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im in the dog house again....

donnamt

Wise Old Thumper
Alvin is a killer bunny from hell and after the awful claw clipping experience at the vets ive decided leaving him be isnt working so ive started picking him up daily... he bites lunges boxes (and im sure spits) grunts and growls as soon as i attempt to grab him and thats after the 10mins of running around his cage.. i know its my fault i was so scared of hurting him when he jumped from my arms as a baby so i tried the hands off approach..

im sick of being told by the bloke of work that have to handle him more, i KNOW i have to handle him more but is it really worth this grief.. its like back to square one now.. hes avoiding all contact with me now :cry::cry: believe it or not when im not grabbing him hes quite friendly and even follows me into the kitchen....:love:

how long will it take of him attempting to kill me/leap from my arms/bite my wrist before he relaxes enough to let me hold him... i hate seeing him upset and scared :( it upsets me to be the cause of such blind fear :(

he hasnt come out from under the sofa since 7pm and its my fault. i just hope i havent hurt him aswell as caused stress
 
It'll be alright he'll soon get used to it. Honey doesn't like being picked up either. I usually end up bribing her with food.
 
well hes not hurt hes just gone thro to the other room for hay.. but hes keeping well away from me :(
 
Awww Donna hun, I know how much Alvin's behaviour upsets you sometimes......but he really DOES love you loads!!! :: hugs :: :love: :love:
 
Alvin! Let your hoomin pick you up or i'll send Carlton round to bite your bumbum!

I think it's just persistance... with lots of treatums and praise if you do manage to scoop him up.... I found that the best when Carlton decided he was much too grown up for this holding business....he's okay again now.
 
Could you try starting off by hand feeding him and as he's eating get him used to having a hand or arm or even some cloth draped across him, so he gets used to the sensations and then he might stop suspecting that you're going to pick him up. I find it really helps to put your hand over their heads too before you go to lift them. Seems to stop them doing the leg kicking gallop to under the sofa. :lol:
 
Charlie hates being picked up, I just grab him and refuse to let go. Once he stops stuggeling, I put him down. He's learnt that if he's calm, he gets to go down quicker.
 
Awww Donna hun, I know how much Alvin's behaviour upsets you sometimes......but he really DOES love you loads!!! :: hugs :: :love: :love:

:( i know he does really and i totally understand why he is like he is, its my fault im scared of him and he knows it :oops::oops:

its the way he would rather summersault thro the air than stay in my arms for a few seconds even after over a year of living with me that upset me i think :( and his poor scared little heart, make me no better than people who mistreat animals when hes that scared plus with all our messing about and me turning into a big scary human pearl also hides and flattens herself as small as she can in the cat basket (not easy at 3.3kg)

Could you try starting off by hand feeding him and as he's eating get him used to having a hand or arm or even some cloth draped across him, so he gets used to the sensations and then he might stop suspecting that you're going to pick him up. I find it really helps to put your hand over their heads too before you go to lift them. Seems to stop them doing the leg kicking gallop to under the sofa. :lol:

ill give that a go tonight :D i wont make the mistake of having exposed wrist skin again either :shock::shock:


Alvin! Let your hoomin pick you up or i'll send Carlton round to bite your bumbum!

I think it's just persistance... with lots of treatums and praise if you do manage to scoop him up.... I found that the best when Carlton decided he was much too grown up for this holding business....he's okay again now.

i might not let him go home :oops::lol::lol::lol:
 
Oh dear, sounds nasty! Hubby and I have the same problem with RAmbaldi so I know what it is like to be scared, annoyed, frustrated and feel guilty all at the same time!

It will get better...it must:roll:

good luck and much strengthly protection to your skin!

Emma
 
aw sounds quite scary to be honest, could you maybe get him just to come and sit on your lap while you sit on the ground and give him veg to eat while he's sitting there and pull it paw out, i would suggest gentle training him and getting him used to you touching his paws whilst he's eating something.
 
aw sounds quite scary to be honest, could you maybe get him just to come and sit on your lap while you sit on the ground and give him veg to eat while he's sitting there and pull it paw out, i would suggest gentle training him and getting him used to you touching his paws whilst he's eating something.

he wont sit on my lap.. he will jump over me and he will put his front paws on while hes after the treat tub, im only allowed to stroke for a minute maximum before he moves on... thats the hard part.. this is amazing progress from what he was like a year ago... but by trying to pick him up that tiny amount of trust ive built up has been smashed... im so torn on what i should do about it all... i keep thinking if ste leaves me ive got a bunny i cant handle (i can when hes poorly to get syringe water in so im not worried about that) its the vets visits im concerned about, (i cant have a vet looking at me like i shouldnt have bunnies if i cant even hold them) :?
 
The vet might be very sympathetic, even impressed, you never know. Most owners would have given up by now!

Rambaldi is extremely curious and goes straight into the carry case, could you try that then you won't have to pick him up? We had to go yesterday and it was no problem. He was fine for the vet, she used a towel and a 'no fear' approach. I have to give him injections every other day for the next two weeks but how I don't know - he runs away from me as soon as I move a muscle even though he will cheerfully sit with me for ages while I am trying to bond with him. As soon as I move to stroke him or anything he scarpers - it is very sad :cry:

I wish I could offer you practical advice other than my sympathy and some kind of idea that you aren't the only one!

