My rabbit is angry at me every time I clip his nails.

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 4sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 3 months ago by tobyluv.

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- 11/11/2012 at 7:19 PM
  kamahalan
  Participant
  1 posts
  My rabbit becomes infuriated at me after I clip his nails. I gently pet his head, talk to him softly and cover his eyes before I start trimming his nails. I also wrapped him, but every time I do that he ends up escaping.
  
  Well today, I wrapped him and securely held him towards my chest, like a baby, while my girlfriend was calming him down by covering his eyes and petting him. I only managed to clip his two front paws because I didn’t want to stress him out even more. My girlfriend gave him treats right after I clipped his nails and when I tried to pet him and reassure him that I mean no harm, he started biting my hand and he kept avoiding me. It’s been an hour and he’s still treating me like this. I’ve had him for 6 months now and every time I clip his nails, this happens. He’s a very loving rabbit. He only treats me like this when I clip his nails. I want to know if there’s anything I can do to let him know that I’m not trying to harm him and that he shouldn’t be mad at me. Taking him to the Vet to get his nails clipped is not an option for me because I prefer not to spend money on something that I can do at home.
- 11/11/2012 at 7:59 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17228 posts
  This is normal. He is pissed and rightfully telling you so. With time, he will probably still be annoyed but he will begin to realize you’re not hurting him.
- 11/12/2012 at 4:34 AM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  My buns are always disgruntled and terrified when I do their nails. It’s normal for bunnies to hate and fear this because it’s scary for them to be restrained. I always follow nail trimmings with a treat and they know the treat is coming right after so that usually dissolves any bad feelings. Sometimes, when my buns are being really difficult, I will do 1 or 2 feet a day until they are all clipped.
- 11/12/2012 at 9:48 AM
  Hazel
  Participant
  2587 posts
  I’m sure he knows you aren’t trying to hurt him, otherwise he would react a lot more violently. He’s just angry because you’re brazenly overstepping your bounds as a bunny slave. Bunnies don’t appreciate that If you’re lucky you will be able to buy his forgiveness with treats though.
- 11/12/2012 at 1:30 PM
  tobyluv
  Participant
  3312 posts
  My bunnies don’t like having their nails clipped either, and one of them especially shows his displeasure by keeping his distance of us for a while after the clipping. The method that we use is to turn them on their backs and firmly clamp them between my husband’s outstretched legs as he is sitting on the floor. I place my hand over their face so that the flying nails don’t end up in their eyes. Sometimes they will flip over and try to get away, but we turn them back over and my husband makes sure that he has them clamped more firmly.
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