Questions on pet rabbit behavior

Hi folks,

So my husband impulse purchased a rabbit. I could do nothing to prevent it short of threatening to live elsewhere, so now I am stuck. I wanted him to wait until the pet store got in some fresh, young, small ones, but the day they were supposed to come in the breeder was out, so he bought a gray Dutch that was a little older and had been in the store for one to 1 1/2 weeks.

I used to have a pet Dutch and he was awesome. I raised him from when he was one-hand-sized. This rabbit we bought was two-hand-sized. People come into the store all day long and pet and hold these rabbits, so they didn't get much rest.

My questions: This rabbit is mean! She was great at the store, but now that she is home, she is ultra territorial of her cage, and punches us with her front paws. She has a litter box (pretty good at it too, she learned fast) toys, the proper food. We take her out once a day for half to a full hour to run around in our bedroom. She hates my guts, though. Growls and punches me. She is pretty dominant with my husband, but seems to like him a lot better.

What do I do with this rotten little meanie? We travel sometimes, and I will have to care for her, or friends will have to care for her. A full adult rabbit will be much less amusing with this behavior. Can anyone give me some tips so I can coexist peacefully with the little diva? I was never thrilled about having her here. It would be great if she could be marginally normal.

not unusual for the species

that we sold. Dutch's were every bit of your post and mostly of the males. HINT : > testosterone level in the buck.

Well, I don't think she's old enough to spay yet, she's still due for shots and a checkup. i am maybe 70% certain she is female though. (It's been awhile since I checked bunnies, and she wouldn't sit still.)

you know rabbits are one

of the easiest animal to check by holding up-side down ( yeah right ) and using the invert method of exposing the male genitalia by using you thumb and forefinger . Even on little bunnies. no harm in doing so to the rabbit. If male, they can have the increased testosterone level at 8 weeks and if female even though it's not the best idea to be bred at this age, same as to the smaller species coming into first heat cycle. Other than that, I have never seen a domestic rabbit be mean unless it just happens to be a DEMON rabbit ! LOL !

Thank you for the input; I brought Katchoo to the vet today and found out that we have a MALE bunny and that we can neuter him in another 2 months. We think it is just going to take longer to socialize him. I will say one thing; a bonus to him being so aggressive is that he wasn't afraid of travelling or of the strange people at the vet! I uess once we can switch the territoriality to friendliness we will be all set.