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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.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR I want to get my bunny used to being held.

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    • luna1243
      Participant
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        As of right now Luna really dislikes being picked up. I want to be able to hold her so I can take her to the vet, give medicine, etc. I’ve been working on holding her for about a week and she’s been getting more skidish of me. Whenever I stand over her she hops away because she thinks I’m trying to pick her up, which is not always the case. When I do try to hold her I gently put one hand under her chest while the other is supporting her butt, I hold her securely to my chest and within seconds she begins to struggle. I always put her down as soon as she struggles to avoid injury. I don’t seem to be making any progress and I don’t want to damage the trust that has been established.


      • Elliriyanna
        Participant
        588 posts Send Private Message

          well what you are currently teaching her is … when I struggle I get free. exactly the opposite of what you want.

          First I would reinforce your bond, right now she is scared and you can’t make any forward progress until she gets past that.

          This may not be the answer you want but I think it will be the most beneficial long term.


        • Shannon
          Participant
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            Our bunny also doesn’t like to be held.  When we first got him we never tried to hold him because he would be curious and come up to us no issues. After a few weeks someone suggested we get him used to being held by holding him everyday.  I kinda wish we had never followed this piece of advice. Goose still doesn’t trust us.  and struggles whenever i pick him up.  ( Previously he would hop out whenever you opened a cage.  When we leave his carrier out even though he associated it with the vet he would still hop right in and wait for you to close the door.  This is no more.  I am currently using food as a bribe to re bond and make him trust me.  It is working but he is still super skiddish and wont let you get close unless you army crawl over which I do.


          • LBJ10
            Moderator
            16869 posts Send Private Message

              Neither of mine like to be held. It is very unusual for a bunny to like it. Some people avoid picking up their bunnies altogether, but I don’t think this is practical for nail clipping, grooming, medicating, and in emergency situations.

              Here is what we did. We would practice picking them up. Not every day, but on a regular basis. We would also spend time with them and not pick them up. So they never really knew when it was coming. When picking them up, we would scoop them up, supporting their chest and rear. We would immediately turn them so their paws would rest on our chest. Being able to look over a should seemed to help calm them. We would wait a moment, give them a treat, and then return them to the floor. To avoid struggling when they were returned to the floor, we learned to squat down so our thighs would form a platform. Bunny would slide down to the platform and then hop down to the floor from there. No struggling.


            • luna1243
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                Thank you I’ll try giving treats and having them face my chest (:

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            Forum BEHAVIOR I want to get my bunny used to being held.