Im being attacked!!!! HELP!!!

[Huckleberry]

Help!!! Huckleberry has taken to biting me and digging at my blanket & pillow. 

She has done the digging before but this seems more aggressive since it is accompanied with biting. I am just laying here on the couch, watching tv and she will jump up on the couch and bite me. If I sit on the floor, she sneaks up on me and nips my arm. Its always my arm! I pet her but she doesn’t seem to want pets, she wants to bite me. I move the blanket because it seems to be upsetting her and she continues to attack it. I feed her, she doesn’t eat, she just continues to attack me. There is nothing I can do to make her stop. What do I do? What is wrong with her?

Some helpful info: 

She is spayed.

I havent changed perfumes/lotions/shampoos or anything smelly.

She seems to have broken half her dew claw off, I have no idea how or when, but I dont think it is bothering her. When I realized she did this, I put her in a burrito and felt her leg for any swelling/fever/abnormalities and there were none.

She is eating/drinking and using the litter box just fine.

This has been going on for about 2 days now. I have been brushing her more often (twice a week instead of e/o week) since she is shedding. 

Any ideas? 

[MimzMum]

I know my bunnies hate being brushed, but they’ve never come at me like that. If she is displaying behavior you want to quell, some time alone in her habitat might be a good move. No scolding, no treats, just no attention from you till she settles down.

Is there anything that could be irritating her near where these attacks are taking place? Did she break the dewclaw on something nearby there? Is this a special spot where you are sitting that she’d prefer to have to herself? Anything going on outside the house that is making her defensive?
Otherwise, she may have something going on that is making her feel unwell that hasn’t presented itself with firm symptoms outwardly. (except the aggression of course) When was her last checkup?

[MimzMum]

Oh…and is the spot you’re sitting when she attacks you the same spot as when you brush her, or is the brush nearby?

[Huckleberry]

There isn’t anything going on outside. The tv is on, but that is nothing new, it would probably offend her if we turned it off at this point, its almost always on for background noise if nothing else.
I dont know about the dewclaw. I have no idea when or how it happened. I feel horrible that I dont know but she was never bleeding and didnt limp or anything outside the norm, other than this. It happened at least a week ago because that was when I noticed it during a brushing.
Ive been sitting in the same spot I always do when Im home, although if I move to the floor, which I sometimes do so we can be on the same level, she gets on the couch and digs the cushions.
She went to the vet in May for sore hocks. They are still both a little pink but there is fur covering them now and she is no longer allowing one to be lame like she was when I took her in. They did not x-ray at the time because they felt there was no real injury, only a minor irritation. They gave me a week of pain killers and told me to put zinc oxide on the red skin, which I did. She has been acting fine since then, until now.

EDIT:

Yeah, I usually brush her in the living room, near where I am now. Do you think she is trying to tell me she hates when I do that? Because she does dig at the ground when I am brushing her. How do I groom her if she hates it so much? My vet has said to just be firm with her, but being firm is back firing on me!!!!

[MimzMum]

Well, if I had to take a guess, that would be it, especially if this seems to have only begun with the more vigorous brushing. She may think any time you’re in that spot that nasty brush/comb/whatever that pulls on her fur and skin (bunny skin is very delicate and can tear easily) is coming her way and she’s going to head it off!
Yes, they need to be brushed, during heavy sheds-sometimes once a day-otherwise once a week can be good depending on the fur length, but I find that I can often brush until bun starts getting agitated, then distract with play or a treat, then when bunny settles go ahead and take a few more swipes. I’ve been grooming Mimzy for a few days now because he’s got so much that needs to come off, when it doesn’t come away easily I just smooth the fur with the comb there and wait for it to fall out easier, which it does by the next day. He won’t bite me, but he’ll turn around like any child would with a petulant look that says, “Ouch mom, you’re pulling too hard!”

Grooming is one of those things that can be done in successive bursts, unless the fur is matted and dirty, in which case you need to get bunny clean as soon as possible. If this is just a shed, and if she’s anything like my Pip is-she doesn’t appreciate the process, but the results will definitely be worth all the grief. Pip has a natty coat, surprisingly, and it takes more than a few tries to even get a small amount off her. The whole time she is grunting, charging and taking shots at me with those choppers of hers. I just try to stay on her good side, soothe if possible with noserubs while grooming. Offer treats when finished, MOST important! I hope this helps.

I have a minirex with pretty regular sore hock, but have never been given pain meds for it. Just the healing creams or ointments. Was it hurting her that badly? Poor thing!

