My polish is very territorial, when I open her hutch door she runs right up to the door and growls. When I try to feed or get something out of he cage she tries to bites me, and I have to take her out just to feed her, which is frustrating when I feed her just before I go to school in the morning. When she is out of her cage she is just fine and doesn't care who or what is around. Is there anything I can do to make her less territorial, to make my life just a little bit easier, or should I just keep taking her out of her cage?
Territorial Rabbit
- Thread starter sweet7895
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ams1786
Well-Known Member
She's exhibiting cage/food aggression. Even the sweetest bun can be very possessive of their "room"-imagine if someone just barged into your room and started moving things around without asking. If she's fine outside the cage, I would just chalk this up to a quirk and try to work around it. First, if she's an adopted bun and you didnt have her since a baby, it's quite possible that she wasn't treated very well in her former home and is very scared and territorial of her cage. If she's not fixed, this could be hormonal and go away with spaying. But there are a few things you can try. First, you could get a cage with a top access door. This would make it easier to get in there without her charging. You could also change her feed schedule so she's being fed when she's out at playtime. What I do is, when you open the cage to feed her, gently place your hand over her head and push it down to the floor. Hold her there gently and maybe scratch her head a bit while you do what you need to with the other hand. If she pulls her head away, just try it again. Buns have a blind spot in front of their faces so if you just shove your hand in right away she could get freaked and attack. It's also possible she's just a super glutton and views you holding her bowl as some sick game to keep her noms away from her. If try switching feeding time or the head thing. It might take a few tries, but remember that if she bites you you can't get mad, even if it hurts. If she learns that biting you makes you go away she'll do it a lot more often. This sounds obvious, but just always talk sweetly and never yell at her. She'll either calm down and get better about aggression or you can just find a way to work around it that doesn't get mad. Oh, and if your forcing her out of the cage every time you have to feed her, that might just be making her more defensive every time you come to the door.
SilentTearsAnimalRescue
Anne.M.Kenyon
Hi, from what I have picked up and read (Although not from personal experience) the little Polish Dawrfs can be rather territorial, as can all bunnies potentially, but Polish possibly more so.
Has your bunny been spayed? An unspayed doe can be extremely territorial and also very aggressive sometimes, and spaying will usually help ease this behaviour ether somewhat, or even eradicate it. Also, I know it's off the original topic, but I always mention this, an unspayed female has a very high chance of developing uterine cancer, so spaying is always most important.
Right, back to the point. Allow your bunny as much time as possible out of her cage. This can help make her less 'dependent' on it as she also has plenty of other ground/area to explore.
When you open her hutch, and she runs at you growling, try not to pull back, as this will reinforce her dominance over you. Dont try at this point to reach in and grab her food bowl, she will instantly defend it. Place another bowl of fresh food and also a couple of her most favourite treats just far enough away from the hutch so she has to leave the hutch of her own free will to get to it. While she is happily sniffing and sampling and nomming her yummy breakfast, quietly reach in and take the used bowl out. This will help the 'challenge' situation from even occuring, hopefully.
Over time, offer the fresh bowl of food nearer and nearer to her hutch, but always try to keep it as a distraction while you reach in to get the old bowl, until, hopefully, such a point arises where you can put the new dish in her hutch and remove the old one without attack.
I had a very large bunny (male) who went through a stage like this (post nueter as well) and found this technique did help, and eventually I had no problem with him.
It can also be quite dependent on whether bunny's desire to fill her belly is stronger than her desire to give you a good kicking for trespass offences
'Belly over Bovver-boots' I call it
Hope this helps you somewhat, and Im sure on this wonderful site there will be quite a few more helpful hints coming your way.
Good luck!
Annie x
Has your bunny been spayed? An unspayed doe can be extremely territorial and also very aggressive sometimes, and spaying will usually help ease this behaviour ether somewhat, or even eradicate it. Also, I know it's off the original topic, but I always mention this, an unspayed female has a very high chance of developing uterine cancer, so spaying is always most important.
Right, back to the point. Allow your bunny as much time as possible out of her cage. This can help make her less 'dependent' on it as she also has plenty of other ground/area to explore.
When you open her hutch, and she runs at you growling, try not to pull back, as this will reinforce her dominance over you. Dont try at this point to reach in and grab her food bowl, she will instantly defend it. Place another bowl of fresh food and also a couple of her most favourite treats just far enough away from the hutch so she has to leave the hutch of her own free will to get to it. While she is happily sniffing and sampling and nomming her yummy breakfast, quietly reach in and take the used bowl out. This will help the 'challenge' situation from even occuring, hopefully.
Over time, offer the fresh bowl of food nearer and nearer to her hutch, but always try to keep it as a distraction while you reach in to get the old bowl, until, hopefully, such a point arises where you can put the new dish in her hutch and remove the old one without attack.
I had a very large bunny (male) who went through a stage like this (post nueter as well) and found this technique did help, and eventually I had no problem with him.
It can also be quite dependent on whether bunny's desire to fill her belly is stronger than her desire to give you a good kicking for trespass offences
'Belly over Bovver-boots' I call it
Hope this helps you somewhat, and Im sure on this wonderful site there will be quite a few more helpful hints coming your way.
Good luck!
Annie x
