Biting bunny

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 7sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 12 months ago by jerseygirl.

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- 04/04/2013 at 4:57 PM
  dusky2012
  Participant
  91 posts
  My 6 month old male mini lop(holland) has recently started biting and digging at both me and my partner. We have tried shouting at him, telling him off, yelping in a high pitch and pushing him away but nothing works. Our vet has told us to tap his ear when he is bad but this isn’t working!
  
  He was neutered over a month ago. Totally at a loss now so would appreciate any advice! He has now put holes in my handbag, in shoes, jeans etc!
- 04/04/2013 at 5:06 PM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  He could be still experiencing some hormones. Does he bite while he’s out or when you are in his area?
- 04/04/2013 at 5:13 PM
  dusky2012
  Participant
  91 posts
  It’s only when he’s out, usually on the sofa or in the kitchen
- 04/05/2013 at 8:58 AM
  tanlover14
  Participant
  3617 posts
  Hmm, digging into your handbag and clothes could be a sign of boredom. Do you have a lot of things around for him to destroy? Like a phonebook or give him his own towel to dig into and rip apart. The towel really helped my rambunctious bunnies.
  
  Also, with the biting – I would try pushing his head down towards the ground when he bites. It’s showing a form of “dominance” and has really helped with my bunnies. The yelping with my Tans never worked – they just started acting like it was a game.
- 04/05/2013 at 9:59 AM
  dusky2012
  Participant
  91 posts
  Thanks for the replies! I must admit I have wondered if he is bored, we’d have bought him toys but he ignores them, he goes through phases of playing/shredding the phone book and haymat. We accidentally left a towel near him which he completely shredded but I think he may eat some of it too so I wasn’t sure if this was safe for him?
- 04/05/2013 at 1:06 PM
  MunchMom
  Participant
  36 posts
  I have a couple of tactics that have worked w/ Munch. He has nipped at us since we got him, but has settled down very much.
  
  First tactic, if he was nipping out of what seemed to be territory, anxiety, dominance we would immediately start grooming OURSELVES right after the nip. You’d be surprised at how it would settle things down. In bunny language it is kind of, “Hey, you’ve misread the situation, everything is cool here.” Once we groomed, he’d start to groom and things would be squashed.
  
  Second tactic, if he turns toward me like he wants to nip or even starts to strike, I IMMEDIATELY put my hand flat on the ground in front of him. He’s also a mini-lop, and with that flat snout, he can’t really get to bite a flat hand. He has NO idea what I am doing. He has no point of reference for this flat hand in front of him. It perplexes and COMPLETELY disarms him. He forgets about being nippy. My SO has started to do it as well, and it works for him too.
- 04/05/2013 at 2:31 PM
  dusky2012
  Participant
  91 posts
  Well so far we have tried pushing his head down and have given him more digging stuff, he seems a bit shocked but seems to be taking it well!
  
  Thanks everyone!
- 04/09/2013 at 8:16 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  I like your tactics MunchMom !
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