Giving ear drops to a hard to handle rabbit

[kristin211]

 Okay, So my 1 1/2 year old lop Winston HATES being picked up. And like today, i had to because he had to go to the vet. Poor guy has a yeast infection in her ear so I have to administer ear solution daily. Ive heard so many conflicting stories about handling rabbits. So many people say you should get them used to it by doing it anyway and so many others say if they dont like it, dont do it because they are prey animals. So I asked my vet what I should do, and she said to try daily picking him up slowly and give him a treat. But now since I have to pick him up for his ear cleanses, Im afraid this will only cause him to hate it more and he’ll never tolerate it. And i dont want him to start hating me either because hes always been so good with me. Has anyone had this problem? And how do you go about it? Or Id be willing for suggestions and advice as well.  i love my little guy so much that this is breaking my heart  

[Cookie is #1]

I went through a training process with Cookie that proved to be a success after only a couple of days. Before I went through this process Cookie did eveything he could to get back on the ground. This process is similair to what your vet recommended. This is how the training process worked:

I caught Cookie when he was very relaxed and I put my hand under his front legs. Then I did this many more times applying more pressure every time. Then I got to the point where I was able to lift his upper body up in the air then set it down. After all this I gave him a treat and lots of praise. The rest of the training has to be done at your rabbits meal time. Put your rabbit’s meal somewhere where you have access to it and not your rabbit. Next, I gave him a pellet or a peace of his veggies and did a lot of petting. Then, I started from where I left off, slowly lifting his upper body then setting him down, extending the time with each lift. After each time I set him down he would get a pellet or a piece of his veggies. After a little bit he realized that every time he was lifted he would get a treat. I later moved on and would pick up his upper body and add pressure to his back legs. I then got to the point where I was able to pick his whole self into the air and then put him back down. At this point I would give him more than just one pellet or one peice of his veggies! Then I got to the point of picking him up and holding him to my chest, then on and on, until I was able to carry him out of his pen and around the room.

Make sure you split the process into a few days work. End on a good note for every training time and give him or her the rest of the meal. I hope this helped make your own ideas to create your own training. I had the same feeling when I had to give Cookie his antibiotics. But we still kept the same bond.

[kristin211]

thats a great idea, and glad it worked out for you! problem is this cleansing has to be done daily for 10 days so everyday i have to be able to pick him up :/ which is bad timing because if i had time to do it before this, hed probably be able to tolerate it. my vet is awesome and showed me safe ways to do it since im not going to be able to ease into it until after hes done his medicine. i just hope it doesnt cause him to not like me or act different because he probably thinks im torturing him! ive been so stressed today because i just feel awful but its necessary :/

[Cookie is #1]

When his ears are clean again he’ll be happy that you gave him the medicine!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Before I pick up my bunnies, I spend time petting them. Once they are completely relaxed and “flattened”, I gently scoop them up. I put Bindi on the table on a towel to do any grooming or ear meds.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’m wondering if you need to pick her up at all for drops….could you try approaching her after she’s had a run and is tired, and just crouch beside her petting her head…and then pet her ears gently and then pop a drop in ?

[kristin211]

 The problem is, is that theyre not just ear drops. I have to flush both his ears with a special solution. I have to squirt them until as the vet put it, “pouring out” then massage the base of his ear to break up the yeast that is in there. I wish I had to just put drops in, that would be a lot easier.

[Baxter n Boos Mom]

I don’t envy you 🙁 I wonder if a bunny burrito would work – where you cover and wrap your bun in a towel. Once the bun is wrapped – it’s far more difficult for them to resist. They also say rabbits tend not to fight as much, if their eyes are covered – so use the towel to also cover their eyes.

[kristin211]

I have done bunny burritos because it seems the only way. My vet gave me drops to use but it seems like nothing is working. And he definitely has started to not trust me because of all this. It’s making me so sad

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