Tips for brushing a bun who hates being brushed?

[Raelinn & Gus]

Hi all,

I recently made the goal to begin brushing Gus after realizing he was starting to get a mini mat on his back.

He has never had mats anywhere outside of the groin, which we go to the vet for, so I had figured brushing wasn’t necessary. Seeing the mat made me realize it is, at least now, important to brush him.

Thing is, he hates it, especially near his rump/directly above the tail, which is where he is shedding so, so bad.

Current method is feeding him his veggies, petting his head while he eats (distraction), and going in with the brush which resulted in about one to two minutes of grooming where I was able to get the mat out before he ran away from me.

Any tips/advice?

 

- Raelinn the Human 🫡 - Gustavo the Bunny 🐰

[BrunosMama]

Some buns with tolerate a lint roller. If his fur is shedding, this usually works pretty well because it won’t stick to the “attached” fur. I have had buns it worked like a charm for, others hated it more than being brushed. My one poor bun, Cinnabon, was not a good candidate for lint rollers, because for some reason, they just glued to his fur. That was not a pleasant discovery for either of us lol.

You could also try plucking tufts by hand. I usually end up doing this the most, because you can disguise it as petting. 🙂

They make a brush “glove” that has softer rubber bristles on the palm. Its nice because it combines brush and petting. Most of my buns liked it. 🙂 Here’s something like what I had (it died to a bun. She chewed off the tips and bristles of several spots. Sigh.)

https://www.chewy.com/mr-peanuts-hand-gloves-dog-cat/dp/180949?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20203340297&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20198661774&gbraid=0AAAAADmQ2V1-wCc5MVujrNGmEkZJ3EafF&gclid=CjwKCAjwiNXFBhBKEiwAPSaPCfnyZuV-hXi8ckKERs9fp34mqaQKrc6KJi-46yZmdJCZlhcE00CuMhoCS9MQAvD_BwE

You may also try a different type of brush. Ones that don’t have the sharp metal bristles seem best, but even a comb might work.

[Raelinn & Gus]

Yes, he lets me pluck tufts by hand for the most part – as long as he is getting those head pats while I do it!

I joke that his butt is like another world wonder because of how badly he sheds there, plucking tufts is just not getting the job done. I will try a lint roller and the glove! Thank you for the advice! 🙂

He doesn’t appreciate his butt being touched in general so I think I’ll do short but frequent grooming sessions as to not stress him out too much, probably giving him some pellets while I do it. However I think the glove idea will work great for his back/top of head!

Very unfortunate that the area he needs grooming most is the area he hates being touched -_-

 

- Raelinn the Human 🫡 - Gustavo the Bunny 🐰

[BrunosMama]

Lol! Yeah, it’s almost impressive how much fur they can shed and not be bald. :p

Napoloeon is that way about his butt tufts. He is a Dwarf lionhead, but I swear he looks much bigger because he always has an extra fluffy butt.

I can sometimes pluck them, but usually once he figures out whats going on, he runs lol. I’ve started setting him on the couch for plucking, and he is getting more used to that. He also found out if he sits there, he gets a treat that he doesn’t have to share with Rocky lol.

[LBJ10]

I feel your pain. Brush – nope. Lint roller – nope. Love Glove – Oh hell no. Plucking – Only if I sneak it and then I only get a single tuft.

[Raelinn & Gus]

What did you do in that situation?

I have to take Gustavo to the vet for a “sani shave” regularly, should I ask them to give him a good brush down at the same appointment if none of the other grooming methods work?

- Raelinn the Human 🫡 - Gustavo the Bunny 🐰

[LBJ10]

You could, but it won’t last long. Haha! Yeah, I mostly have to resort to holding him with the Love Gloves on and just force him to be petted/groomed. Otherwise he doesn’t sit still for any of it. To be honest, I don’t think it matters what it is. Everything seems to pull his fur and he just doesn’t like it.

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