nippy when nails are cut

[piperknitsRN]

So, Simon, my newly adopted NZ White shelter bunny, does not like his nails clipped.  He gets a little nippy when I trim his nails.  They are light nips and don’t break the skin by any means, but I’m sure to wear pants and long sleeve shirts, and cover my lap with a towel.  (Olive isn’t great about this, either, but I can usually turn her on her back and clip her nails, and I can usually do this and get her calm enough that I can get through it ok.  It’s not perfect with her, but she doesn’t nip, either.  I have been clipping her nails since she was a baby, and so she trusts me more, or so I like to believe..  Simon doesn’t like to go on his back, and I can’t figure out how to do a bunny burrito (yes, I’ve watched the videos, and it isn’t rocket science, but once I wrap him up in the towel, it’s like–how do I get his feet out of the burrito–LOL).  Any way, does this sound like a two person job?  I’ve seen videos where a person simply holds a docile-looking rabbit up on its hind legs and proceeds to draw out one paw, clip, then draw another–but that’s an *extremely* tolerant bunny, and Simon wasn’t having any of that action tonight, either (I forgot to clip his dew claws when I trimmed his nails last week, so I went back to do that–which is how this whole fiasco got started).   And I”m simply not that coordinated to clip the nails like that (plus, with a struggling bunny, there’s no way I’d be able to keep him balanced on his hind legs without him flailing around and hopping away!)

[Rabbit lover]

I give mine treats to nibble on while they are getting there nails trimmed.

[kinggoblin]

Mine won’t let me pick him up or burrito him, I’ve even had my boyfriend try to help me but my bunny just rather try to give himself a concussion. I give him treats and lay on the floor and clip as many nails as I can before he runs away and stares at me from a corner considering if its worth it to retrieve his treats.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

You’re going to have to work with him on it. Larger bunnies don’t like to be burrito’d, I can’t do it to Lady at all and she’s the calmest bunny I’ve ever seen. Instead I get some shredded carrots or a couple craisins chopped up, and lay on the ground with her and just pull out a paw and clip it, while she’s got a couple treats in front of her. Its working so far, I do it every day in mock to get her used to me playing with her feet.

[piperknitsRN]

Hmmm… I will try working with him, then, and see how it goes.

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