What is he trying to say?

[bunbun00]

Hi all!

its been so long since I’ve posted but I am back because I am so curious about what my rabbit is trying to tell me. Be warned of the essay below…

Some context – Onix is 2 and a half, is a grey/lilac double maned lion head and we do EVERYTHING together. Recently we moved so it’s just us. He is free roam the whole house (bungalow) but I keep the bedroom door closed as he has a tendency to pee on the bed. he goes into a “cage” at night from 11pm to 6am but never makes any noise and seems fine. He has a diet of mostly hay (he will only eat the excel long stem) and he has a range of veg but mostly herbs and then 2 Tbsp pellets each meal. He doesn’t ever play with “toys” except his large cat tunnel, digging outside, throwing toilet roll tubes and wicker baskets that he will destroy.

So due to lockdown I now work from home full time and will do for the foreseeable future. We spend all of our time together. Onix will sleep most of the day but follow me whenever I get up (not being cute he literally just wants food). When he decides to sleep by me, I will stroke him for hours and if I stop he will push me until I continue, which is fine I understand that. So he will eventually be fed up with the petting and walk off somewhere then come back and nip me or dig at me hard. I just can’t understand what he means, is he frustrated? I try moving, petting him again but he just keeps doing it and will then get quite hyper and start running around (almost like he enjoys being told off?).

I have no idea why he keeps doing this but it feels really random. He will also do it to my friends when they pet him. Digging hard, jumping up, snatching food and nipping (not hard). It’s so confusing for me. I usually know when he’s grumpy as he will face away from me, give me a quick thump or a loud growl/lunge. But these nips/digs don’t feel like he’s cross but I don’t know what they are!

Apologies for the essay I just wanted to ensure that the context is really clear I hope someone can help me find out what he wants!

[bunbun00]

Sorry I forgot to add he is neutered and an only bun.

[DanaNM]

First of all, can I just say, HE’S SO FLUFFY!!!! Omg so cute! LOL ok got that out of my system!

Bunnies will nip at each other to communicate, and through all that fur a nip that feels hard to us may not feel like much to a bunny.

When he nips you, have you tried squealing (imitating the bunny scream noise)? That can let them know they are hurting you and it often works.

I’m not too sure about the digging after pets. My Bunston used to do that to me after a nail trim, so I knew it was because he was mad at me. Zooming around after makes me think maybe he just has a lot of energy at those times and it is coming out as digging and zooming.  Maybe you could make him a digging box for inside, since it sounds like he really likes digging?

Try to pay close attention to how you react after these nipping and digging behaviors, you might be unintentionally rewarding them and reinforcing them (by giving him more pets, food, or a toy).

Bunnies really can’t be “trained” with negative reinforcement, but sometimes a loud noise or a spritz of water is enough to distract them from the problem behavior so they move on to something else.

Another thing to think about, is sometimes in dogs you can actually help with negative behaviors by actually training the dog to them. For example, if a dog barks all the time, sometimes you can train them to bark on command, which coincidentally makes the dog less likely to just bark unless they are asked to.

I wonder if clicker training might be good for you and Onix, because you could give him a command to do something beneficial when he is getting into trouble?

. . . 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.  

[Asriel and Bombur]

Asriel does this to me literally every single night. It’s honestly just a bad habit that I’ve come to accept 😂 he’s more inclined for petting at bedtime and during the night, so frequently I’ll get a visitor at 3am begging for snoot rubs. He’ll wake me up by digging at me and nipping until I pet him. It’s cute in an annoying way for sure.

[bunbun00]

Thanks guys!  Yeah it’s super cute when he does it I just think what do you want mate!!! Sometimes it’s so clear what they’re asking for others I just have no clue! Wish I could talk to him haaaa

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