Territorial Bunny who’s biting us!

[Serawyn]

Chloe, our sweet little girl, is not so sweet anymore. She’s starting to bite us now when we’re walking around the house or sitting at the table. We normally let her run loose in our bedroom. My husband is at his reading corner and I’d be on the laptop on the bed. Well, she’s jump onto the bed to say “hi”, hop around the room, and then occasionally run into DH and bite him. It’s not the “hey, pay attention to me and pet me.” She’s actually biting, biting and there’s a lot of blood! My husband has been bitten at least a dozen times!

We try to tell her “NO!” when she does this. But, she’d thump and hop away as if *we* are the ones in the wrong. We also pat her head down gently to let her know we’re “boss”.Nothing about her environment has changed. She’s eating normally, and she’s binkying, flopping in her cage (that’s also in our bedroom). I can’t figure out why she’s starting to bite us. It seems like she doesn’t want to share her space or that she’s really upset with us. We haven’t done anything differently.  

 

Please help! 

[Sarita]

I always think that first thing when there is a change in a rabbit’s behavior it might be a good idea to get a vet examination.

My rabbit Pepe who has dental problems always gets more aggressive when his mouth hurts. Just because they appear to be eating normally doesn’t always mean that they are feeling well. Also since Chloe is a lop, they have more of a tendency to have dental problems.

[Sarita]

Also one of our members had a rabbit who was acting aggressively and it turned out she was in pain from some pinched nerves (I think that’s what it was) that the vet discovered once treated Marshmallow felt better and the aggression from the pain was gone.

[Balefulregards]

My first thought is pain or discomfort too —- But, I do know sometime Coco gets just, well – Ornery. A vet check would be in order and if she is all right physically, you may need to re-set the boundaries. When Coco gets ornery, I most likely am being punished by her for something I was unaware of doing. She got into a tiff last week and pee’d on the rugs, after pointedly stopping in front of me, turning her furry bum and letting the urine fly.

I find that it is an issue of dominance then, and I need to remind her that I am still top bun. I do this by caging her for a few hours. As she is free roam 24/7, this is a very pointed message….especially when she can see Jackson hopping freely about. I have wondered if she will ramp it up at some point….but I would rather not think about how devious she Could be if she really put her mind to it…

[bunnytowne]

I was thinking maybe her age or needing spaying.   However she is already spayed and 4 years old so thats not it.

To bite and draw blood like that.   Yes could be a health issue or she is in pain and is telling you something is wrong.  Poor girl

Poor husband.   Could she have a UTI  or teeth or well I guess a vet would tell you better than I thats for sure

[RabbitPam]

Definitely get her to the vet for an exam to see if there is something wrong.

If she is completely fine and that is eliminated, my next thing would be to examine your husband’s soaps, shampoos and scents to see if he’s changed to something new. A cologne, even a food like garlic which would change his scent could be upsetting her. She may not recognize him, or think there’s something wrong with him. Next his clothes – is he getting the scent of any other animal on him? (petting a friend’s dog?)

[Author]

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