Bitey bunny

[whiskylollipop]

Merlin doesn't bite people. He's nipped my hands less than 5 times in his life, only when he's in a temper, and even then never drew blood.

But what he does like biting is my CLOTHES. For some reason, if he gets on me, he will ferociously dig, claw and nip at whatever I'm wearing, in the process often hurting me through the fabric. I'm convinced it's not his intention to hurt me, as he never lays a tooth or claw on my bare skin. It's just my clothes.

I yelp whenever he does this, but while it startles him enough to stop for a second, he goes ahead and does it again regardless. I think he doesn't recognise that he's causing me pain because he doesn't realise that I'm under the clothes. It's just something soft and destroyable to him. But whyyyyy the clothes I'm wearing? He doesn't do this to pillows or cushions or throw rugs or even my clothes lying on the floor. Only the clothes currently on me.

Maybe he's trying to free his human mommy from these treacherous threads I've got entangled in. Maybe he's jealous of my broke-college-student fashion style. Maybe he thinks I should be a nudist. What's going on? And how do I stop this??

Ouchies :shock:

 

[Bville]

One of my rabbits does that too if I sit him on my lap, but I don't know why. I am prepared for this and always have an apron on or a towel on my lap so he can't hurt me or my clothes. I have wondered if its just a digging instinct.

 

[Zeroshero]

My bun went through a phase where he would bite and dig at my clothing it didn't go past just a couple of corrections. For him the most effective was a sharp "NO" which really gets his attention, when that doesn't work removing him from my lap does the trick. Then I reward him for being a gentleman with positive reinforcement and pets. He hasn't had an incident in quite some time but I think it was around the time he had stasis and he was just grumpy and not really behavioral. It's all about consistency and timing of the correction, even a little bit of aggression isn't tolerated.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Bville: I thought that too, but if it was, wouldn't it manifest in pulling up carpets or digging out litter? Why dig peoples laps specifically? :confused2:

It seems almost hostile, like a petulant bunny protesting your insolent cuddles. But I've noticed that while my bun likes to dig and nip at my jumper sleeves, if I roll them up he leaves my bare arm alone.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Thanks, Zeroshero. I think in my case it's totally behavioural though. Merlin's been doing that forever, from a fascination with catching swinging hems at a young age to ruthless battles with my sweater pockets today. He just hates my clothes, and loud reprimands don't do nothing.