A Little Frustrated

[random faerie]

I've had Pepper now for about 20 days. He's about 5 months old now. He's my first bunny. I pet him everyday and spend time with him whenever I can... but I have this problem about picking him up (I need to because he really needs his nails trimmed). He is obviously not used to human touch so I'm having difficulties. ; 3 ;

He feeds off my hands. I have also litter-trained him. I do my reading, I promise. That being said, I also know it takes some time to get their trust. But reading from other threads here, some say they were able to "bond" with their bunny in 3 days or so it makes me so frustrated. T_T

I honestly don't know if I'm doing anything wrong... Oh, and by the way, he isn't neutered and I doubt I will have him neutered in the near future. ; 3 ;

Sometimes I regret getting him when he's already 5 months. >< Aaaa. OK I'm just frustrated really. Maybe I need advice. >_<

 

[Imbrium]

every bunny is different and some take longer to bond to their human(s) than others. neutering might help since he's in the middle of the "teenage phase", but then again it might not... since you say you don't have plans to get him neutered in the near future, you may have to get used to him as-is for a while (I've heard they usually settle back down a bit after they're around a year old).

definitely spend as much time as you can in the same general area as your bunny - sit in the middle of the room watching TV, reading a book, doing work of some sort, etc. and just let him come up to you/scamper off as he pleases. my girls are definitely most interested in being near me when I'm in the middle of a craft project, lol. you've just gotta be patient and keep trying - while some bunnies do bond to their owner in a matter of days, others can take months to do so.

as far as picking him up for nail trimmings, bribery is a good way to train him. work with him just a little bit each day using a favorite treat (fruit works great, just remember they shouldn't have more than 1 tsp per 2 lbs body weight per day - split the fruit up into tiny pieces so you can get the most out of his daily allotment).

start by picking him up and sitting on the floor with him in your lap. as soon as you pick him up, give him a little treat. just hold him for maybe 15 seconds each time at first, then work up to 30, then 45, etc. until you can hold him for a couple minutes (you can also offer him a tiny treat when you put him back down). once you can hold him for a little while, flip him over, give him a tiny treat and set him upright again immediately. gradually build up the amount of time you keep him on his back, and as he learns to be comfortable with it, start playing with his cute little feet as you hold him (again, you can give another treat after you flip him upright again).

basically, you're teaching him that it's worth tolerating something he doesn't want you doing in order to get yummy treats.

when you go to clip his nails, keep a little pile of treats beside you (I like to use raisins or craisins so I don't really get my hands sticky... and so that they're in a box or bag where I can tuck them away from the loose bunny while I clip the captive one's nals ). I give one treat when I pick them up/flip them over, another treat every 1-2 paws depending on how feisty the bunny is that day, and one more when done. it generally takes me 3-5 raisins/craisins to get through nail trimming.

when trimming, be confident and quick as they can sense anxiety. rather than taking the time to precisely calculate where you want to cut, just err on the side of cutting too little off (since you can always go back for a little more) - snip the very tip and keep going, then double back to get any nails that are still a little too long. the faster you can get through each paw, the less squirmy the rabbit will be by the time you're done.

if nail trimming is really problematic, you can wrap him in a towel (aka "bunny burrito"), taking out one paw at a time to clip, or you can get someone else to hold him for you while you clip.

 

[LakeCondo]

You need to be patient. A rabbit that age is going to be hormonal until he's been neutered. Some start spraying urine & doing other anti-social things. It will be easier once he's neutered, but still it can be a slow process for him to bond with you.

 

[blue eyed white]

You aren't doing anything wrong. It took months for my bunny to trust me. She was in a pet store for a year without much interaction with people, so she wasn't used to being touched. She's also deaf, which makes her a more cautious bunny. The pet store gave her to me, because she wasn't good with people and they wanted to get rid of her. I gave her her space and let her get used to being in a loving home. She wasn't used to that. She eventually came around and loves to be pet and kissed, but doesn't like to be picked up.

When it's nail trim time, I pick her up and bring her to the nail trim place, which is my coffee table in the living room. She's out of her territory and is much more cooperative. I would NEVER be able to trim her nails in her bedroom [yes, she has her own bedroom... I know, she's spoiled] because that's her space and she's in control of her space. I have to take her to a place she's not comfortable in, and then I'm in charge. :biggrin:

Don't give up, just try different things. I hope this helps. :bunny19

 

[random faerie]

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the encouragement and advice. You guys have really been helpful.

I've taken care of other small animals but my bonding process with them has never been this long... I guess Pepper is really just the exception and I should be more patient. ; 3 ;

I do bribe her with treats like Imbrium suggested just to get him on my lap (for a few seconds). He runs away when I hold his bum area. >_< I've attempted the burrito too~ But he doesn't stay long enough for me to properly wrap him up. Haha. I don't want to harm him, so when he struggles, I let him free. ; 3 ; Is this the correct reaction? I dunno...

LakeCondo, I think so. He gave me the grunt last night. I think he is very adventurous and fun, he's really just not used to being touched... hopefully that will change in the near future when he finally becomes an "adult." ^^

blue eyed white, thanks for the advice! I should try transferring him to another area of the house for trimming. I would try it! Hehe. And my bunny has blue eyes too~ <3 It's comforting to know that I'm not alone in this situation. It took you months for your bunny to trust you? That must have been hard work. Anyway, I will keep spending time with my bun-bun and hopefully he will open up more to me. ^^

Thanks again guys!

P.S. Grunting is a bad sign right? :sigh:

 

[MagPie]

Well grunting usually means they are mad or annoyed. When Harvey grunts at me it's usually when I am not fast enough with treats or I'm cleaning his mess. I just laugh and ignore it. I mean come on as a threat it's pretty dang cute. Sooo not intimidating haha.

Anyway I was lucky with Harvey that he settled in quickly and liked me fairly quickly. Our bond did grow the longer I have had him. He's a pretty social bun tho. However he hates being picked up. I think it's just a rabbit thing. I haven't been able to trim his nails myself. And I've had him over a year.

 

[Imbrium]

I do bribe her with treats like Imbrium suggested just to get him on my lap (for a few seconds). He runs away when I hold his bum area. >_< I've attempted the burrito too~ But he doesn't stay long enough for me to properly wrap him up. Haha. I don't want to harm him, so when he struggles, I let him free. ; 3 ; Is this the correct reaction? I dunno...

just hold him tightly enough that he can't struggle much... and always make sure you've got his back feet controlled so he can't kick into the air (they can hurt themselves that way). you can be firm while still being gentle and not hurting him. hold him snugly against your body with your arm, hand or chest keeping his back legs in place (depending on how you're holding him). mine *love* it if I use a fingertip or two to pet them from the tip of their nose up to their forehead between their ears - it helps to calm them down.

it's important to teach him to tolerate letting you do what you need to do with him - his nails need trimming periodically and you need to be able to take a peek at his underside now and then to make sure he doesn't have a poopy butt, urine scald or mats in his fur. if you ever get him neutered, you'll need to be able to look at the incisions. better to train him to tolerate it when he's healthy than have to learn how to do it on the fly if he gets sick later in life!

if you let him go when he struggles, it just reinforces the struggling behavior. be firm with him, don't let him hurt himself by struggling and keep up the bribery - it'll take a while before he resigns himself to trade getting held for treats. he has to learn to trust that you're not going to do anything that will hurt him, which is why you have to slowly build up from simply picking him up to holding him to flipping him over and poking and prodding.