Months after being altered and Bunny's Behavior is at it's worst

[Holland_Lop]

I have posted before about the behavior issues with my 10 month old holland lop buck, and I unfortunately find myself in an even worse situation. For a little background information, my darling bunny is 10 months old, and has been altered for four months. Prior to his surgery, he had not shown any signs of puberty, but the vet had suggested we do the surgery now, so we did. He has never enjoyed being picked up, but was other wise affectionate in that he would run up to you and put his head on your lap to be pet, or would atleast tolerate being pet. He used to nip at my socks but would never puncture or cause pain. I had attempted to show that I was dominant by gently apply pressure on his head, back of shoulders to show I am larger than him, and have yelped to let him know that nipping hurts.

Now, when I approach him he runs from me, he has attacked myself and my mother (she feeds him when I am not home) to the point where he has drawn blood, he grunts, boxes, thumps, and latches on to our feet kicking and nipping until we physically need to pull him off.

This behavior is really upsetting to me, because I know I provide the best environment, and care I possibly can. He has plenty of free run of my room atleast 4 hours a day ( and I am on my bed in fear to getnipped) he has a huge NIC home with plenty of toys. Unlimited hay, fresh salads daily, and small amounts of pellets (just to wean him off when he was a baby) When I can catch him off guard I'll be able to pet him for a moment so that he has some interaction but he just runs from me.

I am bringing him to the vet tomorrow (anddifferent one than before) because this is just not like him, and I am afraid something could be wrong. I am even afraid that he was not properly altered because this behavior sounds like he is entering full blown puberty. Others have suggested that this could be his hormones balancing out after the surgery, but If that is the case I wouldn't even want to imagine what he would be like if he hadn't got neutered. Something just doesn't add up.

I suppose my question is whether or not others have had similar problems. AND if they were able to turn the behavior around in one way or another. He is my only pet, and he gets all the attention and love in the world. I just don't know how much more I can take of being attacked on a daily basis.

 

[bunnybunbunb]

My Becca was a sweetie before. She was used for breeding and never had agression from her hormones. When she turned two years old I decided to have her spayed. She had been living inside as a pet with her bond mate for months and was done with breeding.

After the pain of the surgery and constant pain medicine she was finely able to get loose from her cage. Her mate was waiting on her. She had been staying by her cage the whole time. She got out and attacked her straight away. I NEVER could get them bonded back.

She started attacking me, growling, boxing and scratching. She went from a best girl to my worse nightmare. I could not even feed her without getting jumped at. So at that she had to be contained, no more free run of the house.

When she was penned she went mad. She ruined the walls, the carpet, anything and everything she could get to. And she only got meaner.

I started working with her. If she came at me I put my hand on her head. Before I put her food in I picked her up, them kind of things.

I ended up having to move her outside in the rabbit barn. She settled down for some reason. She found a bond mate even. She lived with him for many months but since spring has come he started driving her mad trying to breed her so I brought her back in.

She is now back to growling and attacking. She had just been doing it the other rabbits through their cages, until lastnight. She did to me but I corrected her. She has free run of my room.

So even after 15 months she is still this way. Neutering has a bad effect on some animals

I wish you better luck than I have had.

 

[Holland_Lop]

If that is the case, I really do regret having him neutered. He had never shown signs of agression and sexual interest before the surgery, it was the vet who had suggested it needed to be done. Part of me questions as to whether it is really necessary to do if the pet does not show signs that he is frustrated, and if there is not possibility to mate. I would feel terrible if I selfishly caused his anger with an unnecessary neuter because humans think it is necessary

 

[bunnybunbunb]

Well, personally, to me it is essentual for doe rabbits, there is just to high rates of uterine and ovarian cancers. Becca was two years old and that is how old my beloved Candy was when she got her female cancer. At two years old Candy became sterile, two years later she showed signs of decline such as weight loss and her personality changed and she died. I am very sure she got tummors that turned cancerous, I do not need lab work to tell me that.

For bucks it really does not seem to be a big deal but one can no foresee the future. I think the vet was well in the right to advise neutering. No one knows how it will effect them.

Chiron(pomeranian mix) is my baby and I had him fixed so there would be none of this defiance that runs in his line. He is amazing and listens so well but there was a problem that came from her neutering - nervous tinkle. If he is scared and touched, if he knows you are calling him for something he hates, if he has done something wrong and is touched, ect he pees. It is much better now after many months but he still does it. I love him very much and it is nothing I can't live with.

 

[Holland_Lop]

Has anyone had a similar situation where they noticed the behavior getting better? I have been told that the first year can be rough, but I just cant see it being this bad and getting any better.

He has teeth issues that could possibly be acting up on him/causing pain. Could pain cause behavior like grunting, boxing, and biting? And, what it is about our Feet that they always like to nip at?

 

[tonyshuman]

Teenage bunnies can also be a lot to handle, whether neutered or not. Tony used to be a huge brat but has gotten a bit less rambunctious and purposely naughty as he's reached age 4ish.

 

[undergunfire]

My Holland lop was a terror pretty much from day 1 (he was 7 weeks when we got him). We have him neutered at 5 months and it took him a whole year after that to finally get to the awesome bunny he is now (he will be 3 in August), LOL!

There is a reason why I call Hollands "devil bunnies" :biggrin2:. I sure do love my Brody now that he's an adult!

 

[Maureen Las]

If he has teeth issues and his mouth is sore then that could totally contribute to a the aggressive behavior...probably a good idea to investigate that more.
Neutering /spaying a rabbit ingeneral improves behavior; in cerrtain cases it could appear that the neuter created the problems but probably not.
As the head of the WI HRS told me when he was at our shelter . " A lot of behavioral problems are genetic "
I have neutered/spayed rabbits ..all with absolutely and totally different personalities. One of them has always been aggressive (not as severe as your bun).

I would attempt to recreate the situation in which your bunny was the least aggressive/
I am sorry that your only rabbit has a difficult disposition

Bur like I said previouslyI would check out a possible medical cause for this first.

 

[Holland_Lop]

I am bringing him to the vet today, to see if he is in fact in pain with his teeth and to see if there is anything I can do.

 

[tonyshuman]

That's good to hear. At the least, you can rule that out!

 

[bunnybunbunb]

What did the vet say?

 

[Holland_Lop]

I am happy to report that his teeth are not as severe as we had thought. Previously the vet had told me that I would need to bring him to get his teeth trimmed (while under sedation) every 3-4 months. I changed his diet, added more calcium rich veggies (strengthens teeth), and limited the pellets (which resulted in chomping on more hay) and the vet thinks his trims will need to be once or twice a year!

The Behavior, she said, is him simply growing up..but she did show me techniques on how to calm him down and pick him up. She surprised me on how awesome she was with handling bunnies, and she completely picked him up no problem (I've tried 100's of times to do this unsuccessfully)

If anyone is in the Boston area I would highly recommend Dr. Kruse of Wakefield.

 

[aurora369]

That is good to hear! If it is just teenage bunny behaviour, then it will go away.

Use the techniques that your vet provided you and have lots of patients. Bunnies do calm down but it will take about a year for you to really see him coming out of his teenage years. Personally the ages of 2 and over are my favourite with buns because they start getting so much sweeter and calmer.

I see that you updated our MA vet listing, thanks so much!

-Dawn

 

[pamnock]

There has already been some excellend advice posted as to the various causes of aggression. This site lists different types and causes of agression in dogs, but I think you may find it helpful in understanding thecomplexities of aggressive behavior and how to address it.