BITING

[Bo B Bunny]

Bo has been a bit grumpy lately. he's always had issues with onion and garlic and had nipped me.

Recently he's started biting us HARD for no real apparent reason.

Could it be the new bunny? eventhough my daughter hasn't held her in the past couple of days - could he just be mad? He bit her on the side this morning while she carried him. I'm not sure how she had him positioned but she knows to support him and stuff.

Bo bit me on the chin last night and drew blood, then as I grabbed where he bit, he bit me hard on the neck and collarbone. I held his head down and wouldn't let him move for a couple of minutes.

Any suggestions or ideas are welcome.

 

[naturestee]

It could be the new bunny. Try spending more time with him, possibly when you don't smell like the other bunny at all such as right after you take a shower. When he bites you, tell him no and then do Buck Jones' Big Kahuna Bunny move on him. What you do is place your hand over his ears and neck and press down gently but firmly. Look him in the eyes too. Rabbits do this to show dominance and it's a really good way to show Bo that you're in charge and he should listen to you without risking scaring or hurting him. This worked really well on my Loki, who sometimes nips hard when he is being held and also likes to test rules (like don't chew the carpet!) to see if I will enforce them or not.

There's more idea in the Aggression thread in Bunny 101 too. Maybe some of those ideas will help.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12319&forum_id=17

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Thanks!

I did that move on him - my daughter said PUT HIM IN HIS CAGE! and I said "NO! he needs to be told he was being bad!" and I held him like that. Boy, his tone changed!

Today I held him a couple of times and just told him how much I love him. He nearly turned over allowing me to love on him and pet his head. I could tell it was a totally different attitude.

I think it's the other bunny and maybe he's not feeling great. He jumped and might have gotten a bruise the day before yesterday.

Thanks again - I can't take the bites that draw blood. I learned to deal with the nips LOL!

 

[Pipp]

Yeah, Dill came racing up to me this morning when I was putting pellets in the foster bunnies' try and chomped on my ankle! Not sure if he was jealous of the other bunnies or that they were getting his favourite pellets and he couldn't have any.

I suspect the latter,seeing as he doesn't seem to realize he's not a human, so when he sees other bunnies, he just goes, 'hey, cool, a rabbit!'

He far testier when it comes to his food.

And when I first got Dill and/or Sherry, Pipp started charging my feet and biting-- hard-- when I'd go to leave ourroom. She didn't want me in the living room with the intruders, I guess. But a firm hand on head and extra cuddles worked. Until the next time. :rollseyes

Give him akiss for me! (Oh wait... better make that a pat just in case).



sas

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Oh good, I feel better. he seems to just know she's in there - I don't even have to hold her!

Tonight he snuggled again. He seemed very happy to get my undivided attention.

I'll give him a kiss - if I kiss him on the cheek he doesn't bite. LOL!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I take that back. I kissed him on the cheek tonight and he bit me on the neck! :grumpy:

I think he's biting cause he's feeling bad. Does that happen?

 

[ec]

Yes - from being upset and from illness or other physical problems. If it were me, I would get a vet check just to be sure there are no medical problems...

 

[tundrakatiebean]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

I take that back. I kissed him on the cheek tonight and he bit me on the neck! :grumpy:

I think he's biting cause he's feeling bad. Does that happen?

I get grumpy when I'm sick too, just ask my boyfriend If you felt really bad and people were poking you I'm sure you'd be grumpy about it.

I agree with ec, go to a vet just to make sure.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Yeah, I'll probably try to take him this week. I work the next two days and have no time unless it's a complete emergency.

Bo has always been a bit of a nipper - just lately he's been really bad. More and more I am thinking he's not happy about Heidi and the whole bonding thing with Clover. We are going to just let them go on how they always have been but keep their cages a bit closer and later when he's not dealing with the new bunny and all that - we'll try again to bond them.

Bo has always had me to himself. I rarely hold Clover - just to trim her nails - and suddenly there is a new bunny smell on HIS MOMMY! so I can see why and I can also see that causing him to have a tummy ache.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Another thing you can try when he bites you, is make a really high pitched "Eeeeeeee" sound. That sound is supposed to let them know that this hurts and that they've done something they shouldn't do. This is recommended on the HRS website. I did this with my first bun and it seemed to help.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Oh! Thanks! I'd never heard of that! I'll try it and let you know if it works!