Gentle but firm? Bunny resisted being brushed today.

[krbshappy71]

So far she has been great about everything, being held, brushed, nails clipped, etc. I was told she is 3-4 months old, she is a Lionhead. Today for some reason she was really resisting being brushed. I switched brushes and she settled down a bit but more tolerating than enjoying it like she did previously. When she resists should I let her go or hold her firmly but gently to teach her to wait? (Like I do with my dogs) I don't want to over stress her but with the coat she has I will need to brush her out. She never bit, but she was squirming around and kicking, it was so weird!

Also, this time I was brushing her in her cage, as opposed to outside, on my lap, before free-roam time. Could that have made the difference? It was too cold for her to be outside this morning. Do they feel more "get off me!" when they're in their homes? (her cage is a large dog crate, the size for Golden Retrievers) Thanks in advance for advice on how to react when she does this.

 

[Imbrium]

She's reaching the age where hormones could be kicking in (3-5 mos for females), which could make her more volatile in general (think human teenage girl), so that may be part of it. Either way, at that age, I would firmly but gently insist on the grooming. When my Nala was a baby, she had mane and skirt for miles! Thankfully, she turned out to be single-maned and when she blew her juvenile coat at 6-7 mos old she was left with no skirt and a very thin and manageable mane... but yeah, at 3-4 mos old, do what you've gotta do to prevent mats.

 

[krbshappy71]

She may lose her coat at 6-7 mos? I'll read up on this, thank you, so I am not freaked out when it happens. Her coat is so gorgeous and she does a GREAT job of cleaning herself I was just noticing some end pieces were matting a bit so I thought I'd do a quick brush out. I'm still looking into having her spayed, I have two more vets to call. Our spca and humane society doesn't do them.

 

[Imbrium]

Rabbits molt twice a year - two light molts and two heavy. The heavy molts are when they grow the summer and winter coats... "heavy" means that their entire coat is shed and regrown. The molts happen over time, making it seem like rabbits shed an awful lot of the time.