Is it bad to award nipping?

[OldBunter]

Whenever Henryk is pleased with me he rarely gives any licks, instead he’ll lightly bite my toes or calf. At first I followed a website’s suggestions of giving a high pitched yelped whenever he nips. This only made him seem confused or dejected, and he would avoid giving any affection towards me or my partner. Should I have kept up with the small yelps until he learned to show affection in other ways, or is it okay for me to support his nipping? 

[Wick & Fable]

The idea of the yelp is to signal Henryk is grooming too roughly. You say he does lick you, so definitely over praise that with grooming him back.

What you could do, which I do with Wick sometimes, is offer him another limb (usually back of hand or wrist) to groom since his currently groom-intensity is uncomfortable. If he’s truly doing it to groom you, avoid the situation in general by offering another part.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Deleted User]

Off topic here, but did you get the name Bunter as a play off of the penguin Gunter from the cartoon Adventure Time? Because I TOTALLY almost named Quincy Bunter…

[Sirius&Luna]

Bunnies do give light nips affectionately I believe? sometimes when Atlas is licking me he’ll sneak a little nip in but it doesn’t hurt. Luna has bitten me like she means it before, and you can definitely tell the difference between a little nip, and an actual bite.
So maybe he’s confused because he’s trying to be affectionate and thinks hes hurting you?

[joea64]

Fernando nipped me for probably the first time since he and Panda moved in with me last night (Panda has nipped me several times, but not recently). It was quite light, and since the part of me he put teeth to (my elbow) was in his way at the time, I pretty much go with the theory that he was asking me to move my big clumsy self out of his path. I do remember the first time we ever met back in July, he nipped me (well, more like nibbled, really) after grooming my hand for a couple of minutes. I do think any bun owner who establishes a loving relationship with their charges should expect to be nipped at least once a week, since their bunny is talking to them!

[OldBunter]

I think one of the issues is Henryk is very ‘hit and run’ about his affection. He only nips/licks when he’s adventuring around. He’ll hop up to me, nudge, lick, or bit me then scamper off. I rarely even get to pet him when he’s in that mood.

[Author]

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