Baby bun bit me and I accidentally lightly smacked her in reflex

[lunavenus]

Hey guys, 

So, my Luna thought my big toe was some good treat or toy so she decided to take a big MUNCH into it. It startled me quite alot because I wasn’t paying attention, and of course my first reflex was to wack whatever was hurting me away. I didn’t hit her hard it was more of a kinda forceful tap (almost smack) on her head and I screamed OUCH. I felt really bad and guilty for hitting her because it startled her but the bite seriously hurt ALOT. It almost drew blood :/
So my question is did I mess up our trust? Will she hate me? Was it wrong of me to hit her even if it was an accident? Has anybody else ever accidentally hit their bunny? I didn’t mean to hit her even if it wasn’t that hard of a hit. The bite just really hurt and my reflexes kicked in   I have a bite mark on my big toe now with a lil bit of swelling. 
I never hit my bunnies on purpose. The worst I’ve done was squirt a lil water on them when they are biting through the coroplast as negative reinforcement so they stop. I hide away from their line of sight and squirt them slightly so they don’t know it’s me. They just know that when they bite the coroplast a mysterious squirt of water from somewhere unknown wets them a tiny bit. 
I think luna still trusts me and likes me because she let me pet her and stuff just a moment ago after I accidentally smacked her. I think she understood that when she bit me, it hurt me.  
How do you guys deal with rabbits biting you?? What else can I do to deter them from doing that either than screaming ouch?? 

[BinkyBunny]

The fact you understand fully that hitting isn’t the right thing to do and it was done out of reflex, means it was more of an accident, so it’s best to just learn from it and not punish yourself. Like you said, it wasn’t very hard – sounds like it startled even you. Even if it scared or startled her too, lots of love will get you two back on track. Sounds like she’s already forgotten it. Moving forward there are different techniques to train your bunny not to do that. And how you react may also depend on why a bunny bites. Sounds like she either wanted you to move your toe or maybe you moved your foot/toes without thinking about it and they moved in such a way that startled her or she mistook as aggression. In that case, I would give a high pitched squeal (as that is rabbit speak for Ouch!). If she seems to be doing an aggressive move ,then you can turn your back to her or walk away. The turning your back fully to her is rabbit code for unacceptable! it doesn’t sound like she is an aggressive rabbit that needs training right. Just a few little bits of human to rabbit (and vice versa) miscommunication.

My bunny Aria would nip me when she would come up on the couch to play. I didn’t understand it – at first I thought she wanted me off, but then I realized in her case, for whatever reason, maybe her past, I got the feeling she was doing it out of insecurity — not sure really, but it seemed like she would get upset that I  might take away her toys or push her off. I began meeting her aggression with affection, and she then quickly started feeling safe and stopped nipping). She used to nip when I would stop petting her and I would just say nope! and I’d get up and leave. That stopped that kind of nipping too. 

 Unfortunately there is no one way to handle nipping. It has to do with why, and then you can figure out how to stop it. In all cases, hitting, even lightly, is never the answer, instead, leaving, ignoring/non-reaction to true aggression, body language (back turning) squealing, positive reinforcement, clicker training can all be methods to help stop biting, but which one you use and how you use it really depends on why the rabbit is biting. One method may not work at all or even make it worse if used for the wrong reason.

[lunavenus]

Oh okay. Thanks for the advice.
Luna just really startled me when she bit me and like many other people my first response was to smack whatever was hurting me away. I think maybe I was in her way or she thought my toe was something she can nibble on. I’ll try my best not to hit her out of reflex the next time she bites me. It was the first time she ever did that so it really surprised me. She’s still affectionate towards me so I’m going to assume she learned that biting me isn’t a good idea and she didn’t hold a grudge against me for accidentally hitting her (thank goodness). She still accepts treats and relaxes when I pet her I’d never hit her on purpose. Rabbits are so fragile like babies and just hitting animals in general on purpose is wrong and abusive.

[Bam]

Do you think it was aggression from her side? My Yohio once bit me in the leg when I was stading in the hall-way. He just ran up to me and bit me and drew blood. I scooped him away with my foot. It seemed to make him surprised. Like “What? No treat?”

I think that was about attention. At other times he has growled at me and boxed me like out of the blue, and just as BB, I’ve interpreted it as insecurity. I’ve also dealt with it by using affection and by not backing down. This happened a lot more when he was younger, it very rarely happens now.

[Bunbun]

It’s alright, it was an accident. Luna should be fine. After all, sometimes we step on our bunnies, and that probably hurts more than a smack! I don’t think your bunny will be forever wounded. I’m sure she’ll stay the same happy little bun as she always was!

My bunny nips me a lot, but immediately licks the spot afterwards. I’m used to it now, lol.

I’ve heard that screaming “EEEEK!!” will alert a bunny that he or she has hurt you. That’s how other bunnies communicate to each other that they’re hurt.

Anyways, when Bunbun bites me, I usually try to calm him down if he’s angry, pick him up, and scold him. He’s a bit aggressive when I enter “his territory”. Then I put him down and give him pets and kissies to let him know I’m not THAT mad. Or, I tap him on the forehead and tell him NO and ignore him. 

[LBJ10]

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve accidentally kicked my buns. A couple weeks ago, I was walking and Wooly was running around all excited and he ran into my foot right as I was swinging it forward. He got conked pretty good. I felt bad, obviously, but he seemed oblivious. I think they know when it’s an accident. So if you swatted your bun away because you were startled by a sudden chomp, I doubt she will hold it against you.

[lunavenus]

OMG i accidentally kicked luna today >..> and since they aren’t spayed yet they poop everywhere.

[Beka27]

Yes, I haven’t smacked my bunny (that I can recall over the last several years!) but I have accidentally kicked/walked into them. They’re just so short, lol! You learn to do ‘the bunny shuffle’ so they don’t get stepped on!

Move on from here, the relationship isn’t ruined forever.

[skysblue]

Accidents happen, and i don’t think a smack is that traumatic compared to other things.

I sometimes smack my rabbit (don’t go near the eyes or sensitive part) if she is trying to nip me. She then stops and gives me a “wtf” moment. She either continues or decided to get distracted with other things (they have really short attention span).

I think distraction is a good way to stop rabbit from nipping you. The loud squeaky noise or a loud noise would help along the way too. I push my rabbit away firmly whenever she insist to nip or dig/bite stuff, couple pushes usually do the job. You can also do positive reinforcement of other things so she won’t spend time on things she doesn’t get reward for.

[Bunbun]

Positive reinforcement never works on my bunny. I give him the treat, he eats it, then totally forgets why he got the treat. Sigh… 

I’ve kicked my bun SO many times! He suddenly runs in between my legs while I’m walking!!! He doesn’t get very mad though.

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