Rabbits and Rabies

[Snuggys Mom]

I wish I could send you the money to get him done!

Bless your heart.

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

JimD wrote:

Spring wrote:

Aww! That stinks. I was hoping t hat maybe some guy time with Tank could change his attitude.

Have you truid firmly holding his shoulders down when he's charging? Just try to stop him, push his shoulders down (Not to harsh) and firmly say NO. I've heard this can help. I hope this works out with Tank!

I had a terrible time getting Benji to stop being so aggressive when we first got him, andSpring's advicewas the method that Buck Jones outlined to me.

He called it being the "Big Kahuna". He advised me to hold Benji's head down (when he misbehaved)until he stopped struggling and talk to him in a very firm authoritative tone letting him know that it was NOT ok to act that way. As soon as the bun submits, let him up. It took quite a few times, but finally it had a positive effect.

Buck said if this didn't work, then I might want to look into a good pair of welding gloves.

Getting Benji neutered also had a calming effect on his personality.

~Jim

Yea i know all about this technique. I used to use it on Beans before she was spayed. But I cant do it with Tank. He is just waaaay to wild. He will squirm so much that he escapes my "grasp" and then bites me. Maybe I'll try it again with some leather gloves on. He is just so scary. It's so pathetic how I run out of his way all the time and scream when he comes near me. :?

 

[JimD]

ilovetegocalderon wrote:

Yea i know all about this technique. I used to use it on Beans before she was spayed. But I cant do it with Tank. He is just waaaay to wild. He will squirm so much that he escapes my "grasp" and then bites me. Maybe I'll try it again with some leather gloves on. He is just so scary. It's so pathetic how I run out of his way all the time and scream when he comes near me. :?

I just busted out laughing a work and everybody turned around to look at me!!

I can just picture you running out of the room screaming..

:run: :runningrabbit:with Tank in hot pursuit.

Our Tootsie is such a sweet bunnie, but she's sooo big. I have to admit I'm still afraid to pick her up. She doesn't like to be handled, in fact it took 3 people to hold her at the vets TO HAVE HER NAILS CLIPPED!!! What a wimp-bunnie! But a strong one for sure.

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

JimD wrote:

ilovetegocalderon wrote:

Yea i know all about this technique. I used to use it on Beans before she was spayed. But I cant do it with Tank. He is just waaaay to wild. He will squirm so much that he escapes my "grasp" and then bites me. Maybe I'll try it again with some leather gloves on. He is just so scary. It's so pathetic how I run out of his way all the time and scream when he comes near me. :?

I just busted out laughing a work and everybody turned around to look at me!!

I can just picture you running out of the room screaming..

:run: :runningrabbit:with Tank in hot pursuit.

Our Tootsie is such a sweet bunnie, but she's sooo big. I have to admit I'm still afraid to pick her up. She doesn't like to be handled, in fact it took 3 people to hold her at the vets TO HAVE HER NAILS CLIPPED!!! What a wimp-bunnie! But a strong one for sure.

LOL, that's exactly what it's like!! If im sitting down on the couch he will plop in front of me on the floor, monitoring my every move. I try and wait for a moment when he takes his eyes off me, then I bolt to whatever room i need to go (i.e. the bathroom) ill hear him behind me peeling out on the hardwood floor, which works to my advantage since i get an extra head start, then i slam the bathroom door right before he gets me. Then when I want to come out, ill try and wait til i hear him hop away from the door. :sigh



Edit - I'm a prisoner in my own home. :disgust:

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Have you ever seen 'Trilogy of Terror'?

 

[HoneyPot]

Awww - I'm so sorry you are having a hard time with this little guy. I know the psycho look you are talking about. My female Misty is one of those Alpha females - when I brought the second bunny into our home, Misty felt I needed to be punished. I always knew when she was angry because she had that look you are talking about - wild eyes, nose going a mile a minute, twitchy.

Every move I made, she was chasing me. My only saving grace was that I could run faster than her on hardwood and she would slide right by me if I stopped and turned really sharply.

I could not sit on my sofa without her running and jumping at my face. If I was standing, she would climb onto the sofa so that she was higher up and then she would jump at me - I think she was aiming at my jugular.

I don't have any smart words of advice because I cried and cried about it- I didn't know what to do. In the end Misty just went back to normal - but I just wanted you to know that I sympathize.

I also know what the boob bite thing is like - Misty latched on to mine out of the blue one morning, but nothing like Tank.

Good Luck.

________________
Nadia

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Laura wrote:

Have you ever seen 'Trilogy of Terror'?

