Bunny is very sweet but sometimes growls and tries to bite

[Butter]

My bunny is 1 1/2 yrs old and was spayed a year ago. She's really sweet and affectionate and generally a good girl. The only time she growls and tries to bite my hand is if I try to get her in her carrier (by gently and quickly pushing her in) to take her outdoors for playtime (which she loves because she gets to eat grass and feel the breeze) or if I try to take her back inside the house by getting her in the carrier. In the past she used to resist but would never growl/bite. Now she's discovered that growling/biting works to keep me from making her go in the carrier. I know maybe she associates the carrier with going to the vet (rare) or getting put on the table for nail clipping or grooming (which is pretty painless and easy). She's so cute but when she gets aggressive it's actually scary :sigh: I've tried putting treats in or near the carrier but she's smart enough not to fall for the trap. She'll actually run away as soon as I take out the carrier. Anyone know how to deal with an angry bunny? It's just frustrating when I'm trying to get her to go home after playtime.

 

[RavenousDragon]

If possible, keep it out all the time. Put treats in it 1-2x per day, and then walk away. Eventually she will get the treats, and she won't have been forced. Once she starts to go in for treats, potentially a few months from now, do NOT start closing the door and locking her in. Once she's comfortable in it, I would start by shutting the door without latching it, so she can easily push her way out. Eventually, another few months probably, you should be actually able to latch the door. Again, don't pick it up or do anything. Just latch it. Then unlatch it. Of course, all throughout, lots of treats. Eventually, she might not be so aggressive about it and maybe even go in on her own. But that's going to take a LOT of patience. Good luck!

 

[Aki]

Most animals hate pet carrier which I find pretty understandable. My parents' cat will spread his four legs and begin to pee when you try to put him inside (and it's to go to the country side which he loves) and one of my bunnies once scratched me so hard I had a scar that went from wrist to elbow for years. Aki and Tybalt both hate it. I keep it out at all times, tried putting hay and treats inside but nothing works they just KNOW : they will go inside to eat treat no problem when I don't need them to be, but as soon as I need them to go inside the carrier to take them somewhere there is no way to make them go in.
Growling and then biting when you do something that annoys them is pretty normal too - I had a rabbit once who hated when you touched his tail, if you did it once you got growling and if you tried it twice well... too bad for your fingers (I always thought that was pretty fair play, I mean, you couldn't say you hadn't been warned XD). He also did the running away growling thing when he didn't want to go back inside and it was pretty intimidating as he was a pretty big lop. If you insist, you always win in the end but it's not very pleasant, I'll admit.
You can always try to put a very yummy rare treat in the carrier to entice your rabbit to go inside on her own but if she's anything like mine, she will just give you the "do you think I'm dumb?" look.

 

[Akzholedent]

Yeah, I leave Pippi's open carrier on the floor, and she'll just hop inside for the heck of it.. it's too the point where I can just put the carrier in her xpen, wait about 5 minutes, and she's in there, ready to go. ^_^

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Whether or not they hate something, they still have to get used to and accept certain things--you can't clip nails without handling them, and so on. You have the "classic" bunny is the alpha and is going to train you. By letting her growl and nip, you're letting her train you in how she wants things to be--okay if you don't mind growling and escalation of the violent behavior. You have to act like an alpha rabbit and let her know it's not acceptable. I love my dogs and rabbits, but understand both sets of behavior and if you aren't the alpha they will assert their dominance. You will have to pin her and flip her on her back any time she growls or nips and speak in a harsh, deeper voice emulating grunting. I have all rescues and some were from "Death Row" because of behavior, so I've been bloodied a few times but all the aggressive bunnies learned I was the Alpha and they have all become very loving and I haven't been growled at or nipped in a few years now. I also reward good behavior with treats occasionally--both things I learned in a Psychology class from B F Skinners work whom I think was inspired by Pavlov. All mine come to me when called and let me handle them with no problem, and even like getting belly rubs accompanied by "tooth purring". I pointed out to a friend that his bunny had him very well trained and would nip him if she didn't like what he was doing, but I could hold her and not get nipped as she knew her behavior towards me had consequences and had learned I was an Alpha and he was a subordinate to her. He changed his ways and now she is also a model of sweet behavior. If you let her get away with training you, there is no way you will be able to stop the less than ideal behavior as she knows she can have her way. I know that the library contains info on rabbit behavior and social interaction and that even neutered rabbits will still hump (both sexes) as one of the many dominance displays.

