feel SO bad when i have to clip buns nails and butt :(

[girlzilla]

does anyone else feel really bad when they have to clip their bun's nails or butt fur? my bun HATES being picked up with a passion but obviously i have to pick him up to clip his nails and fur etc. he struggles and then when i rest him on his back on my lap he goes into a light trance, but i still feel terrible, seeing my bun lying there looking frightened and vulnerable. sometimes his back legs shudder every now and then because he's freaked out. i just feel so awful forcing him to do something that scares him, and i also worry that he might injure himself while struggling. if he struggles too much i let him go rather than risk hurting him but he usually stops struggling once i have a firm hold. afterwards he hops away quickly and sits there breathing fast because he's still scared. it usually takes him about 10-20 minutes to calm himself down and go back to his normal loving self. he's so super sensitive. he even refuses treats at first because he's too busy being upset to eat them. i hope he knows i'm not doing it to be mean to him

anyway, it just makes me feel horrible and sad for him when he gets scared and struggles does anyone else get the guilts when they see their bun get upset? does anyone else have a bun that HATES being picked up and struggles lots?

 

[chaplinaus]

2 of my buns fight every time I tried to pick them up. They don't go into the bunny trance when they are on their back, they flip over and jump away. It's impossible and I end up with so many scratches. I take them to the vet now and asked for a discounted price if I was the one to cut them if they just helphold them down! This has worked for us. They still get ticked, but there is no way around it, they don'tuse scratching posts!

 

[XxMontanaxX]

Have you tried feeding him treats while you are clipping him? Maybe this would associate being clipped as a good thing and he won't struggle as much?

Macey doesn't like to be picked up but once she's on my lap she is ok and will let me clip her without a fuss. She's a very good girl.

 

[Phinnsmommy]

Phinn hates geting his nails clipped so much that I attepted once to clip them, and now I just take him to the vet haha.

 

[naturestee]

Yup, been there! It was the worst when I rescued Fey and Sprite and we had to cut their nails on the same day. They were terrified from the car ride and they were terrified of us. They had never been inside a house before. But their nails were curling under and nearly piercing their skin, and we needed to check them for injuries, parasites, etc. So it had to be done.

Sprite still hates being touched and can be a challenge.

With bunnies that don't do well with this stuff, I've found it's best to have one person hold the bunny and the other person cut the nails. That way you can hold the bunny upright in a more comfortable, safe-feeling position for them. And I always give them a treat immediately after. They know that now and dance around my feet until they get it. If he's still super scared, try doing only one or two feet per session and just do them over several days. That way he won't be stressed out for as long.

 

[girlzilla]

ludo has surprised me actually. last night i sat on the floor and lay him on his back on my lap and he really surprised me by trancing almost immediately. he even let me smother his back feeties in kisses! (got a bit carried away and just about stuck his entire foot in my mouth because they're sooo cute but thought it might freak him out, his human trying to eat him). anyway, i managed to clip his butt (he has the most stylish butt haircut in our household now) and he even began returning the favour by cleaning my hand as i did it. i wasn't planning on it at first, depending on how he went, but i was alsoable to give his bum a proper wipe down with a warm cloth and then dry it off too. he did spenda few minutes sulking in his cardboard box but when i put some cos lettuce in there for him it made me laugh when i heard:

*silence*

*snuffle*

*crunch crunch crunch*

*more silence*

*more crunch crunch crunch*

i think he was trying to eat the cos as quitely as possible so i would think he was still mad at me lol. he's always been a very affectionate bun with me but very timid at the same time so i'm very proud of him for being such a brave boy