Bunny has turned aggressive and is biting

[kristen58]

I had to leave town several times recently, and have been gone most of the past month.  My bunny (who is a rescue female, probably around 18 months old) has been left with a pet sitter, who just stops by to feed and water her.  Would love to have been able to leave her with a friend, but none of my friends were available or willing this time.  I usually am not out of town this much, usually only a couple days at a time once every few months, but several trips ended up right next to each other in Dec because of my work schedule.  I will not be traveling again any time soon.

My bunny seems to hate me for leaving her.  She’s bitten me multiple times since getting back (bitten me hard and drawn blood.)  Each time was when I reached into her cage, so she’s being territorial.  While I was gone, she was free to move around a large x-pen attached to a cage, but was not out of the pen at all.  So, she may be acting out because of a lack of exercise (normally she’s able to have time free in the living room.) 

What should I do?  My boyfriend is fed up with her and wants me to rehome her, but I know that her behavior is likely caused by me (I’m also a responsible pet owner that wouldn’t just give up a pet.)

She’s not spayed.  Do you think spaying her would help?  I worry with her biting lately that a vet wouldn’t be able to even touch her, and I’m too nervous to even take her to see a vet.  

What can I do training wise to help her?    

Sorry if I seem like a bad owner!  I want to try to help her!  

[Bumbleberry]

Is she spayed, unspayed rabbits can turn agressive. If she is not, I would think about getting her spayed

[skysblue]

At this point i think is better to re-gain her trust first and let her roam so she doesn’t get too territorial, since over the month she had little to no human interaction, and rabbits are highly social animals.
Spaying might help, but might not be the only/sole solution to this problem.
Don’t worry about the vet; an experience vet always know how to handle a rabbit no matter how difficult to touch.
Positive reinforcement(rewards, treats from your hand) will do a good training.

[kristen58]

No, she’s not spayed, but I’ve been meaning to….She gets extra freaked out in new places so I’ve been putting off taking her to the vet for fear that she’ll try to bite everyone around.    

[blubudgie]

An experienced rabbit vet will have no problem with your rabbit and can likely perform the spay just fine. It’s better to get her spayed while she is still young as older rabbits have a very high chance of getting uterine cancer. A tumor removal is likely to be 5x more expensive than a spay. And more risky.
For now try to regain her trust, let her roam, give her treats while petting and maybe try giving treats while you are in her cage cleaning too so she gets used to you being in her space again. good luck!

[Author]

Messages