New and need some help please!

[Spirit]

Hi there,

I have had my rabbit for over a year now. Love her to bits,but the only thing is, it doesnt seem like she likes me verymuch. She grunts all the time at me, when I clean her cage,groom her and so on. She never did it when she was little,but I am linking it with the fact that my Father teases her abit. She loves her head rubbed, but seems always onedge. What can I do to make her be more friendly and actuallyenjoy my company?

Please help!

Thank you in advance

T

 

[Haley]

Hi there and welcome! Be sure to introduce yourself in our New Members thread!

Is your bunny spayed? Bunnies tend to calm down a bit and become less aggressive/territorial after theyre altered.

You basically just need to build trust. Do you do things on her terms?Is she allowed to come out of her cage on her own or do you take herout? She needs to know that she can trust you and that her space (hercage) is her own. I usually just lay on the floor and let the bunniescome to me..you will builld trust that way.

Hope this helps a bit

 

[Spirit]

Hey there!

Thank you for the reply. No, she isnt spayed. Ikinda thought it would be cruel to do so, but if it would help, then Iguess I should talk to the vet. She used to have the run ofthe entire garden, but she would dig near the fences so we stoppedthat. Instead, we built a run for her and I also used to layin there with her for ages. She would jump on my back andwalk around. But when it was time for her to go back into thecage, we fell out again. She would pounce at me, scratchingme

Ha, trying to get her on the lead was scary. So I dont take her for walks anywhere!

Thanks again for the fast reply.

T

 

[hunnybunny63]

she sounds extreamly like my Daisy! you could say that was a good thing but msot would say its a bad thing!! lol

dont panic though it is possable to change her!

i would also suggest getting her spayed as this does help to a certainextent! does she have somthign that she realy like that she might betempeted to amke friends with you if you give it to her eg food or atoy? if she does then this does help! Daisy my rabbit is very foodobsessed and this really helped me solve my probem with her. she usedto grunt, growl, get her paws in the air, lunge at me and trired tobite me before. this mainly happened when i tried to catch her for anyreason but over the last year she has really calmed down. weather thisis due to her age as she is not so mcuh of a grumpy teenager any more!

keep trying to bond with her if catching her is the problem then try tocorner hr with a piece of mesh and let her calm down and then elt herback otu again this will show her that beign caught isnt always bad andwhen you put her away give her somthign that she likes!

hope this helps!

 

[Spirit]

Thank you once again for the advice.She loves her treats so that is useful Also, is there a certain agelimit to getting her spayed?

 

[Michaela]

I think around 5 or 6 months is a good time toget them spayed, this is usually when they reach sexual maturity. Becareful when you're getting her spayed though, most vets in the UKaren't that experienced with vets, there's a list of questions in theRO resource center.

My rex Berri used to be cage aggressive, but she stopped when my othertwo bunnies, Pebble and Ebony came along, and we never got her spayed(I would because I know the high cancer risks and what not, but my mumwon't pay for it because she thinks there's no point is spaying 3girls:rollseyes)

Michaela and the girls:brownbunny:brownbunny:brownbunny

 

[Spirit]

I will call my vets up tomorrow and ask themalot of questions about it. Part of me wants her to have itdone so we can get along more, but part of me doesnt want to take thatoperation risk.

Thanks for your reply

Teri