Clementine and lunging at the vets

Graciee · May 31, 2019

So Clementine is obviously still going through it all a bit, that's a whole other story... But I'm a bit concerned about her behaviour at the vets..

So when she was in for her urine sample (they tried to get one, ended up not doing the ultrasound as she peed in a litter tray which was good) but she's extremely aggressive towards everyone there.. They said she was lunging at them when they came close to the kennel.. She has bitten them.. She is her sassy self fine... But the lunging at people coming to the kennel is worrying

her and Atticus had their combined vac the other day and that includes a health check, when It came to teeth she reacted so so badly in the end I had to hold her and the vet checked them over my shoulder, it was the only way to keep her calm...

Is there anything I can do? She's such a sweetie at home, she can be sassy and hates being handled but she tolerates it and is fine with me picking her up and giving medication... Like she's not happy but she's not dangerous or stressed.. She waits for her treat after meds before hopping off [emoji38] so it can't be that bad... I'm just very worried that she associates that place with terrible things now.. The fact that she lunges when they open the kennel door seems really quite bad to me

Anyone got any tips? My vet said she was a lot calmer when I was there, but I can't always be there. Especially if she needs ops or whatever.

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Cuthbert&Dillon · May 31, 2019

What a worry, I hope someone can give you some advice soon. x

Graciee · May 31, 2019

Cuthbert&Dillon said:
What a worry, I hope someone can give you some advice soon. x

Yea I'm almost wondering if it's too stressful for her to be at the vets.. I've never seen her charge and lunge before, actually I have once it was at a cat [emoji38] thank you x

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Omi · May 31, 2019

Poor Clementine

To me it sounds as though she is in fact associating the vets with somewhere where unpleasant things happen and the behaviour is caused because she is scared. Tbh I don't think there is a lot you can do. If you have to leave her there without you, I would leave an item of your clothing with her in the cage, which might help calm her a little. She doesn't like the handling at home, but she tolerates it because she trusts you.

Hopefully, the very frequent vet visits will soon stop and she can relax a bit more. I think there's also a good chance that after a while without any vet treatment, the memory will fade and she will be calmer if she does have to see the vet again.

I wouldn't worry about the behaviour per se, although the fact that she is obviously very scared is upsetting.

jewaller · May 31, 2019

Graciee said:
So Clementine is obviously still going through it all a bit, that's a whole other story... But I'm a bit concerned about her behaviour at the vets..

So when she was in for her urine sample (they tried to get one, ended up not doing the ultrasound as she peed in a litter tray which was good) but she's extremely aggressive towards everyone there.. They said she was lunging at them when they came close to the kennel.. She has bitten them.. She is her sassy self fine... But the lunging at people coming to the kennel is worrying her and Atticus had their combined vac the other day and that includes a health check, when It came to teeth she reacted so so badly in the end I had to hold her and the vet checked them over my shoulder, it was the only way to keep her calm...

Is there anything I can do? She's such a sweetie at home, she can be sassy and hates being handled but she tolerates it and is fine with me picking her up and giving medication... Like she's not happy but she's not dangerous or stressed.. She waits for her treat after meds before hopping off [emoji38] so it can't be that bad... I'm just very worried that she associates that place with terrible things now.. The fact that she lunges when they open the kennel door seems really quite bad to me

Anyone got any tips? My vet said she was a lot calmer when I was there, but I can't always be there. Especially if she needs ops or whatever.

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

dear graciee,--rabbits vision[with concentric eyes]-is 360degrees,-however they have one blind spot-above their nose,--may try approaching from the side,it would be less of a surprise..the biting means-" leave me be"-,please visit the website for rabbit body language,sincerely james waller from across the great pond-usa

joey&boo · May 31, 2019

Omi said:
Poor Clementine To me it sounds as though she is in fact associating the vets with somewhere where unpleasant things happen and the behaviour is caused because she is scared. Tbh I don't think there is a lot you can do. If you have to leave her there without you, I would leave an item of your clothing with her in the cage, which might help calm her a little. She doesn't like the handling at home, but she tolerates it because she trusts you.

Hopefully, the very frequent vet visits will soon stop and she can relax a bit more. I think there's also a good chance that after a while without any vet treatment, the memory will fade and she will be calmer if she does have to see the vet again.

I wouldn't worry about the behaviour per se, although the fact that she is obviously very scared is upsetting.

I'd say this was a fair analysis sadly. Poor girlie. I hope things improve

Graciee · Jun 1, 2019

Omi said:
Poor Clementine To me it sounds as though she is in fact associating the vets with somewhere where unpleasant things happen and the behaviour is caused because she is scared. Tbh I don't think there is a lot you can do. If you have to leave her there without you, I would leave an item of your clothing with her in the cage, which might help calm her a little. She doesn't like the handling at home, but she tolerates it because she trusts you.

Hopefully, the very frequent vet visits will soon stop and she can relax a bit more. I think there's also a good chance that after a while without any vet treatment, the memory will fade and she will be calmer if she does have to see the vet again.

I wouldn't worry about the behaviour per se, although the fact that she is obviously very scared is upsetting.

Yea I think you're right, just the thought of her being that stressed really upsets me. Like that must be on a whole other level to have her behave like that.

Also Idk something one of the vet nurses said kinda annoyed me, they said "I think this is the rabbit who had the knee surgery, maybe we can feel her scars on her knees" then decided to see if they could (I obviously wasn't there) I know it's fine and they know what they're doing, but Idk she hates all that stuff and we are still trying to figure out if her knees cause her pain.. I wasn't very impressed tbh. As soon as they said it I thought oh no she won't have liked that.. She bit one of the nurses later who did it too :/ I'm probably overreacting and I haven't said anything, the nurses there are nice. Idk just with her the less you do to mess with her the better if she doesn't trust you.

Thanks for what you wrote, I hope the vet appointments stop soon for her sake.

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Omi · Jun 1, 2019

I think it might be worth having a word with your vet explaining how upset you are that Clementine is behaving like this and politely requesting that the VNs are asked to keep all handling to a minimum, especially if she is likely to have more visits.

Graciee · Jun 1, 2019

Omi said:
I think it might be worth having a word with your vet explaining how upset you are that Clementine is behaving like this and politely requesting that the VNs are asked to keep all handling to a minimum, especially if she is likely to have more visits.

Yea maybe, wouldn't be a bad idea

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Clementine and lunging at the vets

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