Nipping or Biting?

[SariPearl]

So I have recently adopted a bunny from some friends who found him on the side of the rode. when I got him I could tell right away that he was not neutered because he is not litter trained and constantly tries to hump my legs, there are other big indicators that he’s not neutered but we have it scheduled. So the about a day or two ago I had him out and I was doing homework on the ground while he ran around; most of the time he just runs circles around me or does binkies and then when hes tired he either flops or comes up to me for pets. We were cuddling and he started to nip me every now and then and they weren’t hard nips but just like I felt his teeth every now and then but still I would say no and gently push his head away from my skin. When he kept on nipping I started to clap once and usually that takes care of it and he goes away but then he just comes right back and tries to nip and at one point I was like well maybe I should be letting him? Because so far his nips have not hurt but I’m afraid they’ll turn into bites. But then last night when I had him out, (and this time I had pants on) he was not wanting to bite or nip me at all except I realized he was looking for skin he would look for my feet and then when he found them he’s started biting hard, not enough to break skin or leave a mark but it still stings and I would really love to avoid getting to the point of broken skin.

[Wick & Fable]

Nipping is how rabbit’s communicate. You can imagine that the concept of humans having clothes of different textures, thickness, and tightness can be confusing, in addition to our skin. Just like how puppies need to learn the proper intensity of a communication “nip”, so do rabbits, especially to something as foreign as a human body, clothed or not. It’s a mixed bag of things you can do, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure you’re not reinforcing the harder nips as ways to communicate. So if your rabbit is asking you to move and you do so after a harder nip, that’s reinforcing. If your rabbit is requesting food and you give in after a series of nips, that’s reinforcing.

My second rabbit was a very big nipper, and she still is, though it’s drastically reduced and it’s very small nips now. I would use the back of my hand to guide her head away (key note here– guide. Not like I’m slapping her. Literally just slowly using my hand to move her head away from my legs) when she’d get nippy until she’d just go away. I would also just walk away and not acknowledge her, to show her that this is not how you communicate. You can also yelp to try and signal that it is hurting you (even if it’s not).

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.

[LBJ10]

I’ve had good luck with “squealing”. If you do this when they nip, it teaches them to adjust the pressure they use. A nip meant to communicate something should literally just be them placing their teeth on you.

[Valentine P.]

I would like to know how to keep my rabbit from biting. She breaks the skin and if I try to guide her away she just lunges at me and sometimes will continue to do so even if I make a noise like it hurts. She will even chase me around sometimes. I’ve had her since she was a baby and when she got older she got mean, never had I ever heard a rabbit growl until I heard her do it. I make sure she has everything she could want or need and am very patient with her but nothing works. Any advice would be very helpful and appreciated.

[SariPearl]

Ok I will try all of those things I am currently either squealing or saying no and then gently pushing him away. He usually just put his teeth on me but recently he’ll start to get ancy and look for something (idk what) and then bite/nip me, I honestly think it might have to do with sexual frustration cause he also gets all ancy and looks for things to mount when hes feeling “frisky”.

[Bam]

Yup, it does sound like sexual frustration. Buns can bite down pretty hard when they mount another bun, so hard that it breaks the skin of the mounted bun. It’s not about aggression or trying to cause hurt.

Since sex drive in a young intact bun is very strong, especially this time of year, removing him from your body parts may be the best option. He could however become obsessed and refuse to leave you alone.

(I had a rabbit who became obsessed with my dog. He didn’t try to outright mount her, but he circled her, nipped her hard and sprayed pee on her, and he was relentless in his pursuit of her. I decided to have him neutered, which fully resolved the issue.)

 

[DanaNM]

That nipping is the precursor to mounting (he loooooves you :p ). All the unneutered buns I’ve been around are crazy nippers! It should get a lot better once he’s neutered. I agree that the squealing tip works very well in the meantime.

. . . 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.  

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Yes, that squealing tip is very good! There are more tips about rabbit body language on this site: http://language.rabbitspeak.com On that site they advice to do the same an offended rabbit would do: squeal, turn your back to him a little and look over your shoulder. That says: I’m upset, but you can still make it up! Present your hand for licks when your rabbit comes to you to investigate, and let him make up again.

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