My boy isn’t fixed and is getting mean

[ArchiesMom]

I have had my bunny for 7 months now so he is ready to be fixed but I don’t have the money right now. He is charging and biting me. He bit my roommate really hard till she was bleeding. I spanked him and now he is even more mean. I know I shouldn’t have but when I saw blood I reacted without thinking. My question to you guys is .. when I get him fixed. Will he still be mean like this? I know sometimes when dogs don’t get fixed in time and they already started peeing on everything sometimes they will still do that even when fixed. I just hope he doesn’t stay mean, biting and charging at everyone. Thanks for reading if you have anything that would help I’d love to hear !

[LBJ10]

I know it’s hard not to react when something like that happens, but please understand that he isn’t going to know why you’re spanking him. All he will know is that you are causing him pain and that will make him fear you. Keep in mind that fear can cause aggression too. So you run the risk of making him lash out even more. It sounds like you realize your mistake though, so that’s good. I wouldn’t advise doing it again.

Obviously, there isn’t going to be a whole lot you can do until he is neutered. But, you could look to see if there is a pattern going on. Does anything seem to trigger him? If it’s something identifiable, then you could try avoiding doing that.

In the meantime… if he is aggressive, charging and biting then it might be a good idea to section him off. I wouldn’t recommend confining him in a tiny area like a cage because that might make his behavior worse. But maybe preventing him from accessing every area of your home will allow your roommate to move around without fear of being attacked. Do you have an exercise pen or a baby gate that you could use to section him off?

ETA: To answer your question, I don’t think the aggression will necessarily “stick”. Sometimes, bunnies get used to peeing in a certain spot and neutering doesn’t stop it. But it doesn’t seem to work that way with hormone-driven aggression. So as long as his aggression is due to hormones, it should lessen once he’s neutered.

[sarahthegemini]

Other than getting him neutered asap, there’s not much you can do. 

There’s no excuse for hitting him. If you do it again then yes he probably will remain ‘mean’ because he’s terrified of getting beaten.  

[Sirius&Luna]

He’s probably mean because you hit him and now he’s terrified. You could literally kill him by hitting him.

If you can’t control yourself you shouldn’t have pets.

[MountainBuns]

Yes, neutering is recommended to control aggression and territorial behavior.

But you should have not hit him. I understand that your roommate needed help but honestly, by getting a rabbit, you should have known sooner or later something like this might happen. Had your roommate done something to him before? Like did she try to pet him because usually a rabbit’s first aggressive behavior it shows is probably a grunt/growl. Afterwards you may get kicked which will rarely ever hurt that much but when a rabbit feels truly threatened to the point where it feels it needs to do something or it will be hurt, it will bite. Maybe you guys could have done something to scare him before. Either way it is not right to hit your animals no matter the species whether it be a dog or a parakeet, cat or rabbit. NEVER and I mean NEVER is there a reason to hit a animal (except if there is threat to human life). If you wanted to get something more friendly, you should have went for a dog or something. Keep in mind rabbits are prey animals and now he might see humans as predators instead or friends.

Was the hit hard? Like was it a light touch or like had the speed of a punch? Where did you hit him too? If it was more than the power of a firm but gentle stroke and was near the neck, head, belly or spine, you should take him to see a vet. Poor little guy.

*Also I know we might have come off a little harsh, like we were mad at you but really we are just trying to help. Please do not stop replying because of this. We are here to help.*

[Bladesmith]

You. Hit. The. RABBIT?!?

Nope.  Not going to end well. I’m not going to handle this well. I’m outta here.

[Boing]

Hi Archiesmom, I am sorry to hear about this. I am not an expert, but agree about penning him off. Maybe try to do his box when he is in a different area of the enclosure. Also, if I were you, I would wear shoes and thick jeans when moving about the enclosure to take care of him. Your body language will change, imperceptibly to humans but not to animals, if you feel less vulnerable. This plus more space may be just what you two need!

[mschoonover11]

Don’t spank your rabbit that’s just completely messed up and absurd. Rabbits are animals not children.
I understand that you currently don’t have the money to get your rabbit fixed, but if you know that you can’t afford everything that a rabbit requires, then it’s sadly not the pet for you. I know this may sound harsh, but if you can’t handle or afford the needs of your rabbit, you may want to consider rehoming him. Check if there are local shelters around you that take in rabbits. Places like the HRS take better care of the rabbits than some owners might themselves. They fix the rabbit, and make sure that they find a forever home. I’m sorry your’e going through this, but it was truly a mistake for you to spank your rabbit. That’s just going to make the situation worse

[mschoonover11]

and also, rabbits will show aggression when they’re not in a good environment. If you show him some love, that might help. he’s just an animal. They do not know what they’re doing.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Charging and aggression are hormonal behaviours. Perfectly normal and not your bunnies fault.

