sweet rabbit bites pants hems

Question
We just inherited a rabbit from a friend who did not give him any attention.  The rabbit is very sweet, loves to be rubbed and runs circles around our feet.  We let him out for hours a day.  He's litter trained.  Our problem is that he has started to bite the hem of our pants it seems to get our attention.  Why is this and is there something we can do to stop him?  As you know, it really hurts when he gets our skin, too!  Would you recommend neutering?

Answer
It sounds like you got a great rabbit!

The running around you feet may be what I call the Happy Bunny Dance of Love.  Un-neutered males do this when they find someone they like.  It can be very cute, but beware, at some point he may decide he REALLY likes you and start spraying while he dances around you.

I do recommend getting him neutered.  You won't have to worry about spraying or him mounting you.  And if you ever decide to get him a bunny friend, you won't have to worry about a surprise litter of babies.

If he's nipping to get your attention, you'll have to work on letting him know that it's not acceptable behavior.  First, don't reward him by giving him any attention.  Try walking away and ignoring him.  Some people also try making a little squeak sound when this happens.  I've never tried this, so I'm not sure how effective it is.  This site has some other info about nipping and how to teach your rabbit to be more gentle or not nip at all:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/training.html

Enjoy your new friend!