Bunnicula: The Shower Aggression Syndome

Question
I have a three and a half year old Holland lop. I work at home, so he gets tons of attention and can be out in the house all day. He is verry snugly and loving, and follows me everywhere. He is a total sweetheart until I take a shower or bath or use lotion. As soon as I step out of the shower, he growls, bites, hits, and chases  me. He has caused scars and major bruising. If I shower at the gym and am gone for the rest of the day, he is his normal loving self. If I shower at the gym and come home right away, he becomes bloodthirsty. I have switched shampoos, conditioners, soaps, lotions- anything that has a scent. Even "unscented" products have a smell he hates. He does the same thing with other people in the household. How can I break my bunny from this reaction? I've tried locking him up, but he can smell the products and will bite hours later. He has torn through jeans, socks, and removed rubber from shoes, alomg with a good amount of skin. Is there any way to keep him in a good mood without giving up hygiene?

Answer
Dear Carissa,

Wow, this is the first time I've ever heard of another rabbit besides our beloved Gryphon (R.I.P.) who went nuts after anyone took a shower.  We were never *sure* of why he did this, but we did notice that he would immediately lose his aggression if, after the shower, the offending human would allow him or herself to be herded back into bed, where Gryphon would then proceed to cuddle up and kiss kiss kiss.

So we *think* Gryphon was associating our showering with our getting ready to leave him!  Once we got back into bed, we were being good, obedient warren-slaves and he had no further need to punish us.

Interestingly, I was once outside with Gryphon and was fertilizing our Gardenias with granular fertilizer.  The sound the granules made when they cascaded over the leaves must have sounded like shower water to Gryphon, because he raced over and proceeded to ATTACK ME!  He'd stop if I stopped pouring, but would resume the minute I started fertilizing again.  It was the weirdest thing.

You don't say if your boy is neutered. But if this is so bad that it's making life impossible, you might consider The Big Snip, which will make him less possessive of you and those in the household whom he considers his subjects.  You are simply not allowed to leave (or smell different) in HIS house.

I wish I could tell you there was another way to fix this.  You can try some of the tips here:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/aggression.html

though I'm not sure they'll work in a case like this.  (They didn't for Gryphon.  It was only after he was neutered that he stopped this behavior.)

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

if you opt for the neuter.

I hope this helps.

Dana