[LBJ10]

I’m not going to single anyone out, but I think some of the members commenting on this post are being a bit harsh. It’s obvious that the OP realizes that they made a mistake. Plus we don’t know the entire story. We don’t know how hard the “spanking” was, for example. I mean, I’ve used my hand to cup Leopold’s rear to give him a solid push away from something. This is because he can’t hear me tell him no. The only way to communicate to him that he shouldn’t be doing something is to physically remove him. I don’t hit him though. Obviously, truly spanking or hitting a rabbit is not going to solve anything. And, if someone were to hit their rabbit hard, they could potentially cause injury. So I understand everyone’s concern here. But we really don’t know the details. I think it would be much more constructive to explain why spanking can be detrimental (which some of you have) and help the OP find solutions (at least until the bunny can be neutered).

For the record, some bunnies can become aggressive for seemingly no reason. I’m sure there is a reason, but it isn’t necessarily anything that the owner did. Hormones can play a huge role. But some bunnies can become cage or food possessive and it has nothing to do with hormones.

So let’s stay on topic everyone! I’m sure this member would appreciate some helpful ideas. Maybe we can alert some members who have (had) an aggressive rabbit. What about BB?

[mschoonover11]

Posted By LBJ10 on 2/25/2018 6:29 PM

I’m not going to single anyone out, but I think some of the members commenting on this post are being a bit harsh. It’s obvious that the OP realizes that they made a mistake. Plus we don’t know the entire story. We don’t know how hard the “spanking” was, for example. I mean, I’ve used my hand to cup Leopold’s rear to give him a solid push away from something. This is because he can’t hear me tell him no. The only way to communicate to him that he shouldn’t be doing something is to physically remove him. I don’t hit him though. Obviously, truly spanking or hitting a rabbit is not going to solve anything. And, if someone were to hit their rabbit hard, they could potentially cause injury. So I understand everyone’s concern here. But we really don’t know the details. I think it would be much more constructive to explain why spanking can be detrimental (which some of you have) and help the OP find solutions (at least until the bunny can be neutered).

For the record, some bunnies can become aggressive for seemingly no reason. I’m sure there is a reason, but it isn’t necessarily anything that the owner did. Hormones can play a huge role. But some bunnies can become cage or food possessive and it has nothing to do with hormones.

So let’s stay on topic everyone! I’m sure this member would appreciate some helpful ideas. Maybe we can alert some members who have (had) an aggressive rabbit. What about BB?

I completely agree with you. I’m so sorry if I was not so kind It’s just that it’s pretty unusual to hear “I spanked my rabbit”. But like LBJ10 said, we don’t know the whole story. Maybe she could’ve just shoved him a bit. Who knows?Again, I’m super sorry if I came out a little mean. This is a bunny forum We should spread positivity! Not hate

[ArchiesMom]

Woah, a lot of these responses were kind of ridiculous. I didn’t punch my rabbit into the next room, I gave him a lil tap/shove from his bottom. He’s not injured from this at all. And to the people saying if I can’t afford to get him fixed right now then I should re home him. I’ve brought him to the vet before for check ups and eye drops. So believe me I can afford to take care of things when needed. Just because I can’t afford to get him fixed this week doesn’t mean I’ll never get him fixed. This was me humbling myself and asking for help. I know I was wrong and I admitted that. I feel sorry for all the negative vibes you surround yourself with. And to everyone who was nice and genuinely wanted to help and not bash me thank you and I’ll take your answers into consideration.

[BinkyBunny]

Archiesmom –  Welcome to BinkyBunny. 
Thank you so much for coming here and posting with honesty about what happened.  At the same time it’s understandable why people would be upset.  I think it is very important for things to be clarified from both OP and members who reply.   People can’t know for sure what really happened, and it’s not outlandish for people to think the worst, so it’s always very important anytime anyone posts to be very clear about what something actually means, especially when it comes to statements about spanking—as well as important for others to ask for clarification to make sure what is really going on before reacting.  It’s so easy in this format for things to go all wrong.

Okay — deep breath everyone.    Clarification has been made.  Thanks so much to LBJ10 for rallying toward that goal. 

I know I will be repeating what others say, but maybe something new will give you some additional hope too. 

Is it possible that he may be aggressive after neutering. Yes.  But it’s not likely.  (Note it can take up 6 weeks or more for those hormones to die down) 

Most likely after he is neutered, he will become less aggressive an return to normal.  I am assuming that this behavior of aggression started at about 3 months old? Let me know if that is not correct.  I remember my very first bunny, Forest.   I got Forest at about 10 weeks and he was so cute!  Then around 3 months old, he actually charged and growled at me.  I was shocked! I didn’t even know bunnies growled back then.  He’d bite, growl. and box!   Then after he was neutered, (and had time for hormones to die down), never did he bite or box again. He’d sometimes growl, but that was just part of him saying what he didn’t like. 

