Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Handling an Aggressive Rabbit
• Method 2 of 3: Make your rabbit feel secure
• Method 3 of 3: Determine the cause of the aggression
• Tips
• Warnings

Does your rabbit bite when you reach out to him? A furry pet growls and bares its teeth when you invite it to sniff your hand? Is the little aggressor chasing you and using his sharp teeth? Do you think that a small, evil monster has settled in the house, and it is impossible to change the situation? Do not despair! A little care and attention will help you find the right ways and re-educate your ferocious pet.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Handling an Aggressive Rabbit

1. 1 If the rabbit bites you, show him that you are in pain. Scream or yelp if the rabbit has bitten you. This will act as a kind of signal that you are in pain, and the rabbit will associate this with its action - the bite.
   • If the rabbit only bites you lightly, it may want to show you so that you can leave it alone and stop bothering you. A fluffy pet does not seek to harm you, it simply shows that at the moment it does not want to be stroked or taken in your arms. These bites are usually not painful and should not be associated with aggression. Strong bites are a manifestation of undesirable behavior of an animal, which should not be encouraged and must be suppressed by all means. These bites are very painful, and in some cases, the rabbit may even grab your hand.
2. 2 Keep your rabbit right. If you do not properly handle the rabbit, you can hurt him. In response, the animal may show aggression. Always support the hind legs of the animal and try not to make sudden movements. Hold the animal carefully to support its spine.
   • Gently wrap your rabbit in a towel so you can safely hold the aggressive pet. This method is useful if you need to hold your rabbit in your arms to give him medicine. Be sure to make sure that the rabbit wrapped in a towel can breathe and air flows freely to its face.
3. 3 Approach the rabbit correctly. If the rabbit bites you when you reach out to him, you may have just scared him. Rabbits are not very good at seeing objects in front of them and are much better at distinguishing objects that are at some distance from them. Therefore, if your hand suddenly finds itself right in front of the animal's face, it can be frightened, and fear will force it to defend itself.
   • Place your hand on top when petting your pet. Try not to place your hand in front of the fluffy animal's face. You want your bunny to perceive the hand that is approaching him as something positive - this will help form the pet's affection for you.
   • When you pet your rabbit, talk to him in a soft, soothing tone. This will help the pet to calm down, and he will not have the desire to defend himself.

Method 2 of 3: Make your rabbit feel secure

1. 1 Be kind to your pet. Do not yell at your pet, do not hit him or try to force the rabbit to communicate with you when he is not in the mood to do so. Even if your pet is sometimes angry and aggressive, in no case beat him, otherwise the animal will start to be afraid of you and will experience even more stress. You need to gain the trust of the animal, and then the rabbit will feel comfortable with you.
2. 2 Create a safe environment. Try placing the rabbit cage in a small room, like a bathroom. Close the room door and then open the cage door. Sit in the room with your pet, while letting the rabbit decide for itself whether to leave the cage or not. Don't do anything about the animal, just let it jump around the room and sniff you. Do not try to pick up or pet the rabbit.Try to repeat this procedure several times. Chances are, the rabbit will get used to you and stop seeing you as a threat.
3. 3 Give your rabbit time to get used to you. You should not grab the rabbit in your arms from the first day and hug it to yourself, expressing your love. Give the animal time to get used to and become attached to you. This also applies to all other people (and pets) that the rabbit will have to deal with in daily life. Give your rabbit a chance to gradually get used to people, and he will feel calmer and much more willing to communicate with you.
   • At first, you can wear gloves to protect your hands when you pick up your rabbit. Later, when some time has passed and you have interacted with your pet several times, the rabbit will begin to recognize you. If at the same time he does not show aggression and does not get angry, you can put the gloves aside.
4. 4 Try to keep your rabbit under stress as little as possible. Watch closely to find out which factors trigger aggressive behavior in your pet. These can be certain sounds, such as the noise of a vacuum cleaner running or the whirring of a hairdryer, or fast moving objects. When you determine what exactly is provoking aggression in the animal, try to protect your pet from stressors.
   • Stress can trigger aggression in rabbits. With aggressive behavior, your pet tries to defend itself when it senses a threat. If you focus your efforts on ridding your rabbit of situations that are stressful and insecure, aggressive and spiteful behavior is likely to be much less likely to occur.
5. 5 Explain to the children how to handle the rabbit. Often, children simply do not understand how to properly handle and handle a rabbit, as a result of which the rabbit can scratch or bite the child. Teach the children to handle the rabbit carefully, to speak to him gently, and in no case to frighten the animal.

Method 3 of 3: Determine the cause of the aggression

1. 1 Sterilize your rabbit. Very often, the aggressive behavior of the rabbit is due to hormones. Rabbits that have not been spayed are much more likely to become aggressive when they reach puberty (3-9 months). In most cases, sterilization helps to radically change the behavior of the animal and solve the problem of aggression.
   • Some rabbit owners believe that pregnancy and childbearing will have the same beneficial effects on the rabbit's behavior as spaying. This is not true. In fact, mating is not an alternative to sterilization. Any positive changes in the behavior of the rabbit, which sometimes appear during pregnancy, are only temporary, and episodes of aggression will resume after the birth of cubs.
2. 2 See your veterinarian. Aggression and anger often occur when the rabbit is sick or in pain. Thus, if your rabbit is showing aggression (especially if the behavior is sudden), take the animal to the veterinarian to check if the rabbit has any injury or illness.
   • When you go to your vet, discuss all aspects of your pet's health with him. Be sure to ask what steps you can take to change your pet's unwanted behavior. Your veterinarian may be able to provide you with ideas about the causes of your rabbit's aggression and advice on a strategy for dealing with the problem. If you are not entirely sure that you have understood the veterinarian correctly, feel free to ask questions to get all the information you need.
   • Before you take your rabbit to the vet, you can check on your own to see if the rabbit has any health problems. Look for symptoms such as discharge from the animal's eyes or nose, a sudden rise or fall in body temperature (detectable by touching a rabbit's ears), and loss of appetite.All of these signs (both individually and in combination) can indicate a health problem, so take your animal to a veterinary clinic to diagnose the disease.
3. 3 It must be remembered that rabbits are territorial animals. Do not try to force the rabbit out of the cage. Do not remove toys, food bowls, or other items from the cage while the pet is inside its home. Wait for the rabbit to come out of the cage on its own, and only then start cleaning. If your pet bit you when you put your hand into the cage, it is most likely defending its territory.
   • The best thing to do is reach out to the rabbit in the cage just to pet it. Every time you approach the crate, try to pet the pet affectionately. After a while, the rabbit will understand that your hands are not dangerous for him, on the contrary, they give him pleasant sensations.

Tips

• Whenever the bunny approaches you calmly, reward the animal. This will reinforce the desired behavior.

Warnings

• Always use caution when handling a rabbit, even if the animal is not showing signs of aggression.