Adopted bun hates being groomed so far

[Quartz]

I adopted a ~2-year old dwarf lionhead just over a month ago, and he’s been doing quite well settling in.  He’s not really afraid of people, and when he’s up for it, he event lets our friend visitors pet him a bit.  With us, he only likes being petted when he’s in the mood for it (i.e. more sleepy or relaxed).  He’s not shy about hopping around us, getting up to our level to beg for human-only food that smells good to him, etc.  Everything’s going well, except I really want to start on getting him used to being brushed.

I’ve not seen him shed yet, but I’m sure he will start that soon enough, and it’d be great for his health and our apartment to be on top of brushing out loose hairs.

So far, I’ve gotten a Furminator brush for small animals (still en-route), and a Hair Buster comb.  I really like the Hair Buster comb, but my bun does not   Maybe it’s because the comb has cold metal tips, but he immediately notices it and shudders away or even jumps away, then looks at me warily.  Does this mean he’ll never like metal combs?  Do I need to look into plastic options like Pro Slicker Brush?

I’d love for any tips on how to gradually teach my bun to enjoy grooming.  It probably also has to go hand-in-hand with him liking being petted more and actively asking for it more as opposed to just tolerating it when it’s on his terms (he does like it when he’s sleepy).

[tobyluv]

Maybe you could try a soft bristle brush, like this one – http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=26548. My brush is older and a different brand, but it’s very similar. We use it on both of our bunnies, one of which is a lionhead. It may not do as good of a job as the Hair Buster (which I’ve never tried) but the soft bristles evidently feel good to them.

[Quartz]

Thank you. I’ve read some suggestions about using a baby brush, which is similar to that bristle brush. I’ve had this one in my cart for a while:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16616

Seems like it’d be eaiser to clean/wash periodically.

I hope that there’s some kind of brush my bun can get used to and then maybe eventually he will trust me with more serious brushes later on (like the Hair Buster comb).

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’ve had bunnies for over 10 years and have never had any of them enjoy grooming. It would be nice but I think most bunnies just don’t like it. I have to sit my buns on a table and give them a treat right after for them to tolerate it. My new flemmie REALLY hates grooming and spends pretty much the whole time shoving me and trying to jump off.

[tobyluv]

The trouble with the soft bristle brush that we have is that it’s not really washable, since the handle is wooden. But we have used it on several rabbits over the years and it works pretty well to remove loose fur. I bought a small rubber curry brush online a couple of years ago, and it can be rinsed off, but it doesn’t seem to work at removing fur that well. I’ve wondered how well those grooming gloves would work.

The Pro Slicker Brush that you have in your cart at Drs. Foster and Smith, looks like it might be a pretty good one. That brush is also available at Leith Petwerks, and the description there mentions that it is good for lionheads and Angoras.
http://leithpetwerks.com/prodpage.cfm?prod_code=GR301

[Candle]

Unibunny my one bun hates grooming, Bunita my latest addition seems to love it. I got her a rubber brush that’s very similar to the “zoom groom”. It kind of just takes the dead hair straight off and you just give her a good final pet after, collect the loose hair you got off and you’re good to go.
I would be very cautious with the furminater. I’m a dog groomer and we’re told actually to not use it because it actually cuts some of the hair off really close to teh skin like a razor. That’s why there’s always so much hair that comes off. If you use it only go over them a couple times and stop while you’re ahead to try to prevent damage to the coat. (Not sure if rabbit coats are the same though)

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