Nipping

[BunnyLass568]

I’m not 100% certain if this belongs here or in another topic. Also so sorry for posting so soon!

My bun Blossom has taken up nipping every few days when it comes to pellets. Now it hasn’t been hard and I do not give her pellets right away when she nips, I say “no biting”/”no nipping” and wait a few seconds. Well today she nipped a little to hard and her pellet bowl fell out of my hand and landed upside down before I could do anything. I’m glad that she’s comfortable enough to nip because she’s usually skittish but I can’t help but feel like I’ve been subconsciously enabling this behavior. Does anyone have any tips for the next time this happens?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[BunnyLass568]

Sorry, subconsciously wasn’t the right word. I meant unknowingly enabling. Again sorry!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Wick & Fable]

I would definitely not reinforce it by giving her pellets when she does it. Pellet time is often a very energetic time for rabbits, and that excitement can lead to nipping. You can try changing when pellet time is so that behavior doesn’t get reinforced due to anticipatory energy motivating the behavior to come up. You can also change how you feed it– perhaps a pellet ball would be good, so the nipping energy is redirected towards the ball.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Hazel]

My rabbit went through a phase of bad food aggression. What I did was put food in my hand, make a fist and put it on the floor in front of him (wearing gloves is recommended). As expected, he would attack, bite and claw at my hand. I let him do that until he gave up. Once he sat there calmly, pondering the mystery before him, I opened my hand and let him eat. He got with the program quickly enough. 😉

[DanaNM]

omg BunnyLass I’m right there with ya! Cooper just did this to me last night! Such a punk!

I normally use an ice cream scoop to dole out the pellets because when I use a little cup he was trying to yank it out of my hand. I just got back from a trip and things must have been a bit wild with the pet sitter because he was a wild man! I normally do wait till they are calm but he bit my hand which made me drop some of the pellets! Such a brat!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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