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Grooming long furred, wriggly rabbits

Sky-O

Wise Old Thumper
I've spent a good long time today grooming a very long furred, fluffy bunny. We did as much as she could take and then had to stop, but she still had some areas that needed work on where her 'dewlap' should be and also between her front legs.

How is it best to get to these areas?

What methods do you find works for you?
 
If she's very matted it might be better to get her clipped under sedation at the vets.

The only matted long haired rabbit I've groomed was one who was given up by his owner due to a over-grooming obsession he had. I found it easiest to just cut all his knotted/excess fur off with nail scissors and then brush him out with a fine tooth comb.
 
She's not really matted, but she is more matted than one would hope. Like, right now, lots of little matts, normally around like a piece of hay, or a grass seed. I have no idea how to groom a bunny in this place. No idea at all.

Would standing her on something and someone holding her chin/head up and someone else grooming be a possibility? How do you keep a wriggly bunny still if you're doing it that way?
 
If wispa is pertically matted in that area, which isn't often. I hold him standing up against my body, and brush him as best I can. I think the best is to try different positions, and see what is best for your girl.
 
I usually have to do everything single-handed, so I'd probably sit on the floor and get her on her back between my legs, and chop the fur off with scissors.

If you have an extra pair of hands to help out, it might be possible with her upright as long as you don't need to get to her belly or between her legs
 
Thanks. I'm the extra pair of hands. This is a bunny we adopted out and her adopter is struggling to groom her by herself because she is so wriggly. We did a great job today and it's just this area left to tackle. Hopefully we can keep on top of it from then on.
 
Fiddlesticks is mega wriggly and we need to groom her a lot! She gets a lot of matts (especially under her bum) which need clipped a lot.

Usually, the way we do it, is OH picks her up, holds her by her bum and under her front paws with her back to his tummy. Then, I can quickly get in whilst he holds her quite snuggly and get going! Usually works.

:D
 
I struggle with grooming wispa's bum, as he holds it to the ground tight. If I use my other hand to hold his bum up and the other to brush, he manages to run off.
 
I've spent a good long time today grooming a very long furred, fluffy bunny. We did as much as she could take and then had to stop, but she still had some areas that needed work on where her 'dewlap' should be and also between her front legs.

How is it best to get to these areas?

What methods do you find works for you?

Fingers definitely. Mr PL grooms Poppy who is medium-long haired mostly using just his fingers and teases out the loose fur that way - it's much easier to get around the dewlap and other hard to reach places with your hands. :):wave:
 
I normally have them sideways on my knee, gently hold them round their face with my thumb and index finger and lift it up. I can then quickly work on that bit. They may need burrito'd first because they try to back away but eventually they get used to it.
 
i keep zuma and jay trimmed in the bum and neck area but im lucky they just flop while i do it, so guess im o help, :)
although if their are other ways without me having to trim them once a month let me know, i forget what they look like with manes:lol:
 
As much as I hate it I have to trance Smudge to brush the fur under his chin. I can't do it with just fingers because it needs a brush to get the excess fur out, the fur kinda moults and then gets stuck with the fur that isn't moulting if that makes sense. I do it as quick as I can and never for longer than a minute or two. I also only do it a small handful of times a year.

I'm starting to have similar issues with Mischa as he has a flap of skin from his head tilt days. I'm not brushing that though, i think I would hurt him. I'm going to have a chat with Mark about it next time he has his vaccs as I'm a bit concerned it's getting sore under there. He gets it so wet when he drinks.
 
Fingers definitely. Mr PL grooms Poppy who is medium-long haired mostly using just his fingers and teases out the loose fur that way - it's much easier to get around the dewlap and other hard to reach places with your hands. :):wave:

How do you groom a long haired rabbit with your fingers?
 
Sit in a chair with solid arms (like an arm chair :lol:). Put the bunny between you and the arm of the chair with buns bum facing into the back of the chair - this is so that he/she can't back away. You have him surrounded on three sides. Your arm will be over his head so no escape that way! Use a finger of one hand and gently lift the buns chin from thier jaw line and groom the dewlap (I keep dewlaps of my long haired buns trimmed but you need to be very confident you can keep him still if you are using a pair of scissors in this area).
Between the front legs: This is easy to do but hard to explain! You just lift each leg and groom under it. The tricky bit is stopping the bunny from legging it! The bunny should be on your knee in the crook of the arm you use to pick up his leg leaving the other arm free to do the combing.
Hope this helps.
 
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