 

[RavenousDragon]

Both of my buns were on death row for biting too! But I've never pinned them or anything. They were both very badly abused (one locked in a closet to starve, the other was burned alive), so I ONLY used reward based training with them. Now they come, "heal up" on a leash, go in their cages and kennels on command, give me kisses, stand on the scale, walk on two feed, and touch their noses to my finger on command. It's so much fun! My male will also do some agility.

 

[Butter]

@RavenousDragon I will have to try that: leaving surprise treats in the carrier without taking her somewhere against her will. I want her to think carrier = good. Your bunnies are lucky to have you and they've learned so many tricks! so far Butter knows "stand up", "jump" (over the tunnel), and "turn in a circle" but she'll do the tricks 50% of the time I say the command and only for pellets. Luckily she usually listens to "come here" and she'll go to her cage if i point to the door when I need to sleep.

@Aki LOL my bunny is also definitely too smart to be tricked with treats. She'll stretch her body and stick her head in the carrier with half the body outside to quickly grab the treat and then run away. Then she'll turn her back to me and sit in front of me as if to give me the cold shoulder with the attitude of "how dare you." When she was a baby she was easy to fool, now she's a grown wiser bunny and she won't fall for tricks.

@Akzholedent oh the days when that method used to work on Butter. She caught on over time. I would leave the carrier on the floor and pretend I wasn't looking and she would curiously go in it and voila! I had the bunny in the carrier! now she runs for her life as soon as she sees me put it on the floor. or she'll poke her head into it and then run away furiously with her feet slipping and sliding behind her.

@Nancy I can't see myself flipping her because I imagine she would bite my hand off if I tried so and I'm a wimp haha. It's hard enough just trying to pick her up (almost 100% of the time she runs away if I try but for some reason my bf has an easy time picking her up. he does it so quickly without giving her time to get away). I've always been the alpha but I guess the roles are slowly reversing now that she's no longer a baby. I'm working on being the alpha again.

 

[Happi Bun]

I would caution suggesting pinning as a behavior modification technique. It is highly debated even among dog trainers and their guardians. There is potential risk to the rabbit (panicking and kicking out could injure their back) and to the human as well (getting bit trying to pin the rabbit). I have no doubts it has worked for you, Nancy. It's actually a common method used for rats that bite as well. I just worry about casually suggesting it because other members do not have your experience.

Your bunny sounds exactly like my cat. He had a very traumatic experience at the vet when he almost died and had to be hospitalized. After that taking him for wellness exams was a nightmare. He would growl and hiss violently at me when I attempted to gently place him in the carrier. Just the sight of the carrier alone sent him into a panic. It took two people to get him in without injuries to any of us (which was NOT easy). It was clear he had a very negative association with the carrier, but you couldn't blame the poor guy. I started to do positive reinforcement training so he would associate it with good things.

So I would leave the carrier with the door open where he could access it for a week, that way he could investigate it at his own speed. I put a blanket in it that already had his smell on it to help make it smell more familiar. I would also put his favorite treats in the back of it to give him some added motivation. He didn't need to stay in the carrier and eat them. It was all about building that positive association. Each time he would step foot in the carrier was another time nothing bad happened and he got a yummy treat.

My cat is wonderful about going in the carrier now. These are things you can do with your bunny. I would highly suggest getting a carrier that has a door on the top as well. It will make your life so much easier! That way you could simply pick your bunny up and set her down in the carrier, instead of trying to push her in through the front.

Something like this:

She doesn't sound aggressive in any other situations, so I really don't feel like this is a mean bunny who is just trying to be the boss. From reading your posts I really think she has developed a negative association and fear of the carrier. In those type of situations we really need to approach the situation with patience and understanding.

 

[Aki]

I don't think either that it's "alpha" or "mean" behavior. Rabbits generally don't wan't to go into pet carriers because it's not pleasant for them and that being enclosed in something that moves (and they can't see or control where it's going) is going against their every instincts. I had to put my two monsters in the carrier yesterday to go to the vet and Tybalt was really hard to put inside but I think he was just scared (and he was right : he was VACCINATED and WEIGHTED, the vet looked at his TEETH - the horrors...).
Both of my rabbits will go inside their cage with no problem when I call, but the pet carrier is something else.
It's true that it's more of a problem if it's something that you do often (but maybe your bunny will adapt easier that way?) but I only put my rabbits in a carrier 4 to 6 times a year so well... it's just a very nasty 10 mn to put them inside. And a week of sulking afterwards (I'm currently persona non grata in the rabbits room, who will flee and give me the stink eye whenever I try to approach them : it's always nice to feel appreciated after carrying them during 4 km to go to the vet and spending my afternoon there :rollseyes)