Rizzo desperately needs to be brushed. She is shedding like crazy and has tufts of fur sticking out all over. The only problem is she is very shy and unsocialized because of where she lived previously. I've been working with her and we are making some progress, but I don't want to ruin it by her associating me with anything negative. I have lots of experience grooming bunnies from my volunteer work, so I know how to be gentle but also quick to limit stress. I just don't want to end up back at square one where she is terrified to be touched.

We have quite a few local rabbit rescues. So I am wondering if it would be best to bring her to one of them to be groomed?

Or am I completely over-thinking this?  

Give her a treat after the grooming and she'll forget about the indignity of being groomed She'll be fine, really

I asked this question at my vet's and she said to start by just gently brushing the comb/brush over the rabbit while feeding her a treat to let her get used to the feel of the comb/brush. Once she gets used to having the comb on her you can start figuring out how hard you can push down on her, gradually working up to "full groom mode". Let us know how it goes!

I've learned that my buns gets over her grooming sessions (which she HATES) relatively quickly. I usually give her a treat and she will hop in her cage and give me the cold shoulder for a little while but then soon remembers who feeds her and gives her nose rubs. Sometimes I think the grooming makes your bond with them closer....

I'm with MB that you should just do it, get it over with, and she'll be fine.

Another option is to try it with a clicker. Mine hate to be brushed (though they're not shy and unsocialized like she is at this point). I'm able to brush them a bit by using a clicker and some treats. I start with having them touch the brush, click treat. Then I move on to touching them with the back of the brush, click treat. If you do a number of short sessions (let her run off if she wants, but see if she'll come back to you) you should be able to get some brushing done without her freaking out.