We rescued my rabbit, Evi, about a year ago, when we found him hopping around our front lawn, eating the flowers. From the start he’s been very receptive to being touched, and will happily hunker down for a nice long petting session. However, he hates being picked up, and though I’ve tried a handful of times to get him accustomed to it, using raisins as rewards, he kicks and squirms and bolts away the second I attempt to lower him back down to the floor. It’s a stressful operation, and I’ve had trouble working up the nerve to practice regularly enough to get him used to it.

I primarily want to get him used to being held so I can better care for him, and especially so I can cut his nails. He doesn’t like his paws to be touched, and though I’ve watched the Amy Sedaris video on the press-press-cut technique, I’m very wary about placing him on a table with how frantic he gets when I attempt to pick him up.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to make this process any easier or less stressful for me and the bun? Can I expect him to ever be calm when I pick him up or attempt to groom him or trim his nails, or will I have to resign myself to being the big bad mama for good?