Scratching

[avarocks]

I am having an issue with Milo and scratching. He's a big boy. He'll be 2 in April. He's a Holland lop. Don't get me wrong - I love Milo very much. He's a sweet, sweet boy and I could not imagine my life without him. But, the scratching IS an issue.

When he does not want to be held anymore he suddenly squirms and uses his nails. I don't force him to be held, he does get put down right away. But not always in time. I have a scar on my wrist from over a month ago doing his nail trims. Now I have another on the front of my neck that still oozes blood sometimes, from a few days ago. I trim his nails once a month...he gets far too stressed for me to do it more than that. That is one time I do force him to stay with me. We get the job done as fast as possible so it's over with. I check his scent glands at the same time. Luckily, I've never seen anything in them. After the trims he always gets a treat and a snuggle to help him calm down.

I am physically disabled and can have an extra hard time controlling him sometimes. Any suggestions on this?

Sarah

 

[evansrabbitranch]

I'm afraid to get him to stop you really need to not put him down when he freaks out and wait for him to settle. Best way to protect yourself from scratches is to wear long sleeves and have a towel over you but under him. When he starts to wiggle and scratch, cover him with the towel, and keep him in your lap. When he settles down, then you can set him on the floor. He is learning a bad habbit of using scratches to get what he wants and you need to teach him it is unacceptable. Good luck!

 

[elrohwen]

I agree that putting him down when he scratches is just reinforcing the behavior.

Also, do you really need to be picking him up so much? Most bunnies don't like being held - I think he'd be happier if you left him on the ground unless you needed to pick him up for nail trims or something.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Another way I used to get rabbits to NOT scratch and bite was to flip them on their back or just pin them in place when they acted up. Had a couple that had learned that biting would get them what they wanted--since I like to keep my blood on the inside of my skin, we had to come to an understanding.

 

[avarocks]

Milo likes being picked up sometimes. He actually puts his paws on my chair to be picked up and then nuzzles my neck and gives kisses...but then when he is done, that's when the freaking out starts. He will jump onto the couch onto my lap on his own and will sit beside me too. He just likes to decide when he's done with the whole thing, and he's doing it aggressively. I will try some of your techniques. The worst of it does happen during grooming/nail trims. Which is a time I NEED to force him or the job just doesn't get done. We only do that once a month to minimize his stress and he receives snuggles and a treat afterwards.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

If he nips you when you are holding him, a high pitched squeal from you should make him stop.
Could he be doing that cuz he's hungry and it's feeding time? I know Snuff will do anything for food, lol. But, that could be it and if you haven't had him long, the last thing you want to do is pick him up all the time. He will take longer to establish trust w/ by doing that.