My Rabbit Hates Me

[Primrose]

I got my rabbit Toffee about a year ago. He was eight years old, un-neutered, and a show rabbit. Nobody wanted him because he placed terribly. He’s a broken chestnut Holland lop. And he hates me.

 

At first, he’d come right up to me and let me pet him. Now? 

 

I can’t pick him up without him trying to run.

 

I can’t sit still without him trying to bite my fingers and toes.

 

I can’t put him down without him thrashing and kicking and fighting when we get close to the ground.

 

I can’t hold him without him jumping off my lap or chewing my pants.

 

He won’t take treats from me.

 

He’s nine now. He lives in a huge outdoor cage. His cage is elevated off the ground about five and a half feet, and it’s about five feet long, four feet wide. He’s got an exposed area and a wooden area where he can go in storms. I feed him herbs like mint and rosemary as well as mulberry leaves and baby carrots every night. He has a pen that’s huge that he can run around in without being bothered by other animals; his cage is in that pen.

 

I’ve given him a life that’s luxurious and carefree. He taunts the dogs that go up to his cage and bark at him. He runs around and burrows in the straw. We put all of our un-eaten fruits and vegetables in his pen. He goes out of his cage at about eleven and back in at seven. He eats and drinks, and he’s perfectly healthy. So why does he hate me? He’s drawn blood way more than just one time.

 

What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with him?

[cynthia]

Hi,
Well try to get him fixed. That will certantly help to calm him down.
I adopted my bunny this past october too. Mine lives with me inside. I did not want to feel distant; hes my friend hes more than just my pet.

Try to get him neutered and this should help a lot.

[Bam]

Primrose, thank you for giving a home to Toffee. You are doing so much for him, and that is truly lovely of you.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with either one of you.

At first, he’d come right up to me and let me pet him. Now?

I can’t pick him up without him trying to run.

I can’t sit still without him trying to bite my fingers and toes.

I can’t put him down without him thrashing and kicking and fighting when we get close to the ground.

I can’t hold him without him jumping off my lap or chewing my pants.

He won’t take treats from me.

It doesn’t sound to me like he hates you, rather like he’s a little bit afraid of you, but at the same time wants contact since he bites your fingers and toes and chews your pants. Bunnies do have a tendency to try and communicate with their mouths. A bunny that wants to be pet can often bite for attention. It’s not the way people or dogs do it, but it’s very bunny-like. Same as is biting your pants, that can be an effort at getting your attention and/or trying to groom you. I recommend you wear old clothes that you don’t care so much about. My bunny Bam bites my mother’s clothes and it’s definitely not aggression but some sort of affection, but it means she has to borrow something old from me when she comes to visit or wrap herself in a fleece blankie that he can chew all he wants.

As for hating to be picked up and struggling when you get close to the ground, that is VERY typical of bunnies. Being picked up is awful for most buns except tiny babies. Being picked up equals being about to become somebody’s dinner. My buns, who are both very affectionate and come to me for cuddles, both HATE being picked up and they do struggle to get away when I’m putting them down again – so I have to have a very secure grip of their hind quarters so they don’t kick out and maybe hurt themselves.. I only lift my buns up when I have to, for grooming and clipping nails and vet visits etc.

As for taunting the dog – bunnies can be mischievous like that. Maybe he feels a bit lonely and wants to be friends with your dog? My buns want to be friends with my dog, but she’s not interested. Which is for the best I think, dogs and bunnies don’t seem to communicate very well. (Which probably is very natural since one is a predator and the other a prey animal).

Your bunny is a little too old to risk having neutered imo – he is 9, that’s an old man. Having him put under for surgery could be very risky.

I think you are having some communication problems, mostly. I’m sure others here will offer more tips on how to get a good relationship with him. It is so great that you have given this senior a home with you and it would be greater still if you and he could become best friends (your bunny probably regards you as his friend as it is, but as stated before, he doesn’t really know how to show it to you in an acceptable way.)

[Primrose]

Thanks! My previous rabbit was a Lionhead who was envied by a lot of my friends because of his show quality. I was in 4-H. So, when I saw how she treated her rabbit (and how others before her treated her rabbit) because it didn’t make good place in show, I decided, “Okay, you take this rabbit. It’s good quality for show and docile. I’ll take this one, and take it out of show completely.” My new rabbit is going to be my show rabbit. And I would get him neutered, but I don’t want him to go into shock or anything.

[Hazel]

Posted By Primrose on 4/06/2016 4:06 PM

He taunts the dogs that go up to his cage and bark at him.

What does he do exactly? Is he darting around the pen? The dogs could be scaring him, especially if they’re barking at him, and the behavior you’re seeing could be him freaking out, rather than taunting the dogs. Is there any way you could keep the dogs away from him? Rabbits can die of fright, even if the animal or whatever is scaring them can’t actually get to them. Would you consider keeping him indoors? You two could have a much closer relationship that way. Him being a former show bunny, he probably lived his whole life outside, most likely in a wire bottom cage. I’m sure he would appreciate spending his last years comfortably inside, getting lots of love and interaction from you. Him not being neutered is part of his behavior for sure, and I’m thinking being out there with the dogs running around his pen might contribute to him feeling insecure and territorial of his area. Which might also be part of the reason why he’s nippy with you.

I also want to say how nice it is of you to give him a home in his old age, he deserves it.  I don’t think he hates you at all. Don’t give up on him!

[LR]

Hi Primrose,

We got a rabbit who was around 6 or 7years old a few years back.  She had been left for a long time outside by herself at the previous owners’ home.  She kicked and bit and in general was not a nice rabbit.  On the two occasions we let her out of her outdoor hutch she would disappear for weeks and our neighbours would see her roaming around the neighbourhood but they couldn’t catch her (she came back after a fight with a cat).  

Our children weren’t interested in her.  I would be the one feeding her but I could never reach her to get her out of the hutch.  But over time she would respond to my gestures and understood that I was someone who cared (provider of food and all!) – she would sniff me through the wire and would eat grass from me through the wire.

At the start of this year – at around 8 years old – she got sick.  She had cancer and was neutered.  She had to be inside the house with us for two weeks.  After this, I bring her inside every day (by ‘capturing her’ in her hutch using wood to block it off).  By doing this daily, over the past 6 months she is a changed rabbit.  She now stays still to let me lift her from her hutch into our house every day for an hour or two.  She feeds directly from our young children’s hands.  She head butts me to when I don’t pet her enough.  And she snorts loudly when I pet her (rabbit version of purring?).  Recently, she’s starting nibbling on my clothes (a sign of affection).  She’s adorable and loving and sweet.

Be tenacious.  Keep persevering.  It’s worth it – even if it takes months.  Good luck.

[Author]

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