Stevie has picked up some bad behavior

[SteviesMom]

Hello everyone!

My name is Skyler and I have a male Holland Lop who is 15 months old. Here's a little background on him.

I got him as a baby, had him neutered at 6 months and discovered he is deaf not too long ago. He is generally a very sweet rabbit. Good litter habits, will wear a harness to go on walks, loves pets, and tolerates being held pretty well. He has free range of my room 24 hours a day, with his own cage (to feel secure) and a maze haven for playing in.

Lately though, Stevie has been lunging and nipping. I'm not sure if he is doing this aggressively or just asking for attention. Could he be doing this because of a territorial issue. Is allowing him total free range of my room a bad idea? Maybe keeping him in a gated area while I'm gone and allowing him out while I'm home would help? Either way, it's kind of scary and painful and I would like it to stop.

Normally one would say "ouch" or squeak to inform their rabbit that the nip hurts. My rabbit can't hear so this won't work for us. I have tried gently holding the scruff of his neck and pushing down gently, but this doesn't seem to have much affect.

I read that hitting the ground (like a rabbit would thump), may be another option. What do you all think of this? I don't want to scare him or think I'm reciprocating his aggression.

If anyone has any advice or thoughts, please let us know

Also, bonus question, is there any way to train him in agility or tricks without using a clicker method? I think he would like the attention and stimulation.

Thanks again!

 

[Zekapa]

Hi there
I'm still new at the whole bunny keeping thing but from what I've heard, read and seen in my limited experience, I think that keeping him free 24 hours can potentially lead to behavior problem such as those that you've encountered. I've talked about this with some other bunny owners and they told me that:
1) regardless of how big your room is, from a bunny's perspective it's always a big, vast territory
2) if he's out all the time he'll eventually assume everything around him is his by right and birth and he could become territorial
3) another downside of keeping bunnies free 24 hours is that they could start eating less hay and they could become spoiled and unrestrained

I keep my bunny out when I'm home (and that's pretty much 80% of the time) and I put him in cage during the night. So, I'd definitely vote for not letting bunnies roam freely any time they want.
When does he become 'aggressive', in what situations? Maybe it would help if you got out of the room every time he bit/nipped you? Maybe that way he'd understand that he's not doing something right?

 

[Channahs]

My son is dealing with this as well with his 4 month old Holland Lop. I think that our problem though is just him coming into sexual maturity. Bun Jovi has an appointment on July 10th and if the vet says he's ready, he's getting snipped. I personally believe (from everything I've read) that this is a territorial issue if your bun has been free range in your room, odds are that all your base now belongs to him. Maybe you should try caging him or as you say keeping him in a gated area when you're not home or in your room. I've also been reading a lot about rabbit language. When he acts up like this, you might get on your haunches and sit with your back to him. This lets him know that you're not pleased. This has worked some with my sons bun, but he always reverts to being naughty because of his hormones I'm sure.

Anyway, we're new to keeping a house rabbit, and I'm sure someone here will come along soon and give you some better ideas about keeping the peace between you and Stevie.

 

[isabelwhatx]

It's probably the complete free roaming. A friend of mine had a rabbit that was very territorial when she was given free roam 24/7, but much calmer when confined to a cage at night. The bun thought that the house was hers and didn't appreciate my friend living in it Limiting space was a huge help. Good luck!

 

[Zeroshero]

Have you tried target training? A clicker is just a way to mark desired behavior, for my bun the marker is getting a treat shoved in his mouth LOL. You can shape behaviors by luring him with a treat or target stick. I wanted Zero to pick up a ball I put on the floor so I just sat there with him until he went near the ball, without saying anything to him observed him the moment he touched the ball. Immediately I gave him a treat (we were using tiny pieces of pellets). We proceeded in this manner for a few days, eventually he would stand near the ball and continually touch it then look for a treat eventually out of frustration he picked the ball up which was the desired result. He immediately was handed a treat! Now he picks up any object I drop on the floor. He also does other tricks which were accomplished using this same method. Find a high value treat he loves and will stay interested in trying for but be careful about over feeding him anything that isn't part of his regular diet.

Having a hearing impared bunny really isn't much of a handicap, they are masters of reading body language and they really don't understand a word we are saying anyway.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I've been using Cilantro as a way to reward proper behavior and it's worked very well. Ted was deaf and if you reached in and surprised him you got nipped. I used to reach in and touch him and he never bit. Commander Bun-Bun used to bite just because it was her hutch till I got tired of the behavior. I'd snatch her up when she bit and would roll her on her back, just like an Alpha would do. She quit biting--this also worked with Peter, Mr B, and Stew.

 

[SteviesMom]

Thank you for the responses everyone! I set up the bunny gate and I'm planning to keep Stevie in there during the night. I feel too bad leaving him locked up all day, as I go to school and work.

I am so excited to start attempting to train him.

Zeroshero- What other tricks have you taught? What would be an easy trick to start out with?

Larry- Thanks for the advice. I don't really think Stevie is being aggressive when he nips. It isn't a hard bite, he hasn't ever broken skin. I think he is trying to communicate or get attention but bunny teeth hurt! Thanks for the bribery advice. Stevie hates cilantro though, picky bun. I will try with some parsley

Thanks again everyone!!!

 

[Azerane]

I find an easy trick to start with is "up" or "beg" or whatever you want to call it. Have a tasty treat, offer it to them and slowly lift it higher above their nose. Once Bandit is up only on his hind legs I say the word "up" and immediately give him the treat. I really want to teach him to spin, but not just spin, I want to be able to do spin left and spin right

 

[Zeroshero]

Hi! I was inspired by a few videos I found on YouTube:
[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a9poWbBG-GM[/ame]

Zero weaves cones (cups he's still small), he jumps up on my chihuahuas pet stairs on queue, he gets on the scale, gives kisses, comes when called (most of the time) and picks up objects. He is on a straight hay diet so it is difficult to keep him focused for a long time with having petting as a reward. He certainly works harder for food than just attention!