Nail trimming a very bad girl!

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spoh

spoh

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I know I have asked this before and I read everything that I can but I just don't know how to get Lucy's nails trimmed. They are gettingquite long and really need to be done but she is so bad. She bites, kicks, grunts etc.etc. She is getting to the point where she is always suspiciousof me when I walk into the room because she thinks I am going to try it so she won't come near me. I'm affraid that I am going to hurt her if I just wrap her in a towel and hold tight while my husbands does the nails because she freaks so I have to hold her really tight. Taking her to the vet isn't really the answer either because she doesn't like to be held, even by me and no way is a strainger going to hold her. She loves to be pet and loved on but only on the floor, if she even thinks that I am going to pick her up she bolts.I have tried to do them while she is laying on the floor with her paws out in front of her, nothing works.



How the heck do I do these nails?



Joy
 
Hi Joy, we have that problem with Wilbur & Jackie, what we do is wrap them in a towel called Bunny Buritto (sp?). If you can get someone to help you trim their nails. We have taken ours to the vets and for some reason he never has a problem doing them,(but with 4 bunnies that gets costly) he also does them a heck of alot faster than we do.

Good Luck

Susan:runningrabbit:
 
My bunny Rilee is the kind of bunny that never lets anyone hold her, including me, her mommy! Loves pets, bolts the second my hands touch her tummy and butt. So I've haven't yet attempted to trim her nails myself. I take her to the vet's. One charged like $14, the other $6.50. I too was worried that if I can't hold her, how can THEY possibly manage?? I was making the appointment and the girl said it would only take a few minutes, I was like eeehhh.... I was almost embarassed to bring her in, figuring they would have to fight her and such. But there didn't seem to be a problem. I'm not sure how they did it, but it only took 10 minutes and no one died!

On a related note, she had to have an x-ray once and the vet easily wrapped her in a buritto and carried her off, not a problem. If you have a rabbit-savvy vet and office, they should have ways of dealing with holding rabbits.
 
I would just use a regular towel to cover her and hold her in your arms (football hold)and have someoneelse reach under and clip her nails.

Many people use the "Bunny Burrito" wraps, but I do know of a number of rabbits that have ended up with broken backs when using these wraps, so I don't recommend them.

I sit on a stool, place the rabbit on its back on a towel and clip the nails.

Pam
 
We have a problem even getting her to hold still so that we can wrap her in a towel. This little girl is fiesty. My husband is home tonight so we will give it a try together and if it doesn't work I will attempt a trip to the vet. With our dogs and cat I can alway use the " because I said so and I'm bigger than you" tactic but with buns that just doesn't seem to work. : ) I think she has her own ideas about whose bigger!



Thanks, I will let you know how our attempt goes.

Joy
 
Did you try taking her to a room she is unfamiliar with? I find that will distract and calm down my fiesty buns. When they are in a strange room or in a strange area... or there is a strange smell in the room (coffee, bacon...) they're nervous and distracted by it and make it a lot easier to cut nails.

I also need to do it with help. Neil holds them while I clip.

___________
Nadia
 
My bun gets pretty frreaked out by any attempt on my part to trim nails. I know that tne NYC chapter of the House Rabbit Society has a video of a nail-trimming technique that is supposed to be quite effective, but I haven't picked up a copy yet.

I've fallen back on the vet's office for a quick trim, more than once. That way I don't end up being the "bad guy." ;)
 
SOOOSKA wrote:
So Joy how did the Pedicure (nail trimming) session go last night? Was Lucy a good girl?

Susan:running bunny
Click to expand...

HA HA, it didn't. I didn't even attempt, we are going to the vet today at 2:00. She had gotten to the point of being affraid of me when I would walk into the room, I don't want that. So I am going to let somebody else be the bad guy and I will be the loving Mom who gives love and craisens after that other person was so terribly mean to her!

We will see how it goes, I will let you know.

Joy
 
Well, we are home from the vet. She did great, of course she is acting like it was just terrible. I placed her carrier in her room and opened the door, she ran out and right into her litter box where she is still laying. She never lays in her litter box! I expected some kicking and thumping but I didn't expect that. She won't even come out for the veggies that I put in her cage. I assume she will get over it.



Thanks for your advice,

Joy
 
Well when I worked at the pet shop, I had to do a looooooooooot of trims both for our own animals and for clients.

The way we did it requires 2 people however. One person would be holding the bunny against them: one hand around it's belly (low), and the other either under the shoulders or, if a biter, gently from the scruff of the neck. The other person would hold the paw and clip the nails. We never had a problem like this. Very rarely, we'd have to put a towel over the eyes so it wouldn't freak but it maybe only happened once or twice.

Another thing that I find helps, though most people don't realize it is playing with your bun's paws when they are young just like we suggest for dogs. This gets the pet used to having his/her paws handled and makes them less nervous when getting their nails cut.

As for myself, I do all 3 bunnies alone. Wiggles requires more time and patience as she is absolutely terrified of it. I put them on a small table which is just at the right height. The bunny should be almost at the level of your belly button to make it easier on yourself. To do the front paws, the bun's butt is towards me, it's head facing the same direction I am and I use my whole forearm along the bun's spine, pressing very gently just so it won't run off. In that hand, I hold the clippers, and I hold the paw steady with the other. For the hind legs, I turn the bun the other way so that we are facing each other. I use the forearm trick, my elbow holding down its head...

Keep in mind that the pressure is always very light. The bunny thinks it is being held down. Mine never struggle. Wiggles will fight me by trying to raise her head but she settles pretty quickly. But I make her submit by pushing down gently on her nose.

:)
 
I am interested in your single person approach, but I'm sure there are others who are interested in the two person.

We have some pictures in the Bunny 101 section, but it doesn't hurt having other pictures around for people to look at for ideas. So many people have such a hard time trimming nails that having a buffet of nail cutting techniques to choose from can really help.

--Dawn
 
Like I said, I take Rilee to the vets mostly because she's hard to handle, but also because I know she sees them as the bad guys and I don't feel like we're close enough to take the blow of being the bad guy myself. She doesn't tolerate any kind of handling, so I know it'll be horrible and she'll hate me. Just look at how she felt after a vet trim.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7547536@N02/1073561556/

She's even then mad at me for TAKING her there. *sigh* I wish every day that I was able to handle her normally.
 
For whatever reason, Nibbles seems to see me as the person who "rescued" her from the mean people in the white coats (who trim her nails, etc.), ignoring the fact that I was the one who took her there in the first place. Not that I'm complaining :), but... I guess it goes to show how individual buns have a wide range of reactions to things.
 
maomaochiu and tictac are the same way, i and my fiance can never do it, but taking them to the vet actually works!! I think it is because of the unfamiliar surroundings and unfamiliar people and maybe the smell at the vet's, that makes the buns scared a little bit
 
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