Pet Carrier Phobia!

[Boricua_bunny]

Yesterday, I went out and bought a new small petcarrier for my mini lop Oreo. As soon as we got home, we introduced thepet carrier to him and he just sniffed it and ingnored it. I thought, "Well, it is just the first night and maybe he will get used to itlater." This morning, I took out the pet carrier again and placed onthe ground next to him. I was surprised when he went inside all byhimself, but then he ran out of it frantically like he had been reallyscared. I am now beginning to think that he will never want to go inthe pet carrier. And he has a vet visit coming up soon. What can I doto calm him down so he will not be scared of the pet carrier?



~Josh

 

[Shuu]

Put a blanket with his smell and a few favouritetreats in there. Make it as inviting and comfortable as possible. Don'ttry to close it on him when he's in there and just leave it open in hisplay area whenever he's playing. He'll get used to it rather quickly ifhe associates it with treats.

 

[Boricua_bunny]

Thanks! I will try that later today. I really hope it works.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Make his basket somewhere he wants to be, makeit nice with a blanket or some soft bedding and maybe a favourite toyand afew treats, leave the door open all day, soon it will just be anice place to sleep/eat. Get him used to being in it, maybe if he'shappy with it shut him in for a minute or two then make a big fuss ofhim when he comes out like he's the bravest bunny in the world! Thenleave it out for him to play with again. Soon he will realise thatgoing in the basket isn't scary and if he goes in he will get attentionand treats!Leave it out the day you are at the vets untill he goes involuntarily then wait afew seconds, then shut the door. Speek to himcalmly and make sure he's calm before you get in the car. Works with mybunnies everytime but unfortunatly they still hate the car ride.

(P.s you can also train him to go in the basket, say 'home' when hegoes in then praise him. Rabbits are clever and after afew times hewill pick up that when you say 'home' and he goes in the basket he getstreats!)

 

[lyndsy]

Buster Tucker, and Emma all use their carriersas hidey holes. They have them in their cages/room, and use then ALLthe time. So then when it comes time to take them to the vet, or whenwe've got a storm warning, etc. I just put the doors back onthe carriers, and they go right in them! They also have blankets intheir carriers at all times, and absolutely HATE it when they needcleaning!!!!

:monkey:'s

 

[Boricua_bunny]

Thank you, a lot of good advice from all of you!

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Good advice from everyone. I agree that youshould make it a great place, I think to make it a better place youshould put treats in the carrier and that's the only place he shouldget treats for a while.

Leave the carrier where he has access to it all the time if your cageis big enough. If not, always have the carrier open when the rabbit isout and running around.

I do that with my boys and they don't mind it so much anymore. My babyloves it so much that I simply put it on the ground and he hops rightin.

 

[Boricua_bunny]

I tried doing what you guys suggested and now, Ican't even take the carrier away from him!I put inside anold blanket he always plays with and some of his favorite treats too.When he went inside, he ate the treats and flopped down to sleep. Itried to take it away because he was pooping in it a lot, but when Iwent to go pick it up, he nipped my hand and went back inside it again.Maybe your advice worked too well! Once again, thanks for the adviceyou guys have given me! It worked!

:yes:

 

[lyndsy]

I'm glad everything worked out for you!

:highfive:

 

[Stephanie]

Good for you.

We have two carriers that we keep out all the time, for them to play in and hide in when they want to.