Good Bunny, Bad Bunny: My Bunny Hates Me
My Rabbit Hates Me
Here's where we get to the crux of the matter. Bad bunny behavior. First of all, don't feel alone if your rabbit seems to loathe you and wants to hurt you, and spends its days destroying your home, some bunnies are just funny like that, and there are quite literally thousands of people dealing with rabbits just like yours, feeling guilty because things have gone so wrong. They planned to have a friendly little bunny about the house, now its all they can do to drop dinner inside the cage quickly enough to avoid being attacked by the bunny.
To understand why rabbits behave the way they do, you have to get inside those fuzzy little heads of theirs for a moment, and see the world through the eyes of a bunny.
Rabbits have no comprehension of their size, or their place in the food chain. From a rabbit's perspective, they are the top of the heap, and there is very little you can do to dissuade them of that notion.
Like little mob bosses, bunnies are all about respect. Too often, a silly human will fail to respect the rabbit, and force it to teach the human a lesson. You will usually get a warning when you are pushing a rabbit too far, foot thumps and grunts are your cues to back off or suffer the consequences. If you persist with your bad behavior, the rabbit will be forced to discipline you with a sharp bite, kick, or scratch.
The problem is that quite often, what we're doing when we anger our bunnies is for their own good. We're trying to groom them, clip their nails, clean their cages, or just feed them.
Rabbits are highly territorial animals. Their cage especially is their domain. It is not uncommon even for friendly rabbits to have a go at their owners if they disturb them whilst they are in their cage. This presents the owner with a problem. How do you carry out the essential activities of rabbit care without provoking a berserker like attack?
The good news is that even though you cannot change your rabbit's basic temperament, you can teach them to accept handling to the point that they will allow themselves to be groomed and treated when necessary. I do not guarantee that these tips will turn your bunny from an aggressive sociopath into Pollyanna, but I can say that they will aid you in controlling your fuzzy friend.
Let's start with the very basics of interaction, handling your bunny.
Next: Bunny Handling 101
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