[Huckleberry]

Thanks Mimz! That hadn’t even occurred to me. I knew she was trying to tell me something but I guess I just wasn’t giving her credit to think in terms of “this is where you brush me, this is a bad spot!”
And thank you also for the brushing tips, Its nice to hear that I’m not the only one who gets treated like that when it comes to grooming time. I feel so horrible, she acts like I am the worst bunny mommy in the world! I know it has to be done, so I do it. Luckily her fur is short, so I dont really have to worry about matting unless she gets dirty somehow. Next time I do it, I wont try to just keep brushing until it stops coming out, but try to just do a quick pass over and repeat throughout the day. Maybe I can spread her anger out all day long hahaha.
When I took her to the vet, I didnt know she had sore hocks. I thought maybe she had twister/sprained her paw somehow because she was keeping her heel up and limping when she would hop. She was hesitant to stand up for treats. I knew she was in pain, so I took her in. After they examined her, they said she had a lot of tenderness due to some irritation on the skin and it was causing her to limp but the problem was that the limping was causing the same problem on the other foot as well. Im not sure if she was in enough to pain to really warrant pain meds or not, but they said that with the pain gone, she would stop limping and allow her other hock to heal. I agreed to it because I couldn’t just let my baby suffer.
What do you do about yours when they get sore hocks?

[MimzMum]

Fiver is the only one who gets them. I usually just put a layer of HealX on them, or if they also happen to be dirty, I bathe them gently. Over the last almost 3 tears his hocks have lost fur all the way down to almost the toe pads.

I just make sure he’s always got something soft to rest his piddies on and clean the box frequently so he is never sitting in urine, no matter how little. I can’t use things like Carefresh for him because he winds up eating it…that’s a whole different set of problems there. >.<

Poor Huckles. That sounds like she was very sensitive on those feet. I can understand the script then. Really the only time I give metacam now is for Mimzy’s arthritis, or any bunny who has such bad gas/toothache that it is indicated. And of course, if doctor tells me to do it, I do it.

I actually just realized how much fur Mimzy’s been ‘hoarding’ recently. I only thought my Mackenzie husky could have a hidden undercoat that thick. It used to take me a whole afternoon to take excess fur off my dog each spring, now it’s taken me almost a week to get all Mimzy’s off..and then it’s Pip’s turn…*shudder* She is NOT going to be a happy camper.
Have you seen jerseygirl’s video of Jersey growling at a jacket? (I think it’s in the ‘How rabbits are viewed as pets’ thread.) That’s about what I’m facing with Pip when it’s brushing time. 0_o

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL Yes Mimz’s explanation sounds very feasible. They are often extra grumpy when shedding as well Maybe brushing her somewhere you don’t hang out will help.

[jerseygirl]

I put mine up on the washer to brush or pluck of loose fur. It’s a really foreign place for them to be. On the floor they’re just always trying to run off and you’re trying to restrain so everyone ends up more stressed.
Hopefully it’s just her shedding that’s making her a growly-butt. It’s be nice before you go away that you and her are on good terms. Actually, leaving a peice of your clothing with her might help while your away.

[Huckleberry]

Good idea! Ill try doing it on the counter next time. Ill have bf help so I dont risk her jumping off.
I have seen that video, and that’s almost exactly what she is acting like, but with biting.
BF was joking today that she was angry that I hadn’t finished putting her new play cube together, so I finished it today and she has been much less grumpy. I am sure that had nothing to do with it, but it has her distracted for a while 😀
Poor Fiver, that sounds painful.
Thanks so much for the advice!!!

[jerseygirl]

jersey was biting lol. She’s go at my legs and arms when I squatted down. She’s also done like Hucks, come across the room and attacked my legs. This is not the norm for her though. I can actually pick Jersey up easily. She does nip to be put down (of course!).

Just a thought…has your brother gotten the new rabbit yet? Just wondering if you’d handled it and she’s picked up on the smell? If that’s not it, do watch that with her when he does get it because that’s certainly a trigger for Jersey.

[Huckleberry]

No, no new bunny. The guy that was going to give her to us told me that he lost her when a storm blew the lid off her cage. I was heartbroken but there was nothing I could do, so I just accepted that it wasn’t meant to be.
I hope the shedding ends soon. I swear she acts like she is bipolar! One day she is sweet and loving and all cuddles and kisses, the next she is a grunting, snarling, biting little monster! She’s just like her mommy hahahaha jk

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