick her up to explore my mom’s bed since she seems fascinated with mine.

                         I would only try picking her up after she is used to being petted for a bit, since that is part of the process of picking up rabbits properly to make them feel more at ease.


                      • Zombie-Sue
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                          http://rabbit.org/socializing-the-antisocial-rabbit/ You might find this really interesting!

                          If you’re afraid of her, protect yourself with garden gloves and such. You can’t be top rabbit if you’re honestly afraid, and the fear response is something that you can’t necessarily will away. I also watched a video where they pet a rabbit with a paint brush. You could try the techniques they used here too:
                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxV0j7SwBbk

                          And, of course, she’ll settle in too. Good luck!


                        • LittlePuffyTail
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                            This sounds like Olivia. When I first brought her home, she was super territorial and quite aggressive about it. Because of the aggressiveness and fear of humans, I suspect Olivia was abused and/or neglected. It took her quite a while to calm down and she does still box at me and when I pick her up, youd think I was going to throw her across the room from the fear in her face.

                            Rabbits are not mean just to be mean. I’m not sure about the background of your bunny, but something must have happened to make her feel like she needs to defend herself. With patience and time, I’m sure she will calm down. Right now she needs to learn to trust you. Try to respect her territory as much as you can (clean her cage when she is out for playtime).


                          • Jessie1990
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                              Ashe is like this. I’m afraid to introduce her to Moogle. It’s really wierd, because after awhile Ashe decided she likes us and wants pets. However, she can be sweet one second, then pounce the next. I have to pet her from above. If I put my hand in front she lunges. Even when she tooth purrs she is very tense compared to Moogle. She is a very nervous bunny with big attitude. I just talk to her and she usually calms down.


                            • tanlover14
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                                I would give her more time also!

                                Simba was one evil little bunny when we got him also! He liked to cuddle but inside his area he would growl, lunge, nip, anything to scare you back out of his area. It’s hard to believe how badly he would try and scare you when we first adopted him. Shelter life can be so difficult on a bunny. When Simba was finally taken into foster by rabbit wranglers, they did a lot of work to bring him out of his shell to become adoptable. I heard he was pretty bad when he was pulled since the shelter he was in was planning on euthanizing him due to his aggression. He’s the SWEETEST bunny in my entire family now.

                                I would try just sitting in her area with a book and ignoring her. If she feels threatened by you, she’s going to protect herself any way she can. If she stops seeing you as a threat you’ll have a much better chance of building a relationship with her. If she won’t let you inside her area at all, I would try bringing her out and setting her in a new but smaller area so she can explore but realize that you’re not someone to be afraid of.


                              • Jessie1990
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                                  LOL. I just tried to take a photo of Ashe with my neon pink phone and she bit me! Only the second time she has broke skin, but then she turns around and wants to be pet and cuddled. Apparently she thought I was in her face. I would just try to find out waged sets your bunny off and avoid doing it. Or you could associate the bad experience with something good (treats).


                                • mocha200
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                                    When the old owners were here dropping the bunny off she mentioned how she litter trained her. She said whenever she went outside her box she would hit her on the butt and yell at her…

                                    I am well aware that rabbits hate to be picked up but I was thinking of starting to bond. That would require having to move her. Should I hold off on bonding? Or should I try to coax her into the kennel?


                                  • Sarita
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                                      Totally understand you need to pick her up – these little netherlands are tough to handle :~)

                                      Sounds like the old owners did mistreat her and she is just going to have to learn to trust you – she will eventually. I think it would be fine to start the bonding process.


                                    • Zombie-Sue
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                                        I wouldn’t start bonding until you’ve found a system that makes you comfortable handling her. That could just be garden gloves or something, which a lot of people advise using in bonding anyway. But if I were you, I’d practice handling her this way for a little bit, a couple of days, before I started because you want to bring as little nervous energy as possible.


                                      • Sindri
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                                          I have to agree with Zombie-Sue you need to learn a way of handling her before you bond. My netherland boy HATES to be picked up and it stresses him out. Its the worst part of bonding for all of us. It also was breaking our strong bond ( he is still holding a grudge against me) and you still need to get to know your rabbit and establish a bond with each other first before bonding. This is just my thoughts though. You can use gloves. I am in the process of bonding myself I usually use them when I first put my rabbits together or when I have to pick them back up when the sessions are over. Its ultimately up to you if you start bonding you have to do what you feel is best for you and your situation. I wish you luck and look forward to hearing how it all works out. =)


                                        • Stickerbunny
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                                            Stickers was a bit aggressive out of fear when I first got her from being mishandled as a baby. She would run up to me and nip me and run away real fast, or charge me grunting and growling. She never boxed, but she has never been one to use her paws, she much prefers teeth. First day we had her, getting within arms reach was enough to make her hunker down and pee all over her tummy. So, she was scared to death of me.

