why do bunnies dig and scratch on my clothes?

[Cheyrul]

They also nip and bite my shirts leaving holes in them.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

are they fixed? Do they get punished for biting? (Not punished punished, but make sure you let out a little scream or something so they know they hurt you and you aren't happy.)

 

[BertNErnie]

mine dig if i have a fluffy jumper on

 

[LakeCondo]

Are you sitting down next to them, lying down, or what?

When Honey tried to nibble my clothes, I thought she thought it was a chew towel.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

The only answer I can come up with is "because". Our do it if I wear sox or sweatpants--all 8 of them.

 

[slavetoabunny]

Because they can, lol! Digging and chewing are natural bunny behaviors, fixed or not. You aren't a bona fide bunny slave unless you have some clothing customized by your rabbits!!

 

[OneTwoThree]

Sounds like they're loving on you. Rabbits groom each other, and with all that thick fur a little nipping is actually really nice! Unfortunately with us humans, we don't have that buffer

When they do it to you, "groom" them back, and gently move their heads to discourage nipping. You can also whistle or make a high pitch yelp, that will let them know they are hurting you

 

[jujub793]

Sometimes it's hard to be loved lol

 

[slavetoabunny]

OneTwoThree wrote:

You can also whistle or make a high pitch yelp, that will let them know they are hurting you

That works most of the time. I do have one bunny that stepped up her attacks (and I do mean attacks...scarring involved) when I would yelp. Actually, today she is the sweetest bunny ever. She even does pet therapy at nursing homes.

 

[OneTwoThree]

slavetoabunny wrote:

OneTwoThree wrote:

You can also whistle or make a high pitch yelp, that will let them know they are hurting you

That works most of the time. I do have one bunny that stepped up her attacks (and I do mean attacks...scarring involved) when I would yelp. Actually, today she is the sweetest bunny ever. She even does pet therapy at nursing homes.

Oh my goodness! What changed? Would the yelping scare her?

 

[Cheyrul]

Usually I am holding them and rubbing back, head and ears. Sometimes I am sitting with them, I have caught my female "digging" on the males so maybe it is grooming. I usually do yelping and redirect. Curly, he is usually the one who does it the most, usually hops off.

 

[MagPie]

I notice Harvey does it for attention. I'll be in the kitchen and along comes the ninja bunny and my feet when in socks get dug up. haha It's the clothe mostly. He loves to chew and dig in towels. He's even pulled some of my shirts thru the holes in my hamper and chewed those up. Luckily it was an older shirt.

 

[slavetoabunny]

OneTwoThree wrote:

slavetoabunny wrote:

OneTwoThree wrote:

You can also whistle or make a high pitch yelp, that will let them know they are hurting you

That works most of the time. I do have one bunny that stepped up her attacks (and I do mean attacks...scarring involved) when I would yelp. Actually, today she is the sweetest bunny ever. She even does pet therapy at nursing homes.

Oh my goodness! What changed? Would the yelping scare her?

I don't know why Snowball reacted the way she did. Once I figured out that yelping had the opposite of the intended result, I quit doing it.

 

[paulinalou22]

my rabbit does the same thing but he sometimes gets my skin nd it hurts so bad i leave him in his cage for a little while and he freaks out and doesnt do it again.

 

[BertNErnie]

i enjoy the grooming just not the biting bit.

 

[MiniLopHop]

yeah, I had to yelp several times to teach my boys not to bite the nude buns (humans). They learned quickly. The girls were always kissers rather than nippers.

If I get dug at it means they want down. I learned that the hard way. I ignored Houdini's digging once and he peed all over me and Cinderella who was also sitting in the chair. Totally my fault, he had been sitting there for over an hour but I thought he just didn't want to be brushed.