My New Rabbit ; Cheesburger

Question
QUESTION: Hello ,

I am Emili I am at the age of twelve and just recently got a 6-8 week old Rabbit called Cheeseburger. I got him from a pet store and love him to bits and pieces. He is sweet but very nippy and I have no paticene so I tend to pop him on the back from time to time. But I also have a boxer so I have to to tell myself that he is just a rabbit. Well my questions are:

1. How can you stop bitting

And  

2. From the picutre below could you tell me what kind of rabbit he is?

<img src="http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/holly12_2006/?action=view¤t=CheeseB>

ANSWER: Hi Emili,

please, never, NEVER, NEVER hit your rabbit.  They are more fragile than cats and dogs.  Physical punishment does not work with rabbits - they are prey animals and all it will do is destroy any trust he has with you.  You earn a prey animal's trust through your hands.  If you hit him with those hands, you will just make him distrust you because he won't know if the hands coming towards him are going to be a good experience or a bad experience.  He will never trust you.  

Rabbits cannot take rough handling or hits or being tossed around.  Their skeletons are not as heavy as cats and dogs and they can easily break bones or crack their backs if they are not carried properly and they kick their back legs.

You will have to develop patience with him.  With prey animals, the most important thing you need to develop with him is trust.  Every day, he needs to be able to trust you, that you're going to be good to him and that you are a friend.  It takes time, but it is worth it.  You will find (hopefully) that your rabbit has as complex a personality as your dog.  You won't be able to see it if you don't develop a trust bond with him, but you will see it if you do.  It is incredible the depth of personality rabbits have.  

To stop nipping.  When exactly does he nip you?  Does he nip at skin, or your clothing?  Or both?  Does he nip at you when you do something that he appears not to enjoy?  For example, most rabbits do not like being picked up, or being picked up and held in a way that feels uncomfortable to them.  They do not like being handled roughly (like some dogs and cats do).  They generally don't like just sitting in your lap.  He is nipping at you to give you a message.  Rabbits, being prey animals, do not vocalize a lot, they do a lot of communication non-verbally.  

Also, being a very young prey animal, many rabbits do not like the smell of predator animals, especially on a person that is attempting to hold/handle them/reaching into their space.  The smell or presence of predator animals can stress out a rabbit, to the point that some can (and do) get so freaked out they have a heart attack and die.

So the first thing to think about is why he would be nipping at you, what is he trying to tell you.  Place it in context of what you are doing at the time this occurs.  Write back to me with more info about his nipping, and I will try to help you determine what he's trying to get across to you.

From your picture of him, he appears to be a mini-rex rabbit, or at least a partial mini-rex.  If his fur feels short and like velvet when you rub your hand over it, he's at least part mini-rex.

Write back with more info about the nipping.  Lee

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again Lee ,

Just followng up about his nipping. Well yes he does nip at my clothes and my hands. He appears to nip at my hands when he is getting no attetiopn.

And to be truth full he loves cudddling!!! He will sit there and lick me until i put him down to run around then he will nip at my foot until I pick him back up.

Answer
Hi Emili,

there are a number of reasons why he'd nip at your clothes.  Of course as you mention, for attention if you are not giving him enough, or stop petting him, or don't pick him up, etc.  Another reason is that he is nipping at you around a button, a pocket, or a seam (where fabric is thicker) and thinking you need grooming.  They regard these areas as 'matted fur' areas that he wants to help you with.  

Often what works with rabbits is using sounds that they understand.  If he nips at you because of attention, let out a little 'eek' sound when he does it.  Keep doing it every nip to see if he will stop.  Rabbits recognize this sound as a sound to 'quit it' and he just may do so.  

A second thing to try is if he is doing it for attention, to wear heavier clothing and ignore the nips.  He will learn that nipping you is not going to get your attention and he will move on to something else.

If his nipping is clothes related or he won't stop with 'eek' noises, you can try to use "No, Cheesburger" in a firm (but not loud) voice.  Rabbits can learn words and he should start to understand what "No" followed by his name means.  

Now, part of his nipping can be a hormonal thing. He is a little young to hit sexual maturity (generally males hit sexual maturity between 3-6 months).  One thing to keep in mind is that when he does hit sexual maturity, you will need to get him neutered by a good rabbit vet (not any vet is a good rabbit vet).  Neutering your rabbit will allow you to keep the bunny you have fallen in love with as he is right now.  It will stop him from mounting your arm or leg, from spraying you (it is a sign of love, but icky), and he will be litterbox-trainable if he is neutered.

If you do not have a good rabbit vet yet, go to:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society-recommended vet in your area.  If you can't find any vets in your area, call up your local animal shelters or rabbit rescue groups and ask them where they would go if they had a rabbit that needed surgery.

Lee