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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE Grooming advice

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    • zpipes
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        My rabbit hates me grooming him, very much. Ive read that some of yours dont mind it, but most seem to not enjoy it much.  I need help, I need to find a way to groom him for more than the 4 seconds it takes for him to realize what I’m doing.  Is there any kind of medication or pill I can give him to basically put him to sleep for a short time?  Do you have any other advice that I could use? 


      • Sam and Lady's Human
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          Yikes no to medication or trancing him, both of those are not good options. What kind of bunny and what kind of brush do you have? Have you tried different brushes/combs? What about making it a positive experience, I just learned lately that I can get a few minutes of brushing in every night when I serve up their salads. They don’t love it but they love salads more


        • bunnyfriend
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            I wouldn’t recommend doing something to make him sleep, unnecessary doses of medicine and dangerous (rabbits are already pretty touchy when it comes to medicines). I have a lop with the same issue though. What I like to do is grab a towel or blanket and some veggies and a couple treats. I find bringing her on the bed makes it so she can’t really go anywhere, but also for some reason on the bed she’ll basically stay put and let me pretty much do anything. Something about it relaxes her and I think makes her feel safe, I then get tooth purrs as she realizes how nice grooming is, and also this way (on the bed) she is honestly the easiest bunny in the world to clip nails. If your rabbit is still not staying still then that’s where you can use the blanket or towel and sort of hold him between your legs and put veggies in front of him to give him a reward and distraction. Then of course, when you’re done, a treat should be given to tell him he’s done something good and that grooming is not so bad. Good luck


          • zpipes
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              oh ok no meds. hes a long hair lop ear. i think its bad right now because he has alot of matting that im trying to work out, once that gets done it will prolly be easier.


            • mocha200
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                My bunnies HATE to be held and will run away every time I try to brush them. So, what I do is put them on top of the dryer where they can’t run away and brush them. You can offer some veggies and treats to get their mind off of the brushing to as others have mentioned. Myy favorite brushes are the Hair buster and a rubber type brush I don’t know the name of.


              • Sasha
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                  One of my rabbit has long fluffly hair that gets matted very often. At first she doesn’t like it at all when I groom her. So I spent more time sitting down on the floor with her without grooming her with a brush, and just seperating her matted hair with just my hand. When she got used to it, I introduced a brush but only to get her used to the brushing, and overtime I increase the amount of time I spend on brushing her until she’s used to with being brushed and handled. I guess rabbits hates the tugging of the matted hair when you brush them, it might be uncomfortable and scared of the grooming. You need a lot of patience and hopefully overtime your rabbit will learn to at least tolerate being groomed.


                • zpipes
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                    I use the hairbuster, and I like the dryer idea, that sounds promising. Ive noticed with matting, hes usually ok with me working the hair with my hands, and I believe he likes it, as a show of affection. I think what happened was that he now associates that, with brushing, and so its hard to do either. I just need to be more consistent with it, hopefully the dryer will give us some alone time lol.

                    Another question, when I do anyting around his backside or butt area, he always wants to turn around, like he needs to know whats going on back there, and so its harder to get that area. Is this normal, a defensive response, or is he interpreting that as some sort of mating behavior, the whole running in circle deal?


                  • zpipes
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                      Posted By mocha200 on 01/10/2012 08:40 PM
                      My bunnies HATE to be held and will run away every time I try to brush them. So, what I do is put them on top of the dryer where they can’t run away and brush them. You can offer some veggies and treats to get their mind off of the brushing to as others have mentioned. Myy favorite brushes are the Hair buster and a rubber type brush I don’t know the name of.

                      Hey, thanks alot!!  ^^ This advice really worked, I put a towel on the top of the washer and set him up there, and he did a little exploring for all of about 30 seconds and realized there was nowhere to go, and we bonded.  Err, well, maybe not, but I was able to groom him for about 30 mins untill i decided he had had enough for one week.  It was awesome, I actually cant wait to do it again, I should be able to get the rest of the matting out and also his butt and feet are much better looking now! 

                       

                       

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                  Forum DIET & CARE Grooming advice