Recently the bunny has had two horrific hairballs stuck in her belly, which necessitated that
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transversely and I pin her down and squirt tuna-flavored laxative into her mouth for five days each time. Since this was Unpleasant for All Involved, I decided I would start brushing her semi-regularly. Step 1: Pin tiny bunny to floor, being careful to avoid sharp teeth and strong back legs.
Step 2: Brush vigorously.
Note: The bunny is the one being held firmly by the scruff.
Step 3: Toss dried papaya, let go, and run like hell.
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- rