Saturday, May 22, 2010

My Netherland Dwarf rabbit is becoming more&more aggressive with biting, growling, etc. What to do?

She is not spayed, she is a year old and we bought her from a reputable breeder. We have treated her like a queen and although she gets along well with the cat, she appears to hate humans. We have had her since she was old enough to leave her mother. I'm at a loss and my daughter is broken hearted. Any suggestions?
Answers:
Always remember that rabbits are very sensitive and feel vulnerable, and as a result want to be very aware of their surroundings. Just lay on the ground for a minute and look at the world from her eyes, and you'll understand better why she's so sensitive and a little insecure - everything looks so big from her viewpoint!

The very best way to get closer to your rabbit is to sit on the floor/ground while you let her explore, and she'll eventually come and explore you - and have some food with you, so that when she approaches you, you can show her that you're her friend with this food - a little slice of carrot, or apple, or banana. But don't try to force her, wait until she approaches you. Another thing you can try is laying on your stomach . when we do this, our bunn comes right up to my face and sits on the floor in front of me. But this will only happen when she's had plenty of hours and days to explore first! The longer you have her in your company, the more she will become familiar with your room, and then will settle down, sit down and relax, and then you can pet her. Another tip, keep things the same around your room, so that she doesn't have to begin their explorations from scratch every time. Bunnies need their areas to be the same every day . this is how they feel safest and become calmest and more interested in you.

Here's a few excellent articles on rabbit care, behaviour and communication -
http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittal. - this one is SO good - how to translate bunny behaviour and language!

Additionally, here's a few articles on aggressive rabbits and how to deal with them -
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-3/age-re.
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-2/mean-r.
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/aggre.

And more general info -
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;.
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/rabbits/a.
http://www.tagyerit.com/hopline/cold.htm.
http://www.rabbit.org/
http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/
http://au.geocities.com/leaswebsite/bunn. - this is my site - please have a browse and best of luck!
Look here under behavior:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/netherland_.

maybe she's stressed.
Hi I have bred netherlands along with various other breeds when I was showing rabbits.netherlands can be aggressive %26 in most rabbit you will find that some does can turn into the bunny from hell when they reach 5 months old as they are ready for breeding %26 all thier problems are to do with their hormones.getting her fixed will in most cass cure the problem.
Regards Jake
Sounds like a rabbit I had once. He was a real lil sh*%26! He would dive at your hand and bite you!! Have her spayed and it may help. I had a crossbred dwarf and he was sweet as he could be. I am sorry but I know what you are talking about! Those rabbits can be vicious! Call your vet. Unfortunately some rabbits don't make good pets. A biter doesn't make a good pet!
I raise Netherland Dwarfs and I don't recommend them to people as pets. Along with Britannia Petites and Dwarf Hotots. Most people automatically think because they are so small that they make good pets. Not the case. Small dwarf breeds tend to be more high strung and aggressive. Especially does once they reach breeding age. Spaying her would probably help, but may not eliminate the aggression. If she tries to bite you when you go to get her from her cage getting one that opens from the top would help with that. Dwarfs don't exactly like to be held and cuddled so if you try to hold them when their not ready the may feel threatened and try to defend them selves. You may want to try sitting on the floor with a carrot or some sort of treat and just letting her come to you when she鈥檚 ready. Next time try a Fuzzy Lop. They do need to be brushed at least once a week but they are really calm and make great house pets especially for children.
Get her spayed - it will improve her behavior a lot. She's at breeding age for rabbits and she's probably very frustrated and angry. Spaying will make her a much better pet.
Spaying her will likely help this situation quite a bit. Go to http://www.rabbit.org for more info.

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