Need to change my bun’s behavior, getting nowhere

[Lunarabbit32]

I have a male Holland lop who is 11 months old and is right around the age to need to be neutered, according to my vet. He doesn’t like physical touch and I can’t hold him without him flailing, resulting in me having to take him to the vet to get his nails trimmed. Anyway, the vet said I need to work with him for a “month” or so to get him to where I can hold him (in order to be able to give him antibiotics after surgery.) I don’t feel like I’m getting very far. I’ve had him for well over 8 months and he will barely tolerate petting. For 7 months I tried giving him his space and going slowly, but in light of my vet’s comments I have been trying to push a little harder. I have had him out to roam a few times in recent weeks, it’s a struggle to get him out of the cage and even and after the “roam and sniff” time he seems to make very little progress. Lately (as in the last week or so) he has been defensively following my hand and head-butting it when I attempt to pet him (to get him used to touch) or lightly brush him (so he doesn’t get hair balls- he is shedding.) After following me around with his head and pushing me away, he will either pull on my clothes with teeth, or nip my arm/hand. It doesn’t break the skin but it doesn’t feel pleasant either. I have been getting mixed info from various articles as to whether this is aggressive or playful. I honestly cannot tell if I am making him angry and he’s biting or if it’s something else. In addition he’s totally spoiled and will only come near my hands for a treat. I have tried using treats as positive affirmation of physical touch (pet or brush = treat) but it backfired and turned into “I can manipulate the treat lady.” He will literally run up to me, sniff, and if there is no treat, run away and pout in the corner with his head turned as far away from me as possible. I am at my witt’s end with this rabbit an his mixed signals. Should I just get him neutered anyway and risk infection? Any advice for bonding at this point? Is he just going to be this way until the end of time, to the point where I can’t even trim his nails? Sorry for the text dump, I had to unleash.

[skysblue]

I have tried using treats as positive affirmation of physical touch (pet or brush = treat) but it backfired and turned into “I can manipulate the treat lady.”
– positive reinforcement sometimes can be tricky where you became the responce and not the other. Try to do a signal, like a snap or calling his name.

I have had him out to roam a few times in recent weeks, it’s a struggle to get him out of the cage and even and after the “roam and sniff” time he seems to make very little progress.
– a few times in weeks seems very little interaction. Let him get out of the cage on his own, i.e. keep the gate open

Should I just get him neutered anyway and risk infection?
– neuter done by a rabbit experienced vet is usually very safe and routine. in fact, some rabbits react really very well to medicine. My rabbit took it like a candy without me even having to hold her. Make sure his environment is clean.

Any advice for bonding at this point?
– spend a lot of time with your rabbit. “it’s a process, not an event”

Is he just going to be this way until the end of time, to the point where I can’t even trim his nails?
– some rabbits just can’t be fixed. The best way is to use a blanket. I used to wrap my old rabbit in a blanket, and flip her belly up on my laps and had her head between my knees. It is easier to have two ppl to do the job. One holds the head and one trims. There are a lot of videos on youtube that shows how you can do it.

[lillian]

Both my male rabbits were this way, and honestly, after they were finally fixed, they both calmed down and became a lot more loving. Both my buns went to two different vets and neither wanted to give them any pain meds or antibiotics, and honestly neither of them ended up needing them. I might suggest talking to a different vet on that?

I did try to get both my buns a little more accustomed to me before the neuterings as i was in a place where i had to wait a while to afford it, and a few things worked for me.

I did get nips, it seems a playfull thing. Remember the game of tag as a kid? Its like a one-way version. Nip-n-run is what my family calls it, and my youngest still does it a little. I think sky stated it similarly, but similar to positive reinforcement, buns often react to negative reinforcement. Obviously, you cant harm him for doing something they do naturally. We say “ow” loud enough to scare them abit but not enough to hurt anyones ears. It seemed to help, although it was a little slow at first.

One thing i did to get my buns comfortable with me was let them out and lay in the middle of their play area, which was a small bedroom at the time. Pay no attention to the bun. Put a blanket over yourself if you want to protect from nips. Do something to keep yourself occupied, like read or play on an electronic device. Do not try to reach for him if he comes near. My oldest actually climbed on my back and laid there for a few minutes the first time i did it with him.

Another thing i did was give them their space when they came out. Similar to above, paid no attention to them (of course, i made sure they werent getting into anything or what not). Once they calmed down, thats when i would slowly try to give them attention. I learned quickly to never advance to fast on them. Natural instinct pretty much tells them to run. I would get down on the ground at a decent distance and slowly move closer, staying low to not frighten them too much. I would move my hand so that they saw it (at a distance to the side of their face. They cannot see in front of them) then slowly and very lightly at first, began to pet. If they ran, i let them. If they let me touch, i would continue my pets until they got bored of me and wanted to play again

[blubudgie]

When my bunny was spayed she didn’t get any antibiotics or pain meds for post surgery. But either way if you do need to give meds you could try the bunny burrito method by wrapping him in a blanket. However don’t flip him over!! It’s not very comfortable for bunnies and also giving anything orally upside down risks choking. I have seen it almost happen in dogs I assume it applies to other species too. Your vet can probably teach you how to restrain and give meds.

As to letting him pet you, just keep trying but you don’t need to rush it. My bunny also used to be scared of touching and petting. I sat next to her daily and gave her treats while petting. Then just did my own business while I sat nearby her. A month or two later she tolerated petting and sometimes liked it. Don’t force him to leave his cage either, it took my bun months to be brave enough to leave her cage. now she never wants to go back in…lol. Just leave the cage door open and sit nearby. My friends male rabbjt likes to headbutt and charge at hands but I’ve learned he never actually bites so I ignore it and just pet him. If he likes it he’ll stay if he’s not in the mood he’ll walk away.

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