Frank Jr. is biting and digging

[LeahM]

Frank Jr. has started digging my clothes and then nipping me immediately after.  It doesn’t hurt, because he’s actually just biting my clothes but A) I don’t want my clothes ruined and B) while it is disgustingly cute right now, I might not always feel that way.  He has also taken to occasional nips to the skin that seem to come out of nowhere.

So how do I redirect/interpret this behavior? 

And … are there any good books to read on the subject of bunny behavior and training?

 

[LeahM]

I think I forgot to subscribe to this thread… so I’m subbing… 😀

[LBJ10]

I want to squeeze him! So cute!

Let’s see, so he does this when he’s sitting in your lap? Does he enjoy sitting in your lap?

[LeahM]

yes, it’s when he’s in my lap. And he does like being held. He hops right into my lap and he stretches his neck out when I scratch him behind the ears and he falls asleep. Sometimes it seems like it’s when he’s ready to hop around but other times not.
He has been carried around with me on my body for the majority of his life. I’ve been feeding him milk since he was about 2 days old, so he is VERY used to being held. He seems totally relaxed when he gets picked up. He is generally a VERY mellow bunny, but I want to make sure he doesn’t become neurotic.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

It sounds like he’s loving on you. Rabbits do that to each other, but Frankie doesn’t realize you don’t have fur to protect from the nibbles. You can try yelping and making a high pitch noise, or you can just redirect by gently moving his head.

I found the language.rabbitspeak.org(?) very informative, I wish it had more photos though!

[LBJ10]

Based on what you said, I’m thinking he’s just loving on you (like S&L’s Human said). He is probably just excited. If he really enjoys being in your lap, you could try placing him on the floor immediately after he gets too rough. He will learn that if he wants to be on your lap, he can’t get all crazy diggy. Otherwise, you can squeal when he nips so that way he understands that he is hurting you.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Btw, I LOVE HIS LITTLE MUSH FACE!!
(I’m not big on yelling, but it really had to be exclaimed from the rooftops.)

[Elrohwen]

Hannah does this often – I push her off or say “hey!” as soon as she starts digging because I know the nip is coming. You could try a high pitched yelp if the “hey!” isn’t effective on him. If he won’t stop, just push him off and turn your back to ignore him. He should get the idea that it’s not ok. Hannah still does it, but she usually just digs for a second and then stops to look at me while before she would dig and dig and then nip.

Baby bunnies are often pretty nippy – they’re exploring their world the best way they know how, but it’s usually not too hard to teach them it’s inappropriate to nip humans. When Otto was a baby he would nip at my jeans, especially my knees if I was sitting cross legged. Yelping didn’t work for him, so I just left his area (I’d sit right outside his pen) with my back turned. After 30s or so I’d go back in. He learned pretty quickly that his playmate left when he started nipping and he’s never nipped again as an adult.

[Stickerbunny]

Stickers does that to me when she’s trying to get my attention for something, she’ll dig my pants leg and then nip my toes lol a high pitched noise will startle them and let them know that it isn’t a good thing to do, then lots of pets once they stop (or a treat) to let them know you aren’t mad, just that the behavior wasn’t acceptable.

[LeahM]

well that is encouraging! I haven’t been very consistent with turning my back/putting him down when he bites but I think I will try to be better about that. I was worried that it was a new habit that he was getting into but perhaps it’s just more of a phase that I can hopefully discourage sooner than later.

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