rabbit question

i have a 2 year old male netherland dwarf mix rabbit named Oz. Heres my problem he has a attitude. Latley hes been biting and hitting people causing them to bleed. He can be a very sweet rabbit by laying with you for hours but at times hes a brat. you could just be standing there and he will come up and hit you. Hes out of his cage for most of the day. I want him to stop doing this because some of my friends are scared to touch him. Its hard to have someone watch him while im gone too because he wont let them touch him so they have problems caring for him.
i dont know if it is just a stage he is going through ( like the terrible twos) if any of you have any advise i would be very happy and my family would be to:D

Hmmm... could be several reason for his behavior. I had a rabbit like that once, but then one day totally reformed and turned into the sweetest most gentle rabbit.

Is he neutered? Sometimes when rabbits aren't neutered/spayed they can be aggressive at times, I know some of my rabbits can, lol :rolleyes:

Environmental stress is another thing... perhaps there is something in his surroundings that could be bothering him?

I think this article might be of some help to you, I highly suggest taking a look at it... lots info on rabbit aggression there:

http://www.bunnyrabbits.org/bunnylov...aggression.htm

Hope this helps! :)

If he isn't neutered that's most definitly the problem! When Hershey wasn't neutered when he was younger he used to bite me and break the skin. I would pick him up look him right in the face and say "NO!" then set him down, usually then he start to scratch the couch, so when he tryed to bite my finger I shoved it in his mouth and made him gag,he couldn't chomp down either,then I would push him back, he'd try and try again he really was a little bugger but eventually he learned. You could also scream out really loud when he bites you to show him he really hurt you(even if he really didn't). Hershey is very friendly now,especially since he's neutered,sometimes he puts his mouth over my finger and lightly puts his teeth on me to say "move outta my way mom!". I got a new rabbit,un-spayed female, she bites ALOT,her favorite thing is biting it seems, the other day she bit the top of my hand, again, I picked her up,looked her right in the face and shouted "NO!" and plunked her back into her cage. A while ago we took her to the vet for a checkup and my sister was holding her and she bit her so hard on the finger right beside the nail and we even heard a little crunch noise(yuck!).
Does your rabbit bite you also? Maybe he feels threatened by your friends! Frightened rabbits bite and they bite hard! Tell your friends to put their hand in a fist,let the rabbit sniff you, then lightly pet your rabbit on the back or side, give your friends a treat to give to him too,food is always the key. Well good luck!:D

he is neutered. its more hitting then bitting but at times he does bite. and giving him treats dosnt help for my friends because he hits them. i think his problem is that hes overly spoiled and when he dosnt get his way he gets mad. We joke around in my house that he is my moms golden child because she lets him get away with it. thanks so much for all your help and the website. im sure to try your sugestions

:) Glad to help. Let us know how it goes with him.

oh yeah, spoiledness,lol,well that happens often since rabbits are SOO cute! My female rabbit,Spice(not my new one), is SPOILED rotten! Everyone who knows Spice well treats her like royalty, forcing Spice to do stuff just feels wrong. But rabbit have to be forced. The only way Spice bites is if you tease her(my sister was making a stuffed rabbit hump her, she got all baby like and when my sister went to hug her Spice lunged out and bit her right on the chest!I say she deserved it for teasing Spice!) and sometimes she likes to bite let's say a "private" area! She sure gets scolded on that! Let's just say Spice isn't the angel I make her sound like, only because she isn't spayed yet! She humps Hershey and drives him crazy,she is VERY territorial,she attacks Oreo all the time and always is biting her(that why they're not living in the same hutch!), she pee's and poops in the house only sometimes though, when she feels like holding it she will when she doesnt she'll make a mess!When she is humping Hershey and I turn around she'll quickly get off and start licking him. Spice really is great though, she loves all people, she loves to cuddle, she is a great pet,she loves giving kisses.

Whats Hitting? lol I've never owned a rabbit....lots of Guniea Pigs though!!

Well like everyone else has been saying....usally a non neutered male can be agressive but since yours is already neutered than i dont know what to say (:rolleyes: ) How long has he been hitting and sometimes bitting? has it been going on for a while? or have you moved his cage latley?....cause sometimes they dont like new suroundings. do you have a female rabbit that isnt spayed because she may be in heat and they may be making him act this way. i have never had a male rabbit except for the new one i just got, so i dont know much about them! i only know females!! lol


sorry i dont have that much new information to give you but i just wanted to try and help even the littlest bit!! i am new here so i am trying to make friends!:D


thanks and i hope you rabbit get better

_____________
caroline:eek:

good luck