Bunny ABSOLUTELY REFUSES to be held

[Alexish]

Hello~ So my Netherland dwarf is almost 4 months old and we are having a bit of an issue. He completely and utterly refuses to be held. I have been looking up all kinds of information about this and new ways to try it/bonding with him, but nothing has been working so far. Whenever I pick him up, unless I am lifting him out of his cage by holding his sides snugly together with two hands (he doesn't mind that), he thrashes around as much as he possibly can. If I hold him the proper way of supporting his rump he just kicks and kicks and kicks...

It wasn't a problem until the last two days, were he has thrashed so much he actually got away from me and fell twice. :cry2 I try to hold him as snugly and supported as possible but I am starting to worry that if this continues he may really get hurt because he is so slippery.

At first, he would just try to escape. Now he has started digging or chewing at my shirt and biting me (I don't mind, I just wish he wasn't scared).

Also, each time after I hold him, he goes off in a corner and lies down and is breathing really quickly and won't move much for about five minutes. Is that an indicator of a big issue or does anyone else's rabbit do that?

If anyone has some new tricks to help him calm down, please let me know! The only one up I have on him is he loves raw oats to the point of forgetting about everything else. I've tried this while holding him but as soon as he is done, he thrashes again.

Thank you!

EDIT: I should add, he is normally not afraid of me. He will sit while I pet his head and not run away from me all the time when I walk by. He has no problem hopping on my lap, especially if he wants oats. He is a bonded pair with a female netherland dwarf (they have to be separated for now before getting fixed) but he is a lot smaller than her and is submissive towards her. He also was thrashing one time when I was clipping his nails and had him flipped on his back and I think he hurt his ear (either that or the symptoms are a lot like having mites, but after thoroughly inspecting his ear for days it is clean). So that probably won't help much with him trusting me. But yes, I wanted to add some background in case that would help.

 

[gmas rabbit]

Some bunnies just do not like to be held. Derby is one of those guys. Neutering may help, it has a little with Derby. I just lay on the floor or sit beside him and pet him. I do put him in the big chair every night and insist that he sit there to be pet. THis will last about 5-10 minutes that he is content to just sit and be pet. I am hoping that as he gets closer to maturity around the one year mark and it isn't so hot that he may become more snuggly. He is 7 months now. Just keep up with the petting, try snuggling him on the floor. It may just take time and patience so don't give up on him. Trust takes time and it may be that he is the type that wants pets and snuggles on a floor or chair. NO HOLDING PLEASE. I am putting that sign up for Derby. Want one??

 

[Alexish]

gmas rabbit wrote: Thank you for the advice! I will definitely try doing that. However I eventually do need to be able to hold him, in case I need to inspect him, trim his nails, etc. I will try lots more petting and floor interaction though, thank you for the ideas!

 

[gmas rabbit]

When Derby is sitting in the chair, he is beside me. I don't try and hold him. Maybe that is why he will actually sit there.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

My Oreo is like this. She's super mean about it too. I have the scars to prove it!

I just dont hold her.. and when I need to trim nails its a team effort. My husband holds her down belly down and I just clip them that way. The other day I needed to flip her on her back and make sure all of her nipples are ok (she's nursing) and that went really bad... like really bad. I felt horrible for her, but I had to do it!! Whenever I need to examine her afterwards she lays down and breathes hard for a few minutes too (so i think you're okay there)I give her a few treats after everything and she ends up hating me for the day.. sucks, but I love her enough to go through it!

Good luck!!!!

 

[ldoerr]

Giving treats afterword is rewarding the bad behavior. Try to give them treats when they are being good.

Did all of this start happening when you seporated him from his girlfriend? If so I would STRONGLY recomend that you get one of them fixed SOON so that they can be together again.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Some can be won over, just takes an inordinate amount of time. Some never get comfy with it but must learn to tolerate some handling and holding. Most will come to you and hang out, but, solely on their terms. Time, patience, and persistence are your allies.

 

[Dulmit]

Yeah, some buns don't take to being lifted.

I have found that the main issue my buns had/have is not so much with the holding portion (they have their weight on their feet), but more with lifting. You said you are lifting your bun 'out' of a cage. Instead I would try to start with lifting and putting your bun down while you are both outside of the cage and on the ground. This way you can more easily get under the legs and your bun has almost no distance to fall.

Depending on your cage setup see if you can get one with a door on the side, so you can scoot your bun out instead of needing to lift.

Good luck, if all else fails you can also just use a small carrier and get your bun to hop into that, then just pickup the carrier.