Now in serious need of help..

[jam224]

Pipp wrote:

As far as Sheriff goes, I still think I'd try and counteract the behaviour with some dominance actions. Pick him up, hold him (one hand on his butt, one on his chest holding him with his back against your chest and he's facing forward so he can't bite). It will take time, but I think he'll get the message.

You can't really let him successfully 'modify' your behaviour with nips. One he thinks it works, he'll have no reason to stop and every reason to continue.

I agree with trying to counteract the behavior. When we first got our bunny, Lily, she would lunge and nip to get us out of her way. Unfortunately, she wasn't spayed until we adopted her at 2 years old, which I do think contributed to her initial bossy behavior. To try to counteract her nipping, we (my husband and I) would do 2 things when she nipped at us:
1) We would let out a high-pitched yelp or "Ow!," startling her and letting her know she physically hurt us. Even if it was a gentle bite, we still reacted like we were really hurt.
2) Then we used one hand to GENTLY put her head to the floor, chin to the ground, for a couple of seconds as a sign of dominance.

If you don't feel comfortable with doing action #2, maybe doing only the first action will also bring the point across that nipping is a no-no, along with standing your ground. Lily is MUCH less aggressive now: I can't remember the last time her teeth touched my skin, it was so long ago. Even her lunging is rare. That's what worked for us, but it may not work for everyone. I think Pipp's suggestion of picking up the rabbit as a sign of dominance is a good idea too.

Quickly researching the topic, I came across this interesting tidbit from rabbit.org:

"When I put my hand down for my new rabbit, Jaws, to sniff she lunges at it. Doesn't she like the way I smell?" It ain't the smell, it's the motion and the position. Although rabbits have great long- distance eyesight, their near-distance vision isn't so great. A human hand in front a rabbit's face can be very startling, and a rabbit may lunge defensively at the perceived threat.

Maybe he couldn't tell it was you? So sorry to hear about your injury! Hope you're feeling better!

 

[elrohwen]

Pipp, I agree that my bun also enjoys nuzzles with my face much more than pets. In fact, he didn't enjoy pets at all and we got him to accept them by nuzzling him, then petting. I think he felt threatened by hands at first.

But anyway, that's not the point here, since obviously Sheriff doesn't like it. I do honestly think a big part of it may be hormones and/or age. I also think he's learning how to control you and a big part of stopping that is teaching him that his biting will not control you. I agree with lightly holding his head down, or just staying in his space (with gloves on). Be calm, move slow, and teach him that his biting will not get rid of you.

 

[juliew19673]

Myia - so sorry to hear of your troubles. One of the buns at my shelter Shelby is/was the biggest love in the world and then last month when I went to get her out of her cage, she was all snarls, growling and rearing up ready to rip me apart.. I hadn't startled her or even tried to reach into her cage. Was told it was definetly hormones. Then one of the other shelter volunteers went to pick her up and she was nothing but sweet, loving and cuddly to her. I tried again - and she still wants to kill me.

But in reading each thread of this topic it now makes sense to me that the other Shelter volunteer has been at the shelter for years and is there every Monday, when I'm there only 3 times a month and have only been doing this for about 9 months, so I think I'm looked at by Shelby as one of the lowest forms of humans and she is definetly above me.

After the neutor and if your attempt at dominance, I think you'll find a repaired relationship. Just takes time and patience.

Good luck and please keep updating (even if it ends up being a place for you to vent about it while going through it).

 

[Myia09]

So, it has gotten worse. Yesterday he was out of playtime, and he charged at my leg and bit me. Out of no where. I was literally across the room. I then proceeded to forcefully restrain him, said no, waited about 2 mintues, let him go, and he bit me even worse again on the leg and I bled.
I did the same, and he finally ignored me.
But then I wasn't allowed to go past him whereever he was (First he was near the bathroom, then the kitchen)
I prompltey fixed it by holding him down. If he lunged, he went back to teh cage. But only for about 10 mintues because I am not at the house this week so thier play time is limited. But he will go back once i get back for the rest of the night when he does this.

Were making another vet appt, the last one they said he was too young to nueter, but maybe it has changed and they can do something.

This is just really bad. And I don't think it has anything to do with undersestimating his brainpower.. there is NO common factors. NONE WHATESOEVER besides me. Grudges are grudges, but he doesn't bite all the time. Its IS random.

 

[Jessyka]

Keeping my fingers crossed that he can be neutered soon. I've been scouring the internet for suggestions and similar stories, but most of it has been covered in this thread. I'll see if I can get in touch with my local rabbit rescue and see what they have to say. Keep hanging in there, I know it's a pain. Getting frustrated does NOT make you a bad pet parent. I'm rooting for you. :hug: