3 replies to this topic

[MushuTheHamster]

Hello HH!

It’s been a while since I’ve been active, so I’ll quickly update on my situation. I’ve had Merida, my bunny for around three months now, more or less. She’s a single bunny because she’s super territorial and doesn’t like the company of other rabbits. According to her previous foster home, she’s a total drama queen and isn’t afraid to show it - which I totally agree with haha. She’s been doing okay, and has settled into her home nice. She’s around 7 years in age or so (the fosters had her for four to five years) meaning she’s on the older side.

Anyways, Merida knows of my existence… I feed her and clean for her everyday and since her main area is in my closet, I go in twice more, so we interact quite regularly! Plus, I usually lay outside of the closet door for 30 minutes so she has the freedom to smell me and stuff. So we’re mutual, but not really bonded yet because she doesn’t choose to approach me all that often.
The only problem right now is… she doesn’t like to be touched, meaning I haven’t gotten to groom her. I’ve been able to brush her a few times, but not enough to help with shedding and stuff. And I haven’t clipped her toe nails either.
Merida needs a grooming session… she’s shedding like crazy but won’t let me touch her. You see, I don’t want to force her into a grooming session just yet because I don’t want to break the trust that I’ve been working really hard to build. I know at some point I’ll have to groom her… I just don’t know how I’ll manage to get her to sit down. I’ve never picked her up and I barley pet her.

Tl;dr - Does anyone have any resources/videos or tips on how to bond with your rabbit to make them more comfortable around you? Anyway to force them into grooming without loosing trust? Or just tips on getting them to sit down for a grooming session?

Thanks everyone!!!

[ajuniceu~]

Hello HH!

It’s been a while since I’ve been active, so I’ll quickly update on my situation. I’ve had Merida, my bunny for around three months now, more or less. She’s a single bunny because she’s super territorial and doesn’t like the company of other rabbits. According to her previous foster home, she’s a total drama queen and isn’t afraid to show it - which I totally agree with haha. She’s been doing okay, and has settled into her home nice. She’s around 7 years in age or so (the fosters had her for four to five years) meaning she’s on the older side.

Anyways, Merida knows of my existence… I feed her and clean for her everyday and since her main area is in my closet, I go in twice more, so we interact quite regularly! Plus, I usually lay outside of the closet door for 30 minutes so she has the freedom to smell me and stuff. So we’re mutual, but not really bonded yet because she doesn’t choose to approach me all that often.
The only problem right now is… she doesn’t like to be touched, meaning I haven’t gotten to groom her. I’ve been able to brush her a few times, but not enough to help with shedding and stuff. And I haven’t clipped her toe nails either.
Merida needs a grooming session… she’s shedding like crazy but won’t let me touch her. You see, I don’t want to force her into a grooming session just yet because I don’t want to break the trust that I’ve been working really hard to build. I know at some point I’ll have to groom her… I just don’t know how I’ll manage to get her to sit down. I’ve never picked her up and I barley pet her.

Tl;dr - Does anyone have any resources/videos or tips on how to bond with your rabbit to make them more comfortable around you? Anyway to force them into grooming without loosing trust? Or just tips on getting them to sit down for a grooming session?

Thanks everyone!!!

Hi!

 

I think it's definitely good to get a better bond with her prior to attemping to groom her further. Is she food motivated at all? If so, it can help to hand feed her. Also, if she lives in your closet I'm guessing she would get her playtime hours in the rest of your room? When she gets time out of the closet, definitely try to stay on her level, maybe put some treats on your back while lying down so she can get more used to you. These are just the main points that I got from off of my head, there's deinfitely more and I have a video on it if you wanna check it out

 

It's likely she's probably already used to grooming sessions from her foster home- maybe ask them which methods they used to groom her so you can do the ones she's most comfortable with? 

 

I personally like to bring the rabbit being groomed into a unfamiliar place for them so they're less likely to run, and for me this is just in a bathroom. I generally try to keep them higher off of the ground if you know they won't jump because it's just easier for you and the rabbit will usually stay still. 101rabbits has a few great videos on grooming, which I highly recommend you check out. For brushing, you can usually be able to do it while they're occupied with something else because from my experience, it doesn't bother them as much as nail clipping. I like to put the bunny I'm grooming on the bathroom counter with a towel, give them a few pieces of lettuce and then put one hand on top of their head just to prevent them from biting or nipping and then quickly groom with the other hand. It will also help if you can get someone else to help you restrain the rabbit while you groom. I've also used the carrier method successfully- I put the bunny in a carrier and use the top door to groom them, this way they have less space to run. Clipping nails is so much harder than brushing and definitely if you can get second person to help- I've found it best for one person to restrain the rabbit in a bunny burrito and then the other person does the nails as quick as possible. Howcast also has some grooming videos that they did with the HRS which are helpful

 

Hopefully this helped and lmk if you have more questions!

[RedRed]

Hello!
I have had the same issue as you with my rescues. All of them hate being picked up, but one in particular hates being touched. She won’t let me pet her or anything. She is a lionhead though, so it is super important I do groom her regularly. I’ve found that putting them in the carrier to bring to the grooming “station” (wherever you choose to groom) helps a bit. I personally groom on the island in my kitchen with a towel on the surface. I use a fur buster and hair buster along with lint rollers to brush her. Having another person with you really helps because sometime rabbits who hate being touched will be a bit violent during grooms and if you need to step away for a second someone else there is able to watch her. After the whole thing, she does flick her feet at me and hide, but she calms down later on. For the first few grooms, don’t do too much, just get her used to it slowly. Also, I saw that you said she is a single bun due to aggression. The Rabbit Bonding Advice group on Facebook is really good group on how to bond if you want to try, or even if you are curious for future buns.

[MushuTheHamster]

Sorry for my late response, I totally forgot I posted this haha.

Hi!
 
I think it's definitely good to get a better bond with her prior to attemping to groom her further. Is she food motivated at all? If so, it can help to hand feed her. Also, if she lives in your closet I'm guessing she would get her playtime hours in the rest of your room? When she gets time out of the closet, definitely try to stay on her level, maybe put some treats on your back while lying down so she can get more used to you. These are just the main points that I got from off of my head, there's deinfitely more and I have a video on it if you wanna check it out
 
It's likely she's probably already used to grooming sessions from her foster home- maybe ask them which methods they used to groom her so you can do the ones she's most comfortable with? 
 
I personally like to bring the rabbit being groomed into a unfamiliar place for them so they're less likely to run, and for me this is just in a bathroom. I generally try to keep them higher off of the ground if you know they won't jump because it's just easier for you and the rabbit will usually stay still. 101rabbits has a few great videos on grooming, which I highly recommend you check out. For brushing, you can usually be able to do it while they're occupied with something else because from my experience, it doesn't bother them as much as nail clipping. I like to put the bunny I'm grooming on the bathroom counter with a towel, give them a few pieces of lettuce and then put one hand on top of their head just to prevent them from biting or nipping and then quickly groom with the other hand. It will also help if you can get someone else to help you restrain the rabbit while you groom. I've also used the carrier method successfully- I put the bunny in a carrier and use the top door to groom them, this way they have less space to run. Clipping nails is so much harder than brushing and definitely if you can get second person to help- I've found it best for one person to restrain the rabbit in a bunny burrito and then the other person does the nails as quick as possible. Howcast also has some grooming videos that they did with the HRS which are helpful
 
Hopefully this helped and lmk if you have more questions!

I totally forgot to mention that: Merida has full access to my whole room whenever she pleases. She’s not comfortable coming out of my room yet, but I leave the door open sometimes so she has the access to roam the house if she wanted to. If you could share that video, that would be great!!

Ah, that’s a good idea. I’ll shoot a message to her foster asap.

Great, thank you! Those resources will help a ton.

Thanks ajuniceu!

Hello!
I have had the same issue as you with my rescues. All of them hate being picked up, but one in particular hates being touched. She won’t let me pet her or anything. She is a lionhead though, so it is super important I do groom her regularly. I’ve found that putting them in the carrier to bring to the grooming “station” (wherever you choose to groom) helps a bit. I personally groom on the island in my kitchen with a towel on the surface. I use a fur buster and hair buster along with lint rollers to brush her. Having another person with you really helps because sometime rabbits who hate being touched will be a bit violent during grooms and if you need to step away for a second someone else there is able to watch her. After the whole thing, she does flick her feet at me and hide, but she calms down later on. For the first few grooms, don’t do too much, just get her used to it slowly. Also, I saw that you said she is a single bun due to aggression. The Rabbit Bonding Advice group on Facebook is really good group on how to bond if you want to try, or even if you are curious for future buns.

Thank you RedRed, that advice is really helpful. I appreciate it very much!!!


Thank you two! I’ve tried some of the methods you pointed out, and they seemed to work! I’m making progress with her, so thanks!!! I really do appreciate the help!!