                                            How I originally picked her up because she wasn’t really a fan of being held was if I coaxed her into a box she would let me carry her around in that. She also didn’t mind going into her carrier for me as long as she got a treat. She just did NOT want to be held by my hands. She now doesn’t like it, but tolerates it. I had to go slow with her though.

                                            To get her to allow me into her area I broke up treats into tiny pieces (carrots, etc, thing she really liked) and every time I would walk into her room, I would give her a tiny piece of her treat. She’d take it, run away and grunt at me, sometimes thump. She loved to hide behind something I had propped against the wall (a piece of cardboard) and often she’d take off behind it and I would have to leave her treat at the entrance for her to get later. Eventually, she started running up to me to get her treat as I came in.

                                            When I would lay in her room with her to try to bond, she’d run up and nip me. She loved to nip me on the butt whenever I was bent down doing something too, especially when cleaning her cage/litter box (cage was left open). :s lol I tried various methods with her to get her to stop, but what ended up working was I would very, very gently turn her head away from me and say no. She’d come back, I would do it again. If you try this with a rabbit you think might take a chunk out of your hand for it, wear gloves! She was being fearfully territorial so I trusted her not to take a piece of my hand. Today, she’ll still nip me if I am cleaning their litter boxes but it’s a very, very light nip that is more a nose bump like “Hey, human, that is mine what ya doing?”

                                            It’s no surprise your new bun is scared if she was HIT – I can’t imagine hitting a rabbit. It’s ok to start bonding with her, just take it way slower than you would normally. Remember, she right now associates humans with BAD things and you need to adjust that to GOOD things. Animals that were mistreated take longer to trust and you have to go agonizingly slow at times.

                                            Stickers just started letting me pet her head more than like once a year a few months ago (she bonded with Powder way before she bonded to me). She gave me her first tooth purr 4? 5? months ago. And I have had her, oh geez, I dunno, 2-3 years? She went from terrified bunny to attitude filled diva (she thumps, foot flicks and “argues” with me all the time!) over the time I have had her. She’s no longer scared of me, though she’s still skittish about sudden movements and will jet off to hide if I even stand up from my chair too quickly. It takes time to earn trust. You can hardly blame her, humans took her and abused her trust in them before.

                                             

                                            Edit: A few tips on bonding with an aggressive bunny:

                                            1) WEAR JEANS – not thin athletic pants, not shorts. Wear jeans.

                                            2) Wear long sleeves if you can, something thickish like a flanel shirt. You can also leave said shirt in the buns room with your scent on it to get them used to it.

                                            3) If they ever get aggressive to the point you want to run out of the room, don’t let them chase you out. You have to leave enough time between the attack and leaving so they don’t associate the two, or it will just encourage them “Hey, I got what I wanted, cool lets do that next time!”


                                          • Peony
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                                              Posted By mocha200 on 01/15/2014 09:56 AM

                                              When the old owners were here dropping the bunny off she mentioned how she litter trained her. She said whenever she went outside her box she would hit her on the butt and yell at her…

                                              I am well aware that rabbits hate to be picked up but I was thinking of starting to bond. That would require having to move her. Should I hold off on bonding? Or should I try to coax her into the kennel?

                                              I think the others are right about holding off a bit.

                                               

                                              Also yeah it sounded like she was lightly abused (I saw lightly since it is not like she was completely neglected and such) so it will take a bit of time to trust you.

                                               


                                            • Monkeybun
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                                                I would suggest holding off bonding until you can work with her more. It might make for a good youtube session too, how to work with an aggressive bunny I would work with her a bit every day, off and on, just getting her used to the fact she isn’t going to get hit, that you’re a nice person. And practice the picking up with her too, so she learns it isn’t going to hurt her. Practice with long sleeves and gloves at first though


                                              • tanlover14
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                                                  I’m actually going to go out on a limb and disagree with the rest on bonding and agree with Sarita.

                                                  1 – Besides moving her, the bonding process will have nothing to do with her interactions with you. If your buns are fighting, you shouldn’t just be reaching in and grabbing them anyways, so the handling is pretty irrelevant besides getting her too and from the bonding area which is fine to do with a carrier.

                                                  2 – Not saying this will happen to you but Simba actually began to come to US for safety when the other bunnies were picking on him. He always knew when I picked him up, that I was taking him away from the others and he would literally latch on to my shirt and give me kisses. Bunnies become stressed and agitated while bonding until they figure out their pecking order. She may begin to see her time with you as “pleasant” compared to being with the other rabbits. We always spent time with Simba directly after and he was definitely the most positively responsive afterwards with us.

