There are very few rabbits that don’t put up a fight for rabbit trimming. I think generally speaking you need to strike a balance with being stern in your intentions, and making sure it’s the best method for your rabbit.
I actually just trimmed Wick’s front paws this morning because I realized it’s been a while and his quicks were longer (alas…). He does the same foot retraction, but with Wick and many animals, if they learn that doing that will get them out of the task, they won’t stop resisting every time you try. It sounds a bit barbaric, but you need to teach your rabbit submission to an extent, just for instances like nail clipping. It needs to be done. So he would retract and bare his teeth open at my hand as a warning, but at that point, I know for Wick it’s either I do it and it’s done, or I retreat and he learns that’s an appropriate reaction to nail clipping attempts.
Techniques people use include the bunny burrito (wrapping rabbit in a towel to prevent movement; see videos online to see how to do it without harming your rabbit) and doing it while someone else is holding the rabbit, so it’s less likely to move around.
Wick’s small, so I sit on my knees on the floor and place him in front of me, his butt in front of my knees. I use one hand to lift one paw and his head up, so the other paw is left suspended. I use the other hand with clippers equipped to move around the fur (wet fingers help) and finally go in to clip. During the fur moving process and general touching assessment, Wick will retract, but I’ll just keep repeating until it’s done. For the other paw and head hold, I simply scoop them up from underneath, not really gripping too much, but just enough to prevent too much movement.
For my non dominant hand side, I can’t do the same technique because my nail clip hand is not coming in from the outside, so I can’t bring the nail clippers to the nails without going directly in front of his face and crossing my arms. So I save non dominant as the last side, so he’s already quite passive and a bit defeated in his escape efforts. I take my non dominant hand and just sort of push and hold his face to the side, blocking his view on that side. Then I take my nail clipper hand and go from above, straight down to assess and clip the nails.
Confusing in text I’m sure, haha. Sorry. I will say that as Wick has grown, I’ve had to change my technique for nail clipping, based on his newfound comfort in expressing discontent. I used to be able to do it when he was lounging, but he’s not into that anymore, haha.
It’s stressful yes, but once you find what works, you’ll feel very accomplished.
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.
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