Need Help Picking Up Otto

[Elrohwen]

For the past month or so, we’ve been totally unable to pick Otto up. As soon as you get two hands near him, he’s off and running. I’ve tried to do the bunny burrito and just can’t get the hang of it (he runs out the front of the towel before I can wrap him up). Plus, I’m not clear how to clip his nails while he’s in the burrito. So I need help! I’d like to work on picking him up and then giving him a treat, but it’s just so impossible to pick him up at all. I’d like to try sitting in his pen tonight, with no where for him to hide, and practice picking him up. I’ve tried holding his shoulders down a bit and getting a hand under his bum, but as soon as he feels my hand restraining his shoulders he runs away.

I think he got this way because my fiance tried to pick him up all the time at first, and he eventually learned that if he scrambled, he didn’t have to get picked up. We’ve totally avoided picking him up for a month now to see if he would forget about it, but he’s no better. He doesn’t need to like being picked up, but both him and I need to learn to do it so I can clip his nails and check on him if he’s sick (I was worried after his neuter because he wouldn’t let me pick him up to check the surgery site; luckily he had no issues). I also couldn’t restrain him to give him meds, but he liked them enough that he would lick them right from the syringe.

How can I work to desensitize him? Where is the best place to try picking him up? If he’s free in the dining room, he seems to scramble to get under the table where we can’t get to him. Is locking him in his pen (with the door to the attached cage shut) with no place to go a good idea? I’m hoping he’ll just give up if he can’t get away, but I’m afraid he may also get more frantic because he’s trapped.

[Sarita]

Yes, try picking him up in his pen – less places to scramble. I would get in the pen with him and close the door. Try sitting on the floor and have him come to you and pet him for awhile before you pick him up.

I suspect he’s so fast because he’s young and agile.

[Elrohwen]

Thanks Sarita. I’ll try it when I get home tonight. He certainly is agile! He lays around so much that I forget how quick he can move when he really wants to.

[katie, max & penny]

haha max is like that too!! usually, i make his pen smaller and smaller until he gives in and lets me grab him.

[Elrohwen]

Katie, sounds like what I need to do. He kept looking like he was going to jump up on his cage to get away from me … haha. I think I need to make the pen even smaller! It seemed to help to try when he was facing the corner, because he had no where to go 😉

Good news though, he did let me pick him up once (my first grab) and I put him down right away and gave him a treat. Then I would give it a few minutes and try again, but he never let me do it again. I’d get him up off the floor at least, but he’d struggle enough that I’d put him back down. At least in between attempts he was very calm and hopping around me, even sitting right next to me. There was only a moment when he seemed a bit nervous and like he wanted to jump out, but most of the time he was pretty calm. He even gave me kisses after we were all done.

Question: I gave him a treat even if I wasn’t able to hold him for more than a second … is that a good idea? I couldn’t decide if that’s reinforcing him to struggle, or if it’s reinforcing that the picking up process isn’t so bad. What do you guys think?

[katie, max & penny]

yup i definitely corner max. and honestly, i would give him the treats while he’s in your arms. giving him a treat AFTER reinforces the struggle, i think. but i’m just going off of my gut instinct.

[Elrohwen]

Yeah, I have a feeling you’re right, Katie. I was afraid to reach for the treats while holding him because I thought he might jump … I should do this with my fiance so one can hand out treats and one can hold, at least at first.

Ok, and another question: for anyone that’s tried training their rabbits to be picked up, how often do you do the training? I’m afraid if I do it every day he’ll just start to fear me. So once a week? Twice a week? What has worked for you guys? I only need to get him to the point where he lets me pick him up and hold on to him for a bit, he doesn’t necessarily need to relax while I’m holding him.

[RabbitPam]

I have trouble picking up Sammy too. But Spockie was OK with it always, and I picked him up several times a day. I think you can work with Otto on it once a day if there’s a treat reward for being held. He probably will adjust to it if it’s often and he trusts you, and it doesn’t result in anything he doesn’t like. Just stay low near the ground and don’t clutch him tightly if he struggles so he won’t hurt himself from a fall or a twist.

[MooBunnay]

I agree with Rabbitpam, you don’t have to force the issue for long periods of time each day, just try once a day. I think its not only a matter of getting Otto comfortable with being picked up, but also building your confidence in picking him up because the more confident you are the easier it will get. I’ve often found that my bunny that I have the most struggle with (Henri), can be picked up by other volunteers at my rabbit rescue (esp. Sarita ). I think it is partially because I have some apprehension about picking him up because I’ve had so much trouble with it.

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