                                                  Just a few thoughts.


                                                • tanlover14
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                                                    Sindriona, I also wanted to comment on your reasoning. I noticed my rabbits specifically became “scared” when they KNEW I was coming in to get them for bonding. They would all run in every direction. I don’t think it has so much to do with handling as it does with knowing that when you do that, it means they are going in with those evil other bunnies. Make sure to give them lots of attention (even if it’s just going in and handing them treats) so they don’t assume every time you come around (outside feeding times) it means they are going with the other rabbits.

                                                    Rabbits are also way more prone to be less interested in their humans while bonding. I think my interactions with Simba were so different because he was knew and he had no one to really lean on. But when I picked him up and took him away from the other bunnies, he began seeing me as a positive thing (aka. getting what he wanted – away from the other rabbits). Whereas my ones who knew me and knew to trust me were way more likely to hold their grudges until I coaxed them out with treats directly afterwards.


                                                  • LBJ10
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                                                      I agree with tanlover. Your new bunny may also pick up cues from your other bunnies that you are not a bad thing. IF your new bunny takes to your other bunnies fairly quickly, that is.


                                                    • Stickerbunny
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                                                        tanlover – Yes, Stickers did the same thing. When Powder was being mean to her (humping her) she would climb my legs begging to be held to get away from him, like a little puppy begging to be picked up. It was cute. I felt bad for her though.


                                                      • MoveDiagonally
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                                                          I agree with TL and Sarita. I think it’s okay to start bonding.


                                                        • Zombie-Sue
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                                                            Nooo don’t listen to Tanlover! She lets her rabbits smoke!


                                                          • LBJ10
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                                                              Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!


                                                            • MoveDiagonally
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                                                                Nooo don’t listen to Tanlover! She lets her rabbits smoke!

                                                                LOL!


                                                              • tanlover14
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                                                                  Zombie-Sue, Omggggg.  I just burst out laughing so hard!!  My boyfriend asked me like 8 times what I was laughing at before I could successfully respond.  

                                                                  Kudos to you!  Also, I have to REALLY giggle because they smelled like ashtrays (every single one of them) for like 3 days after we had our condo explosion.  Goes along perfectly with your joke.  They probably did it as a front to cover up their bad habits.


                                                                • Zombie-Sue
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                                                                    LOL, smoking, rigging an EXPLOSION… your buns are one step below a street gang yo


                                                                  • tanlover14
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                                                                      LMAO. You obviously have never met a Tan…


                                                                    • Sindri
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                                                                        Tanlover14 I wanted to mention Usagi my male hates being picked up anytime. The worst part of bonding for me is chasing rabbits down to do it in the first place. Lately Usagi is easy to pick up and now Kilala is being difficult and holds grudges. hehe These 2 are driving me crazy. I do give them treats after the sessions and give them a lot more attention to make things better that’s probably why Usagi is doing better. He is food driven therefore easy to train with food. So thanks for your input it has been helpful.


                                                                      • tanlover14
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                                                                          LOL, I used to have quite the time catching mine when I was bonding the four.  You begin to pick up some tricks.  Like mine, I would corner just using the carrier so they had no where to go but the carrier or me.  We also had this cheap little fence thing we got at PetSmart when we first got Fleury (thinking it would keep him inside…. yeah right.  It was shorter than him!).  And I used to use that to round them up also, kind of close them in one side.  The chasing just stresses them out more so the less stress, the less of a grudge they will hold.  Here’s the thing I had, maybe you could find something around your house that is similar?

                                                                           

                                                                           


                                                                        • Sindri
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                                                                            That picture is funny. hehe I have decided its good to get them for bonding right before their nap time is ending. Kilala usually is on the bed in a loaf position half asleep so I can come up and pet her a couple of times and just pick her up. Another thing I have done is give them a treat and then while they are eating I quickly scoop them up. They have caught on to that. hehe Kilala also use to have access to under the bed but I bought a bunch of grids and zip tied them together around the bed so she can no longer go under it. She was chewing up stuff under there and it was also a pain to chase a rabbit who could get under the bed. So that has helped.


                                                                          • HenryMouse
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                                                                              Are you washing your hands in between handling her and your other buns? I volunteer at a shelter and some bunnies can get extremely aggressive if you touch them while you still smell like another bunny. It sounds like her old owners mistreated her, so I would just be patient and try to win her over by spending time with her without touching her, and spoiling her with treats

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                                                                          Forum BEHAVIOR Extremely Aggressive Rabbit