Aggressive doe

[specs]

Hi everyone! I’ve been reading everything I could about rabbits, but now I need some advice. This forum has been a great help already!

I’ve had my bunny for about a month now, and she started out so perfect and sweet. She would crawl up on me and the binkies were non-stop! She is spayed, and we didn’t have any issues before the beginning of this week.

Recently, she started digging all of the time, and I thought it might be because her nails have gotten a bit long, so I tried to check. I didn’t pick her up, but rather held her in place on top of a towel to inspect her feet. She LOST IT and for the past week she has been the most aggressive, territorial animal I have ever seen. She grunts constantly, lunges at my partner and me, and won’t let us come into certain areas of our apartment without boxing and trying to scratch us.

She lets us pet her when she is eating, and I’ve been giving her small treats (usually just lettuce, sometimes tiny tiny piece of banana if she did something amazing) rather than punish her for the aggression. We did try gently pushing her head down a few times, but that seems to just make her angrier. Even though we are getting frustrated, we NEVER chase after her. Her nails are getting long, and now she won’t even let me close unless she is eating.

I just don’t know what to do to get my bun back, but if she keeps this attitude, I won’t be able to keep her. Any advice?

[lillian]

Hmmm. You did say she was fixed so it doesn’t seem to be an issue based on that. How old is she? Is she caged during certain parts of the day?

I must applaud you on your patience, as Ive seen some people just loose it on their pets and yell at them, which is a big no-no. If you yell at a crying kid, they are going to cry more. Animals can be very similar to that.

The part of the apartment that she “rules” over, try to get in there before her, drape your lower part of your body in a blanket (more for protective reasons, just in case) and lay on the ground and read or something. Just ignore the bun and let her do her thing. Only pet her if she comes up to you and expresses she wants petting (usually a headbut to your hand) but, if she decides to walk on you or just sniff you, ignore her (and if shes not real heavy, the walking on you might feel like a massage lol!) This is what I was told to do when my little one started going through her grumps, although the case with mine doesn’t seem as extreme as yours. It was explained to me that, I guess it shows you aren’t a threat.

[tobyluv]

Here are some articles on aggression that might be helpful: http://rabbit.org/category/behavior/aggression/.

I do know of people who have had aggressive rabbits, and with time, work and patience, the rabbits lost their aggression. Is your rabbit eating and pooping normally? Is she acting at all like she doesn’t feel well? If there was something physically bothering her, that could account for her behavior. It must have really upset her when you held her down. Rabbits can sulk or get mad at their humans after nail clipping or other treatments, but they usually get over their irritation pretty quickly.

[specs]

Thank you so much for your advice!

Yesterday, I ended up blocking off some of the areas where she was the most territorial, and when she got close, I would gently tap her on her head or her back, whatever I could reach. She still tried to box at me, but since she doesn’t have her front teeth, she can’t really bite me (she was a rescue and had to have them taken out when they found her).

She became sweeter almost instantly! She is eating and going to the bathroom in her litter box normally, and there don’t seem to be real issues other than the aggressiveness. I held back some of her pellets from breakfast and have been using them as treats to reward good behavior, and she is doing really, really well. I feel like I have my bunny back! I also began sitting in some of her spots, trying to be the ‘boss bunny’. It definitely helped. Thanks again!

[jerseygirl]

How long was she with the rescue before you adopted her? Perhaps they might have some insight. Since the change is so marked, do look for health issues being behind the behaviour change. It could be the first signs we’ll see of some dental pain for instance. Especially if she has history of dental ailments.

[Author]

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