:shock:

That is one hideous looking creature!

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

HoneyPot wrote:

Every move I made, she was chasing me. My only saving grace was that I could run faster than her on hardwood and she would slide right by me if I stopped and turned really sharply.

Yep, same thing happens to Tank. :lol:

 

[TrixieRabbit]

Laura wrote:

Have you ever seen 'Trilogy of Terror'?

OMG! I saw that as a kid and I am STILL scared of that doll that came to life! AAAGHHHH! I didn't sleep for a week.....

 

[Snuggys Mom]

TrixieRabbit wrote:

Laura wrote:

Have you ever seen 'Trilogy of Terror'?

OMG! I saw that as a kid and I am STILL scared of that doll that came to life! AAAGHHHH! I didn't sleep for a week.....

Me, too! My brother hid in our dark hallway after the movie, waited for me, and made that noise the doll made and scared the life out of me!

When ilovetegocalderon describes Tank, I think of that evil doll!

 

[Bassetluv]

Have you ever seen 'Trilogy of Terror'?

Omigosh...I saw that when I was in my teens, and it scared the living daylights out of me! Esp. that little doll guy with all the teeth...holy crap! For months afterwards I was checking under my bed, under the sofa...talk about creepy! And yet, silly me...I saw a VHS copy of it a year or so ago, and what did I do?Went ahead and bought it. Thought it wouldn't bother me any more (now that I'm a big grown-up and all ), but nope, I watched it and had the willies for the rest of the night! You'd think I woulda learned by now...:?

Well, ilovetogocalderon, my Raph isn't as aggressive as Tank from the sound of it, but he is getting to be a bit hard to handle. I'm probably going to have a vet assess him in the fall and see if it's feasible to neuter him. Are you still going to get Tank neutered? (I haven't read through the entire thread, so excuse me if you mentioned it and I missed it.) I suspect it will make a huge difference...and in a case like yours, where Tank is that aggressive, he could be dangerous. I'm considering Raph to be getting dangerous simply because I have an 8-yr-old niece who always wants to see the bunnies when she comes over. I don't allow her to see them alone, but you never know when a child might disregard rules; I'm worried she could potentially be bitten by him. Not to mention, I've successfully avoided his territoriallunges when he's free in the yard so far (and he does seem to stop before actually biting), but that could always change at any moment.

You know, we could always sign up Raph and Tank to star in a horror flick..."Rabid RabbitsFrom Hell" or something like that. I bet they'd give that "Alien" creature a run for it's money...thetag line for the movie could be, "In hutches, they never hear you scream"....:tongue

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Bassetluv you are so funny!! I'm gonna have to rent that movie, Trilogy of Terror. I had never even heard of it. I do plan on bringing the little terror to the vet this weekend and after examination i'll make an appointment to have him neutered. I can tell he is super angry with me for keeping him in the cage more than usual lately. But I have no choice - he's a monster. Hopefully when he's neutered he will calm down and i can let him out more.

 

[Bassetluv]

Oh, I will be interested in seeing how Tank does once he is neutered. Crossing fingers that he will calm down for you! (Mind you, there goes the plan to make a fortune off him and Raph in Tinseltown, but hey...at leastall yourappendages (and breasts) will no longer be in threat of an at-home 'hare' removal.

Best of luck with him at the vet's!

 

[rabbit_whisperer]

*screams and runs* Oh that doll-thing is horrible,it's ugly....Dont you think it be creepy to see a gaint one of those and it was runnign towards you...*screams and faints*



Well besides the mondter doll,I hope you'll be able to solve your problem

I had a rabbit and he was visious he's bite and stratch (HARD!) but then he was nuetered and he was much better.






EWWWWWWWWW they make dolls of that monster doll thing....EWWW

 

[Runestonez]

Ilovetogocalderon-One of the things we have always done was when we brought a newbie home was to give them an article of our clothing(I have a really ratty old PJ shirt that I donate to our new bunns). I wear it for a few days so it has my scent and then it is put in their cage as a blankie. I would also wash my hands so that the new bunn wasn't smelling our other bunns. For a bunn who hasn't been socialized/neutered the scent of so many bunns must be irritating/frustrating. When he is neutered it should help a bit...or make the situation easier to manage. He might be more receptive to your efforts to socialize him!

