6 week old rabbit nipping - HARD

[TinysMom]

Becky, our lovely 6 week old lionhead from my litter that was born in December - is nipping - hard - at me. This is something she is deliberately doing - and the worst part is - she's such a sweetie.

She'll be playing on the bed and then suddenly come up to me and bite me or nip me pretty hard (usually on the hand or arm but she got me once on the leg). Then if I don't catch her right off - she takes off running and binkying.

She doesn't appear to be doing it out of meanness and it is like she's playing or trying to get attention. When I tell her no and stuff - she goes off and sulks and won't make eye contact with me at all.

How have y'all broken your nippers from the habit of nipping?

Peg

 

[XxMontanaxX]

Maybe she's doing it just for attention, to get a reaction out of you.

Is there anyway you can just try to continue what you are doing and not pay any attention or make any sound or anything when she does it?

Thats what forum people told me when I had birds that bit.

Goodluck!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Oh peg, I hope you can break her. Once Bo figured out that he got a reaction from me - he got worse! For a long time he would bite me HARD on the chin or mouth. He also got to where he knew exactly where on my chest he should bite!!! :shock:Infact he got me there the other day and he got tossed in my reaction!

I've used the hold their head down technique. I also think that a confined space would work - but don't use the crate you take them to the vet in. I've tried to figure out something that he doesn't play in or whatever but haven't had luck.

Holding bo's head down has stopped him from the face biting. He will act as if he will bite sometimes and I tell him NO! and he stops. His is usually that he wants down or wants me to stop brushing/clipping/looking over him for health and stinky places LOL!

Now and then he will nip to get my attention in a good way. It seems like the ones that are so sweet and loving are the ones that nip for one reason or another.

Bo will lay down right after a bad nip and flatten out for me to pet him....... Little brats!

I hope my suggestions help or trigger something you can think might.

 

[TinysMom]

I've been doing the hold her head down type thing and all it does is make her run away and then not look at me. I want to continue to have a good relationship with her....

I'll keep reading for thoughts/opinions. Part of it is - I know we probably don't play with them nearly enough - but I only have so many hours in my day....if I spend more time with her in particular - I wonder if she'll feel less neglected or whatever.

Peg

 

[PixieStixxxx]

Ohh jeez, it took me 8 months to break Spank out of that habit.

He onced nipped me HARD in the nostrils and hung there. Pratically pierced it for me =O

I don't think this would help you, because all I did was TLC. I held him like a baby while he was nipping my shoulder. I carried him around when he went into bite mode. I even kissed him for several minutes after the nostril incident. Basically, I showed him that there was no point in nipping and biting mommy, and that he could be the little jerk, and it wouldn't make a difference. Now when he's mad, he just lunges and digs at my pant legs until I give him what he wants.

 

[maherwoman]

Aww...hugs, and high hopes and prayers for her to stop thinking this is fun.

I would give you tons of advice, but the only thing that stopped Teeny from doing it (so far) was putting him back in his cage as a time out...and it seems he's learned not to do it anymore.

((HUGS)) for you both and lots of patience for you!

Love to you!

Rosie*

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I have a place on my arm right now that Bo was just "fluffing" and he thought he had the blanket or my shirt (I have such holey clothing sometimes!) and he got me! MAN it hurt and it's just finally healing...... I know he was shocked when he realized it was Mama. He crawled up on my chest and laid his head on my shoulder.....

 

[Thumpers_Mom]

Ah yes, the nipper. I am trying to figure this out myself. Thumper is VERY lovable but sometimes out of nowhere...BAM...I get nipped. The worse when he latched on to my lip and held on :shock:.

When he nips, I turn my back on him (like it says in the language of lagomorph's website) then he comes running to me trying to be cuddly and I pay him no mind. I also put him back in his cage for time out. After a few minutes, I pick him up and cuddle him and tell him how much I love him. :foreheadsmack:

Now, his nips have become less frequent but I am afraid to have him near my face. I still carry him and kiss him. I am just more careful.

