Hateful!

[bigtommyg]

I got my first rabbit, Roger (5.5 lb. mini rex) last May. In December, I got Roger a little buddie, Alfie (3.5 lb Lionhead who turned out to be a girl well after she got the name). They've both been socialized the same way: slow introduction into the environment (and to each other), frequent holding and petting as little rabbits, standard litter training, etc.

Roger's a big softy. He won't go anywhere without a carpet, he's always looking to be petted, and he wants to meet people.

Alfie, on the other hand, is just plain hateful.

The laundry list of her behavior runs as follows:

1. Bites HARD when held, even when held securely. Also kicks and scratches DEEP if her legs aren't taken care of.

2. Won't let anyone pet her when she's out of the cage, and runs when someone tries.

3. Digs holes in the carpet, chews holes in drapes, gnaws baseboards, and pretty much any other destructive behavior she can think of.

4. Thumps the ground HARD in displeasure whenever she's not happy about something (usually about being shooed away from aforementioned drapes and baseboards.

I thought for a while that it was just Alfie going through her "terrible teens" as an adolescent, but she's gotten worse as she's gotten older and is now almost unmanageable.

Both of them have access to the same abundant toys (chew sticks and blocks, toss toys, tough cardboard, plastic hiding spots, etc.). Both of them get daily care and attention. And of course both of them are fixed.

So what could be different that causes Roger to be such a big pet and Alfie to be so bloody hateful? What can I change? I want to fix this behavior before she gets set into it.

 

[seniorcats]

This page has good information. Check out the articles under Aggression.

http://www.rabbit.org/behavior/index.html

You may also want to check out rabbit clicker training. Another member here found this very successful with his rabbit http://www.clickertraining.com/node/306

http://www.clickerbunny.com/

http://www.rabbitstop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=RabbitClickerTraining


How much free run time does Alfie get? It may not be enough. One of my bunnies exhibited this behavior in her former home where she had a NIC pen. Here she has free run and has become much less aggressive (except for contractors and repair people).

 

[ec]

First things first... are either or both spayed/neutered?

 

[seniorcats]

ec wrote:

First things first... are either or both spayed/neutered?

I seem to remember Roger is neutered but I can't remember if BigTommyG had Alfie spayed. I can't believe I forgot a basic like that - old age strikes!

 

[bigtommyg]

seniorcats wrote:

This page has good information. Check out the articles under Aggression.

http://www.rabbit.org/behavior/index.html

You may also want to check out rabbit clicker training. Another member here found this very successful with his rabbit http://www.clickertraining.com/node/306

http://www.clickerbunny.com/

http://www.rabbitstop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=RabbitClickerTraining


How much free run time does Alfie get? It may not be enough. One of my bunnies exhibited this behavior in her former home where she had a NIC pen. Here she has free run and has become much less aggressive (except for contractors and repair people).

They get free reign of my living room from about 10 A.M. to 11 P.M. Most of the troublesome destructivebehavior takes place in my bedroom, so I simply close the door when I'm not here.

And as I said, both of them are fixed. I actually found out Alfie was a girl whenI took "him" to get neutered (it's awfully hard to sex a uncooperative lionhead, so I'd taken the pet store's word for it).

 

[Bunnicula]

How old is Alfie? Gingivere was pretty much like that for the first 3+ years of her life. She considered herself Queen of the warren...and she let everyone know it. Actually, in many ways she is still like that in her treatment of the other buns and our kitties. Just last summer she attacked our Siamese mercilessly. Though kind of funny to me, Koko was in no way humored by it. Some bunnies have a lot more rabbitude than others.

I will say that as she has aged, she has become much easier to handle...but I have had my share of scratch scars and painful bites. She no longer does either. No, now Captain Snow has taken up the cause :shock:. Also, she no longer runs away when I go to put her back in her condo. But that's after years of chasing her from room to room, from under furniture and behind curtains.

I guess sometimes we have to choose to love them in spite of their faults...just like we do with people.

I take consolation in the fact that she eventually did calm down and that of my 4 I have 1 somewhat cuddle bun.

 

[tonyshuman]

To me, that is beyond bad behaviour. Poor Alfie may have been mistreated before. Pet stores are abad place for a bunny to grow up--lots of kids poking them, nowhere to hide, nopositive human interaction, etc. You're going to have to take it slowly to first gain her trust to you can handle her, and then work on bonding the two (if you want to bond them, of course). You don't want to put them together and have them start fighting but not be able to separate them because one doesn't trust you! Plus, a rabbit that doesn't trust its owner is less likely to trust any other bunnies, I would think.

Try just spending quiet time with her in the room, sitting on the floor reading or watching tv. She'll come up and explore you, but don't move to pet her or anything. Let her get used to your smell and that you're not going to pick her up every time you see her. My bunnies still think I'm going to eat them about 50% of the time I come toward them to pet them, so they scurry off. One is better than the other, but the other was abandoned and I've had for 9 months less. With a rabbit this afraid of people, it's going to take quite a while for her to trust you. When she's out, block her access to those things she likes to chew on so that it's a positive experience for her. I guess that's all I have, hope it helps.

 

[JadeIcing]

tonyshuman wrote:

To me, that is beyond bad behaviour. Poor Alfie may have been mistreated before. Pet stores are abad place for a bunny to grow up--lots of kids poking them, nowhere to hide, nopositive human interaction, etc.

I aggre with most of it. We have had rescue litters born in our foster homes where all but one or two are beyond friendly. I mean these one or two will growl, lunge attack. So on.