Newly adopted bunny has a few problems...

[wallice]

Hi

I'm new to this forum, and was wondering if I could get a little help. I recently adopted a 7 month old Flemish Giant bunny, Wallice, who is mostly wonderful. The shelter staff told me he was really sweet, but just didn't like to be picked up.

He has been a little nippy with me and one of my roommates. It seems that when i'm around him, he demands to be pet, and if i'm not doing it constantly, I get a nip until I start up again. I've tried doing a high pitch screech when he does it, but it doesn't deter him. Is it because he was stuck in a little cage with no attention in the shelter that he craves so much affection now and demands it of me? Is it because of his age? Hewsa neutered recently, so maybe his hormones need a little more time to settle down?

Any help would be great from people with adoption experiances, or any experiance with this breed of bunny. Thanks!

Christina

 

[aurora369]

It sounds to me like you've got one very demanding bunny. He's getting upset with you when you stop petting him because he was enjoying it so much.

Since he seems to be wanting you to continue to pet him when he nips, I would do the opposite. Squeal, pull your hand away and get up and leave. Do not reinforce the bad behaviour by continuing to pet him.

--Dawn

 

[Nancy McClelland]

What Dawn said--better to train the bunny than let the bunny train you!

 

[Amy27]

I agree with Dawn. I wouldn't keep petting him after he bites you. Hopefully after he realizes biting equals no pets, he will stop.

I could be wrong but I believe it is 5-6 weeks for hormones to get out of their system after being neutered.

 

[ra7751]

I think patience is in order. Give him time to acclimate. I would certainly not screech at him. That is an aggressive behavior and he will see it as such. And think like a rabbit. He is in a strange place....that is stressful. Rabbits can't see very well....they see in shadows....and they are blind directlyin front of their nose. If you are approching him from above and in front of him, he see a shadow heading for him....to him, maybe a hawk. Study rabbits and understand their posturing....and nipping is posturing to a perceived threat.

I am currently training a Capuchin Monkey.I use only positive reinforcement....and that works for all species. I would never even consider screaming at him....or any other animal. A firm "no" and a back off would be in order. Then reattempt the behavior. Reward him for positive behavior....but don't punish him for negative. He will learn. I had a rabbit here that we terribly aggressive. We shed blood a lot with her. But she came around and became one of our most docile buns. Thru positive reinforcement, she overcame her past and started to trust us.

Patience and understanding rabbit behavior on your partwill help you to help him.

Randy

 

[aurora369]

Yes, I agree with Randy.

I should have put more detail in my post, but I was running out the door.

You want to ignore bad behaviour and reward good behaviour. A head bump or presenting himself for grooming should be rewarded with lots of pets.

When a bunny nips me, I normally react with a "no" or an "ah" and remove my hand.

You have to really try to understand why the bunny is biting. I have also dealt with a couple of aggressive rabbits, and reading body language to understand why they are biting is very important.

This is a great website for explaining bunny language:
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/rabbittalk.html

If he's doing it because he's trying to be a dominant bunny demanding grooming then that's a little bit different than a scared bunny doing it because they are terrified.

It is important to figure this out and to find a solution. Being a flemish means he's going to get quite big. He will keep growing until he's about a year old.

--Dawn

 

[tonyshuman]

I have actually heard that flemmies are a lot calmer and easier to handle than other breeds. He probably just doesn't know that nipping people is wrong.

 

[wallice]

Hi all and thanks for the responses. I don't think I quite explained enough in my first post, and I have done A LOT of research on bunny behaviour, and I had a pretty smart, stubborn girl before I got this "little" man. I've been very careful to give him space, and the only times I've really been petting him have been when he comes to me, so I know its not fear based nips, as he only does it when I stop, not when I approach. Also, he wil follow me around until I pet him again, so I think he was just starved for attention in the pound, and is now demaning it of me. I read on many websites to give a quick sharp yelp noise (don't worry, i'm not yelling at him or anything). Hes actually gotten much better over the course of the day, and will head butt before nipping. Hes been getting TONS of positive reinforcement for every good action, so I had to get very healthy treats for the amount hes getting. I think we're on our way to becomming great friends.

Thanks again for the replies, and i'll keep posting about how much hes improving.

 

[elrohwen]

If the sharp yelp isn't helping, the next step is to get up and walk away from him. If he continues to get attention after nipping he'll keep doing it, but if you walk away from him, he'll learn that a nip means his playmate leaves. My bun doesn't listen to the yelp thing either, but I find walking away works wonders. When I come back to him, he usually won't nip again. Good luck! It may be a bit hormone and age related as well, so if you keep using behavior modification he'll probably grow out of it anyway.

 

[fuzz16]

my french lop will do the same thing, scratching and nippin until i pet her again. when in bed, she goes to the floor and i ignore her, if its on the ground then ill just walk away. shes gotten a lot better but the best is to ignore it so he doesnt think that its ok and doesnt think that thats the way to get what he wants

 

[tonyshuman]

On the Language of Lagomorphs it recommends giving your bunny "the butt" to get your point across. I've done this too and it seems to work.