Aggresive Bunny

[Juniper]

I love my bunny, Juniper, but I don’t know what to do about her. I got her a few months ago at the humane society. I saw her and was intrigued by her calmness and sweet attitude. she was laying in a large pen with her feet kicked back, and let me pet her. I knew she was the bunny for me. after about 4-5 days of having her things went downhill. She began to act “sassy”. She would growl sometimes, too. I read that bunnies need time to warm up to you, so I gave her some space. It has now been a few months since I got her. She is acting more dominant and aggressive. She charges at feet and hands. She growls if you pet her to much, but lunges if you stop petting her before she wants you to. She is extremely territorial, too. She does not like to socialize too much either. I give her toys and treats, and try everything I can do to bond with her. She isn’t scared of me or my other pets, either. She bites my dog, and chases my cat. She has bit my sister and I multiple times, and made me bleed. She is spayed, 3  years old, and medically healthy. I don’t know what to do at this point. I don’t like giving up on animals, and I couldn’t bear giving her back to the shelter. What should I do?

[Sr. Melangell]

Try this, I posted it a few weeks ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxV0j7SwBbk

[Juniper]

Juniper doesn’t act aggressive like this bunny, though. She’s a very odd bunny because one moment she is sweet and snuggly, then the next she starts biting and nipping. She also digs at me a lot. She also lunges whenever I mess with a blanket I put in her cage…

[skysblue]

A lot of times I hv to be careful of my response to a bunny action because they pick up things really quick. For example, opening cage when they start biting the cage. If I were to open the gate that moment the rabbit learns by being aggressive at the cage leads to what she wants,which is not a good behavior. I would say find a way that discourage the negative behavior by not reacting the way the rabbit wanted, if that makes sense.

When she chases ur dog and cat, is she in distress? Was it an response or did she initiate the chase?

[tobyluv]

Here is a link to several articles on aggression, maybe they will be helpful: http://rabbit.org/category/behavior/aggression/

I know someone who had a very aggressive rabbit, who would frequently bite her, not just nips, but hard bites. After time and much patience working with him, he became a very sweet, loving rabbit.

[Juniper]

Thanks for the advice, and to answer your question, she is not distressed! Usually she initiates the chase. My bunny wanted to sit on the couch one time, but the cat was already sleeping there, so she jumped up and chased him of the couch. She doesn’t charge the dog as much as the cat, probably because of his size. She also chased the cat around for no reason. (This rarely happens) She isn’t scared of the pets, though, because she will still flop over right next to the dog. Her foster parent said she chased and bit his cats, he also gave minor hints that she was aggressive, but I didn’t pick up on them until after adopting her.

[Juniper]

Thanks! I hope she will eventually become sweet and loving!

[Author]

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