I know this might sound a little weird too...but what if you tried bonding with him?? If you have an aggressive bunn and you want to bond him to the one you already have you would house him beside the other right?? Have you considered tossing down a sleeping bag for a few nights?? Just being right near him?? Or moving him into your room with you?? Where is he now?? Does he see you alot?If he was locked up all the time, maybe being out roaming or seeing people moving around are too much for him? Too much open space...too many people/things moving around him? I can't help thinking about that old saying..."The best defense is a good offense."...when I read about his behavior. Is he psycho or is he just a bunny wreak? You said he had a freaky look in his eyes...were his eyes rolling form fear maybe? I really liked the idea of letting him come out of the cage on his own though. I know how hard it must be to try to help the little jerk...and at the same time avoidhim too! (Or at least his teeth anyway!)Does he react to everyone that way or just you? I was wondering if it is something about you that sets him off? How does he react to your fiance?

Just some ideas! I have a soft spot for hard cases!

Dani

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Runestonez wrote:

Ilovetogocalderon-One of the things we have always done was when we brought a newbie home was to give them an article of our clothing(I have a really ratty old PJ shirt that I donate to our new bunns). I wear it for a few days so it has my scent and then it is put in their cage as a blankie. I would also wash my hands so that the new bunn wasn't smelling our other bunns. For a bunn who hasn't been socialized/neutered the scent of so many bunns must be irritating/frustrating. When he is neutered it should help a bit...or make the situation easier to manage. He might be more receptive to your efforts to socialize him!

I know this might sound a little weird too...but what if you tried bonding with him?? If you have an aggressive bunn and you want to bond him to the one you already have you would house him beside the other right?? Have you considered tossing down a sleeping bag for a few nights?? Just being right near him?? Or moving him into your room with you?? Where is he now?? Does he see you alot?If he was locked up all the time, maybe being out roaming or seeing people moving around are too much for him? Too much open space...too many people/things moving around him? I can't help thinking about that old saying..."The best defense is a good offense."...when I read about his behavior. Is he psycho or is he just a bunny wreak? You said he had a freaky look in his eyes...were his eyes rolling form fear maybe? I really liked the idea of letting him come out of the cage on his own though. I know how hard it must be to try to help the little jerk...and at the same time avoidhim too! (Or at least his teeth anyway!)Does he react to everyone that way or just you? I was wondering if it is something about you that sets him off? How does he react to your fiance?

Just some ideas! I have a soft spot for hard cases!

Dani

Wow!! These are EXCELLENT ideas. You really helped me see that all these little things really add up and can contribute to his behavior, such as how i dont wash my hands after handling the females, and i did probably didgive him "too much" space all at once. I'm really going to start paying attention to these "little" things. I'll definitly try that clothes thing so he is around my scent and tonight i'll sleep in the living room with him because i cant let him in my room since Marshy and Beans use it. Only thing im sure of, is that that look i was talking about, was of pure anger, rage and demonic possession. it was the scariest face i've ever seen on an animal. but i havent seen it since that day. and to be honest, he does seem to be extra aggressive towards me than to others. lets take last night for example, he let himself out of the cage and ran around like a madman for awhile. i used this time to clean the cage. however, he dived back in before i could refill the food bowl. and i wont dare stick my hand in the cage! so i decided to try and feed him through the bars, like drop the food through the top of the cage and aim for the bowl. he was literally jumping up and SLAMMING his head on the top of the cage (several times) trying to bite me as i put the food in. its like he has a vendetta against me! i dont get it! but i LOVE LOVE LOVE your ideas and im gonna try them out.

 

[Runestonez]

One other thing I did (and I had my friend do it too when her rabbit got really cage aggressive) was...when he was out of the cage we took our cage and washedit right down, wires and all with warm vinegar(dishes, crocks, toys everything!). We removed as much of his scent as possible from the areas themale roamed in! (this took a looooong time to do! Especially at my house cause the bunns roam thewhole darn thing!)We wiped table legs, wall corners, anything he could have chinned or sprayed or left scent on! We didn't let him lay claim to anything. Everything was MINE! When we put his dishes and toys back in his cage we rearranged everything, everyday, everytime! (Except the litterbox! That might get a little messy!) Our boy settled right down. My friends male, Hopkins, was very unhappy for a few days, and settled for grunting and grumbling and after a week or so stopped all together. (My hubby and I also have a steamcleaner so we did the floors and the couches too...but that might be a little excessive! lol )

Not to say this will def work...but it did for us! Sounds like bun bun thinks he is King PowPow and you should fall in line! I don't think so!

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Wow, I don't know if i would have the energy for all of that but I will definitly at least scrub down the cage.:sweep

 

[Runestonez]

I might be a tad rabbit-centric!:craziness

 

[jordiwes]

Great suggestions Runestonez!!

I will be very interested to see how it all goes.