My bunny is “Selectively Aggressive” ?

[Mags]

Hello! I am a new member of BinkyBunny!

I have an 8 month old female dwarf rabbit named Clarice. She is unspayed. She is the cutest little thing, full of personality and loves to run around and do binkies! During the day she lives in a large cage (as wide as my wingspan, and I am 5’7″) and when we get home we let her out to hop around. With me, she is very sweet—hops into my lap, loves to be patted, licks my arms and legs when we’re just hanging out. However, she seems to have it in for my mother! Clarice lunges at her and tries to bite her even when my mom is just sitting there minding her own business. Clarice lets me stick my hands in her cage and pick her up without any problem, but when my mom puts her hand in the cage, she tries to attack; just a few days ago, she left an inch-long cut on my mom’s finger after chomping down and latching onto her! My mom takes it all with good humor, but of course we both wish Clarice was not so aggressive toward her .

Both my mom and I have spent an equal amount of time with Clarice since we adopted her when she was 8 weeks old. We both hold her and trim her nails and feed her and play with her, etc. I can’t think of anything my mom could have done to Clarice that would make her so averse to her. Clarice is also very nice toward my friends and my father (though she spends less time with them), leading me to think it is specifically my mother that she has a vendetta against.

Has anyone else ever experienced something like this, where a rabbit singles out a particular person to act out against? Any insights and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

[Lopz]

Hi Mags, it is very odd that Clarice does this. Some rabbits do take a personal disliking to people, but there is always something that you can do about it! Does your Mom do anything with your bunny at all that no one else does/don’t do very often? The first thing that I would do is get your bunny spayed! It matters on where you live, but it is usually not very expensive. My rabbit Lucky got spayed for $180 I think. My two boys got neutered for $90 each. Also, does your Mom hold the bunny a lot? If so I would cease. Bunnies are ground animals. It can stress them out a lot! If your Mom does not hold or do anything different with Clarice, then have her spend a lot of time with her. No touching or cuddling. She can talk softly to Clarice and put treats in front of herself while laying or sitting down. Rabbits are very curious animals and Clarice would come over eventually. Also, if Clarice bites or scratches -I know it sounds weird- your Mom can make a high pitched “squeal”. Rabbits make that sound when they get badly hurt or nearly scared to death. I am sorry it is long, but I hope it helps!

[Mags]

Hi 101Lopz! Thanks for your input! My mom and I can’t think of anything she does with Clarice that I don’t also do…We both hold her about the same amount (which is mostly just to move her in/out of her cage, and for no more than 5 minutes at a time), and she actually does not seem very opposed to being held. She lets me pick her up very easily, and doesn’t bite my mom once she’s holding her. The “attacks” mostly occur when my mom tries to put her hand in her cage at all, or when my mom is sitting on the floor with her. We often sit on the floor while Clarice is hopping around at night; she hops into my lap and lies down next to me and enjoys it when I pat her, but when she goes toward my mom, her demeanor totally changes, and she’ll start grunting and lunging at my mom and trying to circle behind her and bite her in the sides. My mother has tried the high-pitched “squeal” method before; I’ll tell her to keep trying it, though Clarice doesn’t seem terribly concerned!

We’ll try putting treats out too. The trouble is not really getting Clarice to come over to my mom, as Clarice is all too happy to approach her, but finding a way to discourage the immediate aggression. Maybe food will distract her? My mom will just have to bundle herself in thick clothes to protect herself from those sharp rabbit teeth! Luckily, she has a good sense of humor and lots of patience when it comes to the crazy things animals sometimes do.

As for the spaying, that will definitely be a step we take soon. Just recently I was asking our vet about it; hopefully it will mellow out this aggressive streak!

Thanks again!

[Lopz]

I think that spaying will help a lot. Something I have done with my rabbits is when they acted aggressively toward each other, I would spray them with a water bottle. When they snuggled up with each other, I rewarded them with a treat. They kind of glared at me when I sprayed them, but now they’re fully bonded again, so I don’t need the spray bottle!
Don’t think of me as cruel for spraying my bunnies or anything. I certainly felt bad. I got the idea from a website that has had years of experience with bunnies. So maybe you can try it with your bunny if you’re okay with spraying her.
Another thing, you can put low quality treats, like pellets in from of your Mom, and whenever Clarice takes a nonaggressive step toward her, reward her with a higher quality treat, like apple slices.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Spaying will most likely help. Some girls will always remain somewhat moody and territorial but taking way those crazy hormones can only improve the situation.

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