Giving medicine has made my bunny hate me :(

[Allyalvic]

Hey all!

I have a baby mini lop who is 8 weeks old, I’ve had him home with me for 9 days. I took him to the vets Friday as something was very wrong with him when I got in from work. To cut a long story short, he has been diagnosed as having E.Cuniculi and he has to have panacur everyday for 28 days.
He absolutely hates his medicine and puts up a real fight when I have to give it to him. I’m at despair, doing it to him makes me feel awful and guilty and I’m certain he hates my guts.
I was doing so well when I brought him home, he loved cuddles and let me touch him without hesitation or flinching. Now he panics if I even go anywhere near him!

I don’t know what to do, I’m not stopping his medicine as he could die if he doesn’t have it but right now he’s getting more and more frightened of me and disliking me. He’s only a baby too so I don’t want his first moments with me to be so traumatic as he’s impressionable and I don’t want him to have this hatred for me forever!

He’s currently still in his cage as I don’t want him roaming my flat until he’s litter trained but he’s going to be a house rabbit once everything has settled down.

If anyone has any advice please do comment.

[Deleted User]

I’m assuming this is given via syringe? I’ve never had to give my rabbits medication besides metacam after a spay. Maybe you could try dipping the tip into something like applesauce or some other fruit purée to make it more enticing to him. You’d have to make sure to rinse it well afterward too. I’m not sure if that would work, but it’s just the first thing that comes to mind is disguising it as a sweet treat and not medicine. Hopefully you can get him to take it! Sorry the little guy is having to go through this so soon!

[DanaNM]

You gotta take that tough love approach! You will get better at giving the meds, and he will learn that you are not going to hurt him. It’s very good that you caught the EC when you did. 

Many BB members report that after having to give medicine, their bond with their bunny was actually much stronger, even though it was awful at the time. 

I’m not familiar with panacur, and your bun is quite young, so check with the vet on this, but you can try mixing the medicine into some fruit juice or mashed banana. Or even a drop on a cilantro leaf, if he’s eating greens.

Just know that you are doing the right thing. Act calmy and lovingly when you give the meds. Act like you are giving him the yummiest treat in the world, and follow the meds up with an actual treat (or feed his pellets after you give the meds). 

He won’t hate you forever! Don’t worry! 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wick & Fable]

As Dana said, it may seem bad, but you could ultimately grow a close bond with your rabbit.

One key is pairing the medication administration with something positive, whether an enthusiastic, positive-tone praise and pet afterwards, or a treat. Your body language and tone will mean a lot to your rabbit, so be happy knowing you’re making your rabbit healthy.

Wick got antibiotics twice a day from me, three months straight. There was also 2 weeks where in addition to that, I had to give him a shot once a day too (like, me, needle and syringe, stab his fur back and such…). Clearly Wick was not thrilled with any of this… at all. But I always, without fail, would drop the syringe to the side right away and pet him and tell him what a good boy he was and give him a small treat if he seemed especially shaken for that instance.

Wick is now happy and healthy, and he loves me too much…. haha.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Rookie]

I had to give Rookie medicine 3 times a day and one of them was an injection for over 2 months. It was a hassle and he didn’t like it but he always forgave me. I made sure to comfort him and give him a favorite treat after each ordeal. By the end he would fight me through the process but stick around to collect his reward instead of running and hiding.
Your bunny will never not forgive you. If anything it will bring you closer as I believe they know that we are just trying to help them get better. At least that’s what I felt with Rookie. I can only hope that he knew to the very end how hard I tried to get him healthy again.

[Allyalvic]

Thank you all. This has all reassured me completely. He’s far too smart for taking the medicine from a treat etc so the only way is to syringe it into his mouth as I’ve tried most of what’s been said about disguising.

It does make me feel happier knowing that it’s for the best and that I’m pretty much saving his life everyday!

At the moment every time he has his dose I just stroke his head, cheeks and ears (where he likes it) and then treat him to some carrots after, he will even take the carrots from my hand still which is a promising factor!

I will just try and give him as much love as possible after his morning medicine and then leave him to have a bit of a grump :p

The last bunny I had the only medicine she needed was after her spay, she was older and trusted me more so was much easier. I’m just a panicked baby bunny mum at the moment as it’s been awhile since I had a bunny!

[Rookie]

Rookie was the same that good luck trying to hide medicine from him…he always knew regardless of what I tried…and try I did…and failed…lol

I found  that catching him in his carrier and lifting him from there onto a table where he got bunny burritoed the easiest method and least stressful for the both of us especially since Rookie was never the one for being handled. I also found it easier to give the syringe when I could sort of squat under him so I could see his mouth. then after I would just let him initially hop away then after I would just put him down where he would eagerly await his deserved treat then run off and give me the grumpy treatment until I laid down next to him for some pets and cuddles.

you’ll be fine and it will be easier and over with in no time.

[Author]

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