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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR GrowlinglLunging Leo

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    • PeachyCream
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        Now don’t get the wrong idea, Leo is a very affectionate and sweet and snuggly guy but. Maybe a bit too much?

         He has done this three times now. When I am in the middle of petting him and it has been a while and I take my hand away he instantly makes this sound that I think is a growl, but it sounds like a growly gasp or something and he actually lunges at my hand. He doesn’t hurt me or bite me or anything and I know there are some bunnies that growl if you stop petting him but this is the weird thing. He looks terrified when it happens, his eyes widen like they do if he is picked up too high off the ground or is scared and his breathing becomes heavy.

         

        I know this sounds crazy but it is almost like he is having a flashback or something. The shelter said he was found as a stray and because he was so well socialised and stuff he was most likely abandoned by his previous owner in the wild (this just breaks my heart whenever I hear stories about this) and I don’t know if this sounds insane but is it possible that he has some sort of… abandonment issue?


      • Bam
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          He might have. I’m not sure it’s possible to tell. My Yohio did the same with me for the longest time. He still does it when my mother pets him. He will suddenly growl and lunge and look very scared. The next moment he may demand more pets though.

          With me he nolonger growls except very occasionally and he doesn’t do it anymore when I pet him. I don’t know what kind of treatment Yohio had been subject to before I found him. I’ve had him for 1,5 years.

          I find that both my rabbits are “slow adapters”. I don’t know if this is a general rule, but it seems rabbits need more time than many other animals to accept and trust you.


        • PeachyCream
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            But here’s the thing it is not that he doesn’t trust me. He only growls and lunges when I try to stop petting him. And then he gets terrified over it. But he gets over it right away as soon I start petting him again it is like it never even happened.


          • Bam
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              Is he really terrified then? Maybe his “aggressive” response, due to discontentment with you stopping the pets coming, in turn triggers some form of reflexive or almost-reflexive expression of apprehension? (Something like “I growled, therefore something scary must be happening”)

              It is, as you’ve mentioned yourself, quite common for a bunny to become disgruntled when the human stops petting him/her. My Bam bites my mother when she stops petting him, and it’s not distrust – she is the person he loves the most, he can sit in her lap for the longest time. He doesn’t sit in other people’s laps. He doesn’t look scared though, just insisting =)

              I don’t think you need to worry a lot about your bunny’s behavior in this respect. To me it sounds rather normal. But bunnies are mysterious creatures so it’s always interesting to observe them and try to figure out why they do what they do!


            • PeachyCream
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                hmm maybe it isn’t fear then. His eyes just widen and he starts breathing heavily that’s why I was afraid it might actually be fear but maybe it is just like “why would you be stopping??” I like that he is so affectionate I just don’t want to think he has some kind of distress. I wonder if it is possible he is so demanding for affection because he was abandoned. Is it possible for rabbits to have that sort of cognitive response?


              • Bam
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                  I honestly don’t know. Dogs can get separation anxiety, but dogs are bred for 1000 of 1000ds of years to rely on humans.

                  It does seem like bunnies have a huge need for physical contact and pets, much more so than most dogs. Bonded bunnies spend a lot of time grooming each other. When a bunny has a human istead of another bunny, it’s the humans job to do the grooming. It seems very central to them, but I don’t know if there’s lots of cognition involved. I wouldn’t under-estimate them though!

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              Forum BEHAVIOR GrowlinglLunging Leo