Between gross antibiotics, shots in the back, topical cream on the face, nail clipping, and general pokes and prods, Wick has a lot of reason to run away from me when I approach him. Following a dew claw assessment this morning for length, I realized something I wanted to inform everyone about, especially those who are afraid forcing their rabbit to do something unpleasant, like force feeding, will damage your relationship.

I’ve always given Wick a “heads up” before any medical administration. By doing this, he knows the specific times to be afraid, rather than constantly wondering when I’m going to subject him to medical treatments. Below are some examples and how they’ve been positive.

For fungal treatment (requires holding him in front of me while I use q-tips to slather soap and lotion on his face for 5min straight), I go over and let him sniff the Nolvasan bottle. He immediately runs away, haha. After that warning, when I call him over with the station ready, he never approaches the entire way, so I need to go up and grab him. Unlike any other time I do this (no Nolvasan sniff beforehand), he never has issue with me grabbing him since I do it often. After the Nolvasan heads up, I go to grab him and he immediately starts to run. Thankfully Wick is quite small so he can’t escape, and once he’s in front of me, he tolerates the topical treatment, focusing on the treat that follows. I know this because if one of my hands float in front of his face during the topical treatment, he’ll go at it like it’s a treat, so I have to be careful. After he gets the treat, any attempt to pick him up afterwards is normal because he knows there’s no topical treatment afterwards.

For nail clipping, I show Wick the nail clipper and let him sniff it. Like Nolvasan, he immediately runs away, and if I leave the nail clipper around, Wick will bite at it (which is out of his character since he doesn’t chew anything). After the heads up, similar to topical treatment, going to grab him comes with some resistance. Again, once he’s in front of me, he tolerates the nail clipping and when I put the nail clipper down while I get the treat, Wick will express his displeasure with the nail clippers, haha.

With a “heads up and treat” sandwich method, it gives Wick a sense of security that I won’t try and pounce on him randomly. He knows the method now, so he’s a very loving rabbit, despite my numerous experiences making him uncomfortable.. because he knows if he makes it through, he gets a treat. An important item is consistency, so if he misjudged when something is over, I grab him and finish before giving him a treat. This ensures he doesn’t make the incorrect call that he decides when medical treatments are over.

I hope this helps anyone who’s worried about these matters.