*jackie

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

When my bunnies bite I usually just, politely, say "please don't nip, (bunnie's name)" of course, this doesnt really work, since they don't know what I'm saying. I usually just say "ouch" quite loudly and then get away from them. If you give thim a little tap, nothing hard, just like a little finger to nose contact, kind of like shutting the muzzle, and say "no, ouchies" then that can train them, I guess. I read in books that you were to say "OUCH" after they bit you, and such. I do that and put them down, and kind of give them "the silent treatment" until they look forgiving, lol.

Emily

p.s. don't tap your bunnies on the nose though, unless you really think they deserve it, and in most cases they don't.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Well, Tony is in trouble right now!

I was giving him a bite to eat in the pen and he must have thought I was going to take it back and he nipped me. He got a tap. I hope he doesn't get aggressive like that - he's such a good boy.

 

[polly]

From info i have read you should squeal like a rabbit does whenit is in pain so the bun knows it is hurting you.

Now have visions of a whole lot of people squealing lol.

Anyways it has worked for me then i put them back to bed

 

[Nut]

I've also heard about the squealing thing, because most times they don't actually mean to hurt you.

Thankfully, my bunny never "latched on" so to say, but she has nipped. What I used to do, is when she bit, I would squeal (all I knew ) and tap her face. Just on the muzzle, not really hard. It doesn't appear to hurt at all, more a little shock than anything. Nutmeg didn't get aggressive or scared or anything...actually better.

You could also just try bonding. Now I know what it is like to have a bunny that doesn't appear to notice you at all sometimes, and are just curious about the world. What I've done, is sit up against something, curl my legs up to me (almost in fetal pose), and place the rabbit there, laying down with their head away from you (a little bit like they're standing). The key is to stay calm yourself, because they can sense it. Don't be excited or anxious, and hold their head down with a little forceuntil they calm down, you'll sense it. Then my little Nutmeg just lays there so content, she loves it. She grinds her teeth gently and closes her eyes. Especially if I rub circles or pet just under the eyes. She "purrs" so nice when I pet her ears.



Good luck with you and your bunny! Hope I was some help. :biggrin2:

 

[ec]

With Nibbles, there was no single solution - except time, love, and patience. (She had just been spayed when i adopted her, and was still quite hormonal - and young, so very much a "teen.")

It was often hard for me to tell when she was going from excited behavior (pulling on my clothes to get my attention) to overenthusiastic grooming (with teeth) to actual nipping. I think there weren't really firm boundaries between the various behaviors, if that makes sense... and a *lot* of it was resolved by simply growing up and coming to trust me more.

I did try gently pressing her head and shoulders down and praising her when she licked - for a long time, she'd start nippig first, then realize what she'd done and lick my hand profusely, as if apologizing.

In the end, I think it was a combination of her getting past her crazy "teen" stage + growing trust. She rarely ever nips me now, and when she does, she's far gentler than was the case when she was younger. That makes me think that perhaps buns don't have full control of some of their muscles until after they reach adulthood, but I really don't know if there's any literature on that or not. I have seen the same observation made by others, though.

My guess is that attention and love are crucial here. I know it's no fun to be nipped like that. one thing I had to keep in mind was that Nibbles was *not* doing it out of ill will toward me. She was just being a stubborn little bun, intent on telling me who's boss (at times)!

And yes, she's still pretty assertive, but basically very sweet and affectionate - though I have to admit that I miss some of her crazy but cute behaviors from her "teen" days.

Edited to add: She absolutely loved to pull on my clothes so that she could feel the texture of the matieral with her mouth. There were many inadvertant hard nips as a result, because she got carried away and did't ahve much of a sense of where the cloth ended and my skin began. But she did learn to respond to the word "gentle," and after a while she easily would shift from pulling with her teeth to jsut simply feeling my clothes with her mouth.

She still loves to tug on my pants, and that's fine with me. No damage done, and it's very cute.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Bo tugs on my shirts to "fluff" when he's in the mood..... I have several hoodies, tshirts and pajamas with these lovely, custom, decorative holes ala Bo.

 

[swanlake]

bbb, i have those shirts too! alot of my sweatshirts have holes, my dad can't believe i still wear them. they are tiny. oh shadow bit a hole in my jeans once too.



along with the yelling OUCH loudly, try "thumping" hit something hard with your hand so it makes that thumping noise. anytime my buns are bad i will do that and they stop immediately and look at me