A little help needed. Rabbit washing.

Now, I would never dream of showering any of my other babies but after Leo's little incident and the fact that he still has a buster collar on I think it's my only option.

I'm trying my hardest to keep him clean (washing his wound four times a day still etc) but his front paws in particular are terrible. It looks like he's being neglected

By the time I've cleaned his collar, literally had someone pinned him down whilst I clean, dry and apply manuka honey to his wound I feel like I've stressed him out enough without attacking his paws and his fur.

After speaking to the vets they agreed we should attempt showering him but it was the worst experience ever. I was crying my eyes out because the poor little guy was trying to jump out and scramble up my arms. My dad has the very cruel to be kind method whereas I'm a big softie so there was a personality clash and quite a large argument afterwards :roll:

Has anyone got any techniques that they use? The only other thing I thought of possibly doing is putting a small covering of water on an inside cage and placing him in it. Possibly with the cage cover on so he can't get out. Letting him splash around in the hope it gets some of the muck off him.

It all sounds so cruel but I can't leave him to just get worse and worse

get someone to hold him down by the shoulders so he can't jump around, set the shower on the lowest setting, make sure its not too hot (if its hot to you it'll feel even hotter to him), take the shower off its stand if you can and hold it close to him. Think some people find it easier to put buns in the sink rather than the bath as well.

It is awful I really sympathise with you I had to do the same when my bun had a cone on and they hate it.

It might be easier to wet your hands and rub them over him, shampoo him, then wet your hands again and rub them back over, or to just use the shower to rinse away the shampoo not use the shower to wet him for shampooing if that makes sense.

I find using the kitchen sink works best if I have to do it. My other half holds bunny and I do the washing bit. If any shampoo or detergent is needed, then I get bunny lifted onto the draining board out of the water which is literally just bum deep. Personally, I wouldn't let Leo bounce around in water, just because I'd be so incredibly frightened of him slipping and hurting his back. I had a paralysed bunny once (took him to the vets for a post dental check up, all fine, went to let him out of the pet carrier at home and he couldn't move his back legs - took him straight back and the vet could only guess he'd knocked his spine in the carrier somehow, he went into it fine, but came out like this). So I'm extremely paranoid about anything that could hurt their backs in anyway!

Gertie said:

I find using the kitchen sink works best if I have to do it. My other half holds bunny and I do the washing bit. If any shampoo or detergent is needed, then I get bunny lifted onto the draining board out of the water which is literally just bum deep. Personally, I wouldn't let Leo bounce around in water, just because I'd be so incredibly frightened of him slipping and hurting his back. I had a paralysed bunny once (took him to the vets for a post dental check up, all fine, went to let him out of the pet carrier at home and he couldn't move his back legs - took him straight back and the vet could only guess he'd knocked his spine in the carrier somehow, he went into it fine, but came out like this). So I'm extremely paranoid about anything that could hurt their backs in anyway!

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Oh I didn't even think about him possibly hurting himself if I left him to his own devices! That's what terrified me the most when we used the bath because he kept kicking out. It was horrible. I think I'll try and tackle the kitchen sink this time round.

I'm sorry about your bunny though.