How to Train Temperamental Bun?

[Bunnykinz]

My year and a half old dwarf Bryn never liked to be held. He was pretty much your average bun until this August when he began to attack his hutchmate, Bugs, so we separated them. Bryn lives outside, and has pretty much litter trained himself! :biggrin2: Since August he's turned into a temperamental bun. If you put anything in his face, he 'boxes' it away with his front paws and grunts. A while ago I wanted to see how he would react to clicker training. He wouldn't even eat what I would offer, he'd just push it away. How can I handle his grouchyness and how can I train him if he won't eat the treats or veggies? He's not scared of me, he would just rather explore then eat treats. :rollseyes

 

[ZRabbits]

The only suggestion I have is to find out what treat he really likes. I have one that no matter what treat I give him, he needs to be pet first before he accepts the treat.

And regarding grouchy behavior, my Dobby will do the same thing. You need to be patient and be consistent. They call the shots.

Training, I'm finding out with bunnies, can only be a few minutes at a time. Bunnies get very distracted and bored doing the same thing for a long period of time.

Good luck with your grouchy man. Hopefully you will find the right kind of treats or even affection so that you can work to get this little guy less grouchy.

K

 

[MiniLopHop]

Is he fixed?

 

[Bunnykinz]

Yes, he's fixed. He loves the veggies I give him but would rather explore than eat them! I'm going to try bananas next time because I think those are his fav's. His friend Bugsy recently passed away and we are planning on getting another bunny sometime in the future. If he's so territorial is there any chance I could ever bond him to another bunny again? He's even charged my sister when she tried to feed him. I also forgot to mention that he grunts a lot when he dislikes something.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Oh, his friend's passing may be the reason he's so upset. Many rabbits get depressed but it sounds like Bryn is afraid without his friend. The fear translates into aggression because the whole world is suddenly going to eat him. Not to be gross, but was he able to spend time with his partner's body? That can help a rabbit understand the passing and move on better, but it can still be rough.


I would highly recommend finding a local rescue/shelter and arranging bunny speed dates. He can pick out a new partner to his liking.

 

[Bunnykinz]

No in August Bryn suddenly changed from a nice submissive bunny into a grunting, biting boss so they've been separated since then. I've tried to rebond them but Bryn attacks everything he doesn't like. Even stuffed animals! Btw he was already neutered when this happened.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Did something happen to him? Is it possible he had a heat stroke? New animals in the neighborhood? Anything change with his diet or surroundings?

hhhmmmmm, very strange. I'm sorry you are having such troubles.

 

[Bunnykinz]

No big problems or changes I can think of. He just suddenly seemed to get tired of being the little submissive bun. Then from there he became more grouchy than normal and started 'boxing' when he didn't like what you offered him.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[Bunnykinz]

If he's quite territorial is there any chance I will ever be able to bond him with another rabbit? If so would it be better to get a male or a female?

 

[ZRabbits]

Bunnykinz wrote:

If he's quite territorial is there any chance I will ever be able to bond him with another rabbit? If so would it be better to get a male or a female?

If he's territorial, it might be hard to find the right bunny. Male or female makes no difference to a bunny. They like who they like, and dislike who they dislike.

I would go and have "bunny visits" to see which bunny your "grumpy" guy likes. You may be very surprised on who he picks out.

Good luck. Please keep us updated on your grumpy guy. Hoping you find a way to make him less grumpy.

K

 

[OneTwoThree]

Is he getting enough run time? You mentioned he just wants to explore, so maybe he's just not stimulated enough.

 

[Bunnykinz]

Maybe... he can't use his pen in the yard right now because there's hard snow on the ground. :grumpy: I think i'll put him on the deck for a while to get some energy out.

 

[Bunnykinz]

I'd love to play with him inside but how big of a temp change can rabbits handle?

 

[LakeCondo]

Any chance you could turn him into an indoor rabbit at least until spring? If so, you could get an xpen for him if you can't bring the hutch inside. You'll be able to interact with him more if you did.

The amount of time inside if he's to go back outside depends on the temperature difference between the places. And if he really likes it inside, he'd just be more upset when he had to go back out. And you'd have to have him in a room that needed little or no rabbit-proofing.

 

[Bunnykinz]

The hutch is way to big too bring inside! Once I clean it out he'll get the whole thing because our other bunny is gone now. I have NIC panels so I could make a pen out of that but I'm not quite sure where I would put him if I wanted to bring him inside. My room is rather crowded and there's lots of wood in it I would be worried about him chewing. (Wood table, wood shelves, wood cabinet ect.) I know if I got another rabbit from a shelter then he would have to be an inside rabbit. My sister's room may have room for him and wouldn't need much rabbit proofing as there's no cords or anything lying around. Convincing my mom he should become an inside rabbit would be the big challenge though. But I can see how bringing him inside would really help increase interaction with him!

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Have you treated him for mites and fleas? He could be grumpy because he's itchy. I know Gus sure was till we started treating him with Revolution!

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Bunnykinz]

He's not grumpy all the time like he has mites or anything, he just acts grumpy when picked up, petted or when he doesn't like something. After he had fun on the porch for a few hours he seemed to calm down quite a bit! I think extra stimulation will help his 'anger management'. The only time he got truly mean was whenever he'd see bugsy. He would see him, lay back his ears and attack.that's why I'm worried he'll never be able to be bonded to another bun

 

[Madalynster]

This sounds do much like my Desmond!!!.. before I found him his friend Charlie.

Desmond was exactly as you're describing your Bryn, I adopted him when he was 4 months old and I am not sure what happened to him before I got him, but he was a complete S***, haha. I loved him but he was so destructive and aggressive about everything. At first I tried spending more time with him, where I was on the floor and he would play with me, he liked that but as soon as I tried to pet him or anything he would just be a brat.

So I asked my vet, and he said it sounded a lot like Desmond was looking for a friend, that wasn't a cat or myself. So I looked up a local rescue and decided to bring Desmond with me in a carrier to meet bunnies and hopefully find one he liked. I figured he would pick a girl but he got completely attached to a lionhead dwarf male, so I got him.

When I took them home, I had already read a lot about bonding bunnies, so I kept them separate, but in two weeks I found that they were bonded. I was watching tv and went to check on them, and found that Charlie had jumped the baby gate and they were cuddling on the bed. It was so cute and Desmond has made a huge improvement since he has a wittle friend now

 

[ZRabbits]

Madalynster wrote:

This sounds do much like my Desmond!!!.. before I found him his friend Charlie.

Desmond was exactly as you're describing your Bryn, I adopted him when he was 4 months old and I am not sure what happened to him before I got him, but he was a complete S***, haha. I loved him but he was so destructive and aggressive about everything. At first I tried spending more time with him, where I was on the floor and he would play with me, he liked that but as soon as I tried to pet him or anything he would just be a brat.

So I asked my vet, and he said it sounded a lot like Desmond was looking for a friend, that wasn't a cat or myself. So I looked up a local rescue and decided to bring Desmond with me in a carrier to meet bunnies and hopefully find one he liked. I figured he would pick a girl but he got completely attached to a lionhead dwarf male, so I got him.

When I took them home, I had already read a lot about bonding bunnies, so I kept them separate, but in two weeks I found that they were bonded. I was watching tv and went to check on them, and found that Charlie had jumped the baby gate and they were cuddling on the bed. It was so cute and Desmond has made a huge improvement since he has a wittle friend now

Thanks for sharing your bunny bonding experience. Always great to hear about successful bunny bonding since mine went down hill after puberty. Give me incentive to try again. I would love to see them play together.

K