NEW PARENT PLEASE HELP

[JackandDaniel]

New Parent here! like all new parents i need a little help! iv read just about the entire internet in preparation for my bunny. but it never seems to be enough. 

I met Jack while picking up hamster food for his brother Daniel. i was told that jack was originally ordered to be a mini lop- he is def not. therefore the cage they were keeping him in was WAY TOO SMALL- after a while of seeing him on the regular and seeing him not be able to hop in that small cage- not be able to stand up- not getting adopted- prices kept falling on him. it broke my heart.  

I made the decision to adopt Jack. I spent the next two weeks preparing my apartment- converting a dresser into a nice big cage. The day finally came to bring Jack home. I walked into the store ready to take my lil man home. the owner told me jack HAD been previously adopted and returned several days later for being aggressive. (they had a small child he had bit- i honestly wasnt concerned with his as kids and rabbits arnt the best mix and im sure after literally one day with them he wasnt ready to have a kid in his face- i dont blame him for that really) they also told me that since they are ‘very busy’ they haven’t had time to work with him on being handled- a problem i witnessed firsthand when they were trying to lift him from the cage to the carrier- HE WAS NOT HAVING IT and i almost yelled at them to stop because he was so stressed out.

Fast forward- i bring him home, let him chill- left him alone to check out the cage. wouldn’t let me near him (didn’t really try that night honestly- read its not good to the first night)  Next day he warmed up- let me pet him and what not- let him outta the cage in a smaller pinned in area- sat on the floor for a while we made friends. 

Fast forward again- its been 3-4 weeks now and HES EVERYTHING I HOPED HE WOULD BE- EXCEPT FOR ONE THING: he wont let me handle him.

we are great friends now, he will hop up to me, lay down to be petted, stretch out by my feet, run figure 8’s between my legs he lets me touch his paws (i should say tolerates it) scratch his fluffy butt- and will stand against the couch for head rubs (so i know he wants to be up there with me getting pets) i can pivot him on the floor (keeping chest still- turning bunny 45 degrees across floor)  i can lift either the back or front half off the ground but still no whole bunny. 

hes almost a year old (i am told) and to be quite honest i cant even lift him enough to see if Jack may be Jacqueline. he needs his nails cut and while i can get him in a carrier to take him to the vet i am afraid without them being able to handle him they will just turn him away. 

WHAT I REALLY NEED IS: 

is he already too old to be retrained? 

does anyone make it work never being able to lift your rabbit?

will they kick me outta the vet?

tips for training them to be handled- were basically working with apple slices (super small pieces maybe 1/8 of a baby apple total) should i be click training instead? 

any methods that have high success rate?

any training treat recommendations?

i just need some pointers/advice/comments/questions-really anything

[Mikey]

Likely the family who adopted him before handled him wrong causing him to act out, or as they saw it “aggressive”. Many rabbits absolutely hate being handled. They are not cuddle monsters like media portrays them to be, most of the time. Most buns are ok with pets at any time, but will only allow snuggles, cuddles, and carrying on their terms. And being that his last home may have handled him wrong, then was never handled properly afterwards, it is very possible he will only learn to tolerate it if need be (to vets, and such)

To get him into the carrier, you can bribe him into it. I have to do this with one of my buns. Just a bit of greens, pellets, or a treat set all the way to the back and that usually does the trick For nail clippings, it might be best to have the vet do it if you are nervous. If you feel you can do it yourself, i see the Bunny Burrito recommended a lot

1. He may not be too old to be retrained, but it will definitely take some love and patience. You will only be able to move at his speed or you have a high risk of him hating it again

2. I do with my Bombur. Well, i lift him when i have to, and he is ok being held on very rare occasions. But on a weekly basis, he is not handled at all unlessyou count pets. We bribe him around with treats

3. Only if the vet is unprofessional. My Bombur has cut up our vets hand before and she didnt complain She would work with him sitting on his mat on the table and only lifted him when she needed to

4. Every rabbit learns differently. However, i dont see how clicker training would work with being held…

5. As every rabbit is different, for me specifically, theres nothing thats trained my Bombur to “like” being held. With treats he is ok with it and wont fight for a few minutes, but when he gets mad enough he will start trying to box again

6. We use greens and pellets as our go to “treats”

7. Move at his speed but realize that he may be a bun that will always refuse to be handled

[Bam]

Thank you for adopting him. He needs you. The progress you’ve made in 3-4 weeks is amazing imo.

Patience is key with rabbits, they do learn, but they can be slow about it, esp when it comes to trusting humans. My Bam didn’t want to be touched for a whole year when I first got him. Now he can fall asleep in my lap. He was a full-grown adult when I found him. To see him develop was and still is, 5 years later, a joy.

I think there are good chances he’ll let you handle him if you go on like this and build trust between him and you. It sounds like you are doing great.

[JackandDaniel]

Thank you for your help! im kinda on the same page i think it will just take time. but on a little bit of good news we made a break through last night!

i was a bit determined yesterday- went got some raisins and walnuts after work and was like ‘OK WERE MAKING PROGRESS TODAY!!’ well of course turns out he has literally ZERO interest in raisins or walnuts lol. but he did want some pets- so i used that as kinda a treat for him- reward i guess- anyways i was able to lift a whole bunny off the ground (straight up and then back down) twice and move him slightly over before setting him down once! all in a row- im very proud of him!

we are just gunna keep at it and hopefully i can post a pic of my jack sitting on the couch or even (dream big) being held! lol!

appreciate the responses!

[Author]

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