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taming a house rabbit

22 10:19:19

Question
i have a house rabbit and she does not like to be messed with at all i dont know how to get her to like to be petted or anything i cant hold her without her having a little fit.  she is about 6 months old and i have a cage i keep her in sometimes but i let her roam the house a lot she has not been spayed or anything i dont know if that will help or not.

Answer
Hi Kristi

Yes spaying should help.  Your girl is at the age where she wants a boyfriend.  By spaying her you will reduce the hormonal problems she has as well as prevent any uterine type cancers.  It is believed that over 80% of female rabbits that are not spayed will develop uterine cancer.

As for her attitude, well some rabbits don't like to be held.  Each rabbit is different and that is what makes them fun.  Rabbits are not usually the type of animals that like to be cuddled and many don't even like to be touched.  If you get her spayed you will need to wait about 30 days for all the hormones to get out of her system.  It really should calm her down.  It doesn't necessarily mean that she is going to let you pick her up.  I have found that my neutered bucks are much more passive pets than does that aren't spayed.  Every doe I have ever dealt with that was spayed has been more friendly than those that aren't.  We will not keep does in our house because once they hit sexual maturity if they are not spayed they can be down right nasty.  They do have a tendency to get more of an attitude than a buck but that doesn't mean that they can't be great pets.  

Please let me know if you need anymore help.

Pam