Hannibal Assessment
I decided to write this journal after finidng relatively little available on the web or in books about extreme aggression in rabbits. This is not an authoritative guide by any means, but it will help you see my thought process as I work with an aggressive rabbit.
Hannibal came into my care after being turned into the pund by his first set of human owners for being aggressive and excessive marking. Turns out he was an adolescent male who had not been neutered. Gainesville Rabbit Rescue was given the chance to take him in because the pound thought his behaviors were simply a result of not being neutered. According to the lead rabbit caretaker, Kathy, he has toned down a bit since being neutered, but still is totally unadoptable. When I met him he would happily come to the door of the cage and present his head to be pet, but that was his only friendly behavior. When he is in his playpen he binkis all over the place, digs like crazy and seems generally happy until someone comes in, then he becomes territorial. As a psychotherapist and having a specialty in behavior modification, this was a challenge I could not pass up. The following details my initial assessment of him
Current Inappropriate Behaviors
Cage aggression
Food agression
Hiding/storing food
Spraying anyone and anything then whipping around and attacking
Charging when anyone enters his playpen
Attacking akles, hands, whatever he can get his teeth on
Biting if you pet his head too close to his nose (yes, he loves being pet, see below)
It seems like he lulls you into a sense of security then-BAM! attacks.
Terrified of loud or sudden noises (children, motorcycles etc)
Freezing and violently shaking when you pick him up
Current Appropriate Behaviors
He will gently take a Craisin or Parsley offered to him through his cage wall
Digging—like a crazy bunny
He will allow you to pet the top of his head from between the eyes back
When he gets nervous he needs to bite/suck on something, but it does not have to be flesh.
He eagerly comes to the cage wall to be pet through the guards when anyone comes by the cage.
Okay, what does that tell me. Well food aggression and hiding/storing food comes from being hungry at some point and feeling like he has to snag what he can get his paws on. The charging, spraying and attacking is clearly saying “Hey get away” but I am not sure if he is defending his space or afraid the human is going to hurt him. You would think someone stuck him with a needle the way he changes from being relaxed to attacking if you pet 1 millimeter too low on his nose. I am pretty sure that he was smacked on the mouth by his previous owners when he would bite. Hannibal is really an intelligent creature and I think, because of his history of maltreatment before he came to GRR, is hypersensitive to even the slightest changes of position, movement or sound. The surprise attacks, I am almost certain are actually brought on by something that triggers/scares him that is so subtle we are not picking up on it. The other curious thing is that, when I wrapped him in a blanket (burrito bunny) and laid him on his back, I noticed that he sucked on the blanket the entire time. He did not gnaw or chew, but if I tried to take the blanket away he freaked out. I am thinking he may have been separated from his mother too soon and not provided enough supplemental formula so he was hungry as a baby bunny and that is now ingrained.
Initial course of action:
Goals
Identify what works as a reinforcer for him
Stop the biting
Stop the charging
Be able to pick him up without gloves
Be able to clean scent gland/trim nails
Have him present for attention
EnvironmentIn order to reduce cage aggression, Hannibal has been given an indoor (10 x 9) and outdoor pen (12 x 12), and not confined to his cage. He can go in and out as he pleases.
Inside he has been provided a paper bag, a cardboard box, a digging box and some appropriate chew toys to help him relieve some of his anxiety/nervous energy
He is kept in my office which is relatively quiet since he is not used to being around children, dogs, cats and traffic noises
I cut lavender from a shrub each day and put it in his cage. (It is not poisionous, and thought to be calming when smelled or ingested)
I made an aromatherapy candle with Rosemary, Chamomile, Lavender and Sweet Majoram that I keep on a candle warmer across the room (outside of his pen of course).
I never pull him out of his cage. That is his safe zone. I wait until he hops out to get it to clean.
I have put him on a schedule: Morning massage, break, 9am he goes out to play, 10am rest until 6pm, play outside, 7pm massage
Finally, I always announce my presence and get him to look at me before entering his cage or making any major movements
Treatment
Since he needs to learn to trust humans, I spend about an hour in his playpen each day, sometimes just reading a book. THis way he can come over and sniff and hop away at will.
Each day he gets 2 10-minute bunny massages starting with circles down his spine, moving toward pressure points for anxiety and aggression and ending with a “grooming”–Gently pinching bits of hair and pulling out the loose stuff…similar to what rabbits do to eachother with their teeth. Initially he will get rewards every couple of minutes for staying calm. I will phase that out over time.
I believe that once we get his anxiety under control and give him an outlet for his energy, he will be a different bunny.
Day One—-
I blew it! Hannibal is just so darn adorable and was doing so well that I pushed him too hard the first day. I was in his space, petting him, I had moved a few things around in his pen AND he had been at the vet all day the day before. He finally had enough and tore into my hand like a bulldog–holding on with his teeth while he scratched me with his back legs. Okay, I got it…too much. Fine, I thought. I let him relax and took him outside a few hours later for his evening playtime. He was still anxious. In his prior setting he only got out of his pen once every couple of weeks, so I think he did not want to go back??? Anyhow, I was only wearing anxle socks and he came up and tagged me. NOt nearly as violently as before, but enough to break the skin on my ankle with both top and bottom teeth. Taking advice from the House Rabbit Society page, I carry him by holding him with his spine against my chest (i.e. facing out) and supporting his bottom legs. Although not thrilled, he seems tolerant of this position to move him from one pen to the other.
Day Two—
I learned my lesson. I am suited up with gloves, long pants and thick socks. I did not push him as hard today. We kept to the schedule. We had a few charging incidents, but as soon as I say NO in a strong voice he stops. He also has started allowing me to give him his massage. When something frightens him during his massage, I leave him on the floor, but cup him firmly in my hands (He is not that big) and tell him “It’s okay Hannibal” as soon as I feel him relax, I loosen my hold on him and he lays back down to finish the massage. He gets rewards for being calm about every 2 minutes right now. I am not sure if the aromatherapy is working more for me or for him, but I do have the candle warmer on with the essential oils. I also crush a cutting of lavendar in my hands before handling him. THat gets the true aroma on me, which is hopefully calming. He ate a couple pieces of lavender today. He is not interested in the chamomile or lavender tea (no sugar of course). Like a person with PTSD, he has an exaggerated startle reflex and just about everything makes him anxious.
Day three—
Okay, we are caught up now. Today I noticed that he was hoarding food, hiding it in his digging box. This reinforces my thought that he has been hungry at some point. He still charges when he sees food, but if you pull the food up he runs back in his cage. I put the food back down, called his name and told him “Easy” and he came out much more gently. During his massage he did not eat any of hte lavender, but he kept his little nose rested on it the entire time. (Breathe deep little fella). I allowed him to get up and hop off after his massage this morning without trying to first make my escape. He just pleasantly hopped off. He came back a few times to sniff, but then hopped off again. He definitly does not like me cleaning up his droppings. Since he cannot be handled easily yet, litter box training is going slowly. I put the droppings in his litter boxes so he knows where he should poo, but leave it at that for now. I am a bit concerned that he is not eating much timothy hay, but his poo seems normal and frequent, so I am going to just keep an eye on it. 9am, time to go outside. TTFN
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