Biting??

[Naddy the sushi roll]

Bonbon is my first pet, and well, shes gettung bigger and older, i put a harness on her, and she began acting very agressively, and fighting it, and i tried to comfort her to calm her down, but she just pawed at my hand really fast, and lightly bit my hand, like she didnt bite hard, it didnt feel like a bite really, it felt like she used my thumb to grind her teeth, but it happened so fast.
Now im afraid of her.
Im not sure what to do, does she hate me?

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Welcome to the forum, and good that you asked your question here. It must have been a scary situation for the both of you, and I hope it didn’t make you scared of her. Most people think that bunnies are like docile overgrown hamsters, but actually they are comparable to feisty dogs. This doesn’t make them good starter/children’s pets, because rabbits are very opinionated and can be difficult to handle if you’re not prepared for all that sass. I hope that the information on the forum can help you to get more acquainted with your rabbit, so you can understand her behaviour and prevent these incidents. 

When handling rabbits it’s always important to remember that rabbits are prey animals: they want to be able to run for their safe spot whenever they feel threatened. This is why they don’t like to be restrained, held tightly or to be picked up: they can’t flee in case of danger. It’s difficult to teach an older rabbit to accept a harness, so she may have been warning you to stop putting it on her. The bite she gave you sounds more like a warning nip: “hey, back off!”. The real anger bites which follow these warning nips are more painful and can even pierce the skin to draw blood.

Rabbits don’t hate people unless they frequently ignore their bun’s comfort zone or disrespect their warnings. This was just an incident and with some effort you can restore your bond. After an incident like this it’s important to do trust exercises together so you can restore your bond.
Rabbits are very sensitive animals who use body language and sounds to communicate many different emotions. They can feel offended just like we do, and it’s important for a rabbit owner to learn your rabbit’s language. Rabbits are group animals and will treat their owners like a part of their group. If you do it right, you’ll notice that she’ll tell you many things throughout the day: “I don’t like this”, “I want to be petted”, “I enjoy this”, “Hey I notice you’re not feeling well”. Work together with her and you can form an even better bond

There are several helpful websites to learn more about rabbit body language, trust exercises and what rabbits do and don’t like:

Body language: http://language.rabbitspeak.com
Trust exercise: https://www.wikihow.pet/Bond-With-Your-Rabbit
https://www.justrabbits.com/handling-rabbits.html

You’ll be surprised about the connection you can make with your bun when you practice together. I hope this helps and that you and Bonbon continue to be best buds ^_^ 

[Author]

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