I’ve also had bunnies that were aggressive — but I adopted them that way.  The white bunny, Jack, in my avatar, was so aggressive that the rescue was considering sending him to a rabbit sanctuary as he just seemed so hospitable to everyone.  But I wanted a chance to foster him to see if I could turn things around.  I did, he became an amazing bunny.  After that, anytime I wanted to adopt from the rescue, they seemed to think of me as the bunny tamer, and steer me toward their hard core cases.    Anyway, somehow I learned how to help soften the aggression.   It all depends on why the aggression is happening.  (Sometimes it’s fear based, sometimes it becomes a learned behavior even after fear is gone ,etc)   There are different ways to handle each case.   And I have found aggressive bunnies actually learn very quickly.  I am not saying they are smarter, but I think they are much more alert to different techniques like clicker training etc. 

The bunny I have now can be aggressive to others (she was in a shelter for 5 years before I adopted her because she was cage protective and can still be territorial), but she is also one of the most smart snuggly affectionate bunnies I have ever had.  (Besides Jack in my avatar).   I just have to teach others how to approach her still so they don’t get bit!   I have to be careful too as certain hand movements will still cause her to react. (I haven’t been bit by her in years!). 

So….. with that said.  The best thing you can do is start noting what makes your bunny charge or bite.  Since this is most likely hormone driven, you will be seeing natural reactions that you may not be able to change until neutered, but you can work around and offer positive reinforcement for behaviors you want to see.  As you have discovered negative reinforcement can make things worse.  Rabbits being prey animals will kick in their fight or flight response. (and many will stick with fight)    Since that was a one time mistake and you are looking for other options, there is a very good chance for a positive outcome.  Thank you for looking for other options. 

So right now — with his hormones raging, when are you seeing him charge and bite?  Does it seem to be when you put your hand down near him? when you touch his stuff or enter into his area?  or all of it?   What seems to make him the most aggressive? 

Be patient and hang in there.  

[BinkyBunny]

Oh — I forgot to offer some links that you may find helpful.  Some are due to aggression even after neutering, but they still may have tips that can be helpful while you wait. 

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINF…fault.aspx (scroll down to bottom aggression) 

https://rabbit.org/?s=aggress

[sarahthegemini]

To be fair, you did specifically say that you ‘spanked him’ so of course we all thought you hit him. That’s what you said. It’s not really ridiculous to come to that conclusion based on what was said. Doesn’t mean we surround ourselves with negative vibes We care about rabbits. We are obviously going to have a problem with somebody saying they hit their bun. I’m glad you have since clarified what you did.

[Bladesmith]

Apologies. It may help to know that some of us have had extensive dealings with abused rabbits/animals, and react poorly to the suggestion of abuse. Thanks for clarifying.

Your problem sounds hormonal. Fixing the rabbit should fix the problem in due course. With rabbits, I’ve found that patience and diligence are the cure for most issues.

[MountainBuns]

Honestly, you should have said tapped him not spanked. You have to take into consideration that we are not all hearing each others voices so we cannot understand your tone about this situation. The way you put it into context is that this was your first pet and that this is just how you have been taught to treat animals. But now I see this is not the case and that you really are trying your hardest to take care of him. I am sorry about this misunderstanding and I want you to know you have my respect.

Yeah, I would try and neuter him A.S.A.P. Its okay if you do not have the money to do it right now. That is just another part of pet ownership. I am sorry again and I hope that this will stop some aggressive behavior.

[LBJ10]

I had a feeling there was more to the story, so I’m glad there has been clarification now. This was obviously a misunderstanding on both sides, but now that things have been cleared up I think we can move on.

ArchiesMom – I know it must have been difficult for you to ask for help, but I’m glad you did. I hope you will stick around because there is a wealth of knowledge here on BB.

I think the best way to move forward is to observe your bunny and how he reacts and when. Learning what his triggers are will help you better understand how to help improve his behavior. At least somewhat, until he can be neutered, that is. Some of the articles BB linked to are very helpful. I like the idea of wearing protective clothing and then not reacting when he goes into attack mode. It may help him learn that acting in such a manner is not going to scare you off.

Does he have free roam of your home? It wasn’t clear from your initial post, but I thought perhaps he does. If that is the case, then I did also suggest earlier that it might help (your roommate, anyway) if he doesn’t have access to every single room. He shouldn’t be confined in a tiny area, of course, but having too much freedom when he is being aggressive may not be a good thing.

[Author]

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