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Advice on Rabbit Behavior Needed

22 9:39:28

Question
Mocha
Mocha  
I recently took in a 6-mo old female lionhead cross. She was labeled as difficult and nobody wanted her. At first we thought her aggressive behavior-lunging, biting, scratching, growling was due to adjustment. We've showered her with love & affection for 4 weeks now. Aggression diminished a bit and we think there is a sweet bunny in there somewhere. We believe she was ignored, living in a home with loud dogs and kids. She is in a quiet spot in our home. We are committed to giving her the best but would like some sign that she will stop the aggression. I will have her spayed in hopes of helping. Is there anything else we should do? After spaying should we introduce her to our bonded pair of mini-rexes? Can you tell what her mix is? Thanks!

Answer
Dear Debbie,

Sorry for the delay in replying (my mother-in-law had a small stroke, and we have been in crisis mode.  AllExperts kind of took a back seat...).

Spaying will probably help a LOT.  It's possible that she's in the throes of a false pregnancy, and this will make her very grouchy.  I agree that it's possible she was abused, though possibly just through ignorance.

Please try the tips here:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/shybun.html

And for really exhaustive help, here are some excellent resources from the House Rabbit Society and its affiliates:

http://rabbit.org/faq-aggression/

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/agressive.shtml

I hope this helps.

Dana