Emma
 
The vet might be very sympathetic, even impressed, you never know. Most owners would have given up by now!

Rambaldi is extremely curious and goes straight into the carry case, could you try that then you won't have to pick him up? We had to go yesterday and it was no problem. He was fine for the vet, she used a towel and a 'no fear' approach. I have to give him injections every other day for the next two weeks but how I don't know - he runs away from me as soon as I move a muscle even though he will cheerfully sit with me for ages while I am trying to bond with him. As soon as I move to stroke him or anything he scarpers - it is very sad :cry:

I wish I could offer you practical advice other than my sympathy and some kind of idea that you aren't the only one!

Emma

awwww hun thankyou.. its hurts deep.. specially when you see how the experts find it easy even with the most demonic buns :(

ive spent a year not handling him, making him run to the carrier, but when we went for claw clipping he nearly escaped my arms and hit the cold hard floor.. i need to get him used to it or i know if he gets hurt itll be my fault
 
Alvin sounds like quite a handful, bless him. You wouldn't think it from his photos. :love:

Maybe he associates being picked up now with his bad experience at the vets, since you said that's the only time he gets handled now.

Do you need to handle him while you're indoors? If it's causing so much stress for you both, maybe it would be best to avoid it and just work on gaining his trust back so that he knows you aren't going to keep picking him up. Is there a nurse at the vets that can hold on to him when he goes there? Or can he be treated low to the floor so that he can't do as much harm when/if he decides to jump?

If it's any consolation, I'm about to start a thread of my own because I finally plucked up the courage to attemp nail clipping at the weekend and failed miserably. :( And now Bubbles is wary of me too. :(
 
To be honest i would go back a stage, stop picking him up sit onthe floor with food and let him come to you, encourage him to climb on you, it's sounds to me as though he may have lost trust and thinks that as soon as he goes near you your going to pick him up, most buns don't like to be picked up, and if they've had a bad experience it takes them alot longer to tolerate being picked up. All of my buns will come to me nibble my feet, be stroked, etc but as soon as i go to pick them up, off they dash! for the moment until he is comfortable climbing on i wouldn't pick him up and if you have to rap him tightly in towel, it can help to make them feel more secure xxx
 
see this is why im confused.. my heart says to leave him be as we are both happier but everywhere i read it says we need to handle them.. i think he still likes me because this morning he came bombing thro into his room for veg like nothing had happened :?

i cant beleive im finding it so stressful.. how empty is my life that im so wound up/upset over the fact i cant handle my little man :oops::oops:

i think i will give us both a break tonight and just sit with them when i get in... keep him guessing maybe one day ill be able to scoop him up before he even realises he needs to run :lol::lol:
 
i might not let him go home :oops::lol::lol::lol:

You can keep him until he learns to use his potty again!! :lol:

"Don't make me come down there, Alvin, I'll bite your bumbum"

DSCF4118.jpg
 
i think he still likes me because this morning he came bombing thro into his room for veg like nothing had happened :?

Veggies make everything ok. :D:D

Don't be so hard on yourself. I think you have the right idea - put the handling on the back burner for a while and just enjoy being with him and let him get used to that again. Don't beat yourself up about what he won't let you do, but think of the progress you're making with him. :) ;)
 
I have a little bunny monster that HATES to be picked up. When I first got him I tried to lift him, but he would kick and scratch and jump out of my arms, which was very scary! I tried wearing long sleeves and gloves so I wasn't scared of him, but he still went mental when I picked him up. I soon decided that because it stresses him (and me!) out so much that I wasn't going to lift him anymore- I spend time with him on the floor (and sometimes he jumps on my sofa and bed to get stroked :love:), he seems much happier now and so am I.

I know what you mean about the vets and reading that you should pick the buns up, the rescue lady that we got him from told us to constantly lift him and he will become 'like a teddy bear' .....well that didn't work!! I have found that when we go to the vets he is a little calmer as he is out of his own environment and is a little easier to handle...I do feel like a bad bunny owner though and I always make excuses and say he is a little temperamental! But the vets have been nice so far. And cos I know he is happier I don't care so much that they think I should lift him more.

When I need to check him over, I wrap him in a big towel (like a sausage) he is sooo much calmer and is easy to hold, I think he feels safer and I can manage him much easier. You will be able to trim his nails like this. Also when it's done he doesn't hide from me in the huff the way he used to when I tried to lift him :lol: and I always give him a treat after.

It sounds like he is a real little character! Maybe if you stop trying to lift him and sit on the floor, he will feel calmer round you and will want to be stroked more. My little monster still nips me randomly, and I sometimes don't know why he does it! But I love his little feisty character!

This has turned into an essay...sorry!!
 
well ive just spent an hour on the floor with them in thier cage... pearl spent the whole time hiding in the cat basket (i think she must sense the stress between me and alvin) he would take a treat and get as far away from me in the corner all hunched up and angry.. i moved and he jumped into the litter tray ready to attack... he then grunted and boxed pearl too cus i touched her.

as i opened the cage he wedged himself thro it beofre it was even opened properly just to get out and to the safety of the sofa *gutted*

i am heartbroke that i have to start from scratch with him again...i should never have got rabbits if i cant even bond with em :cry::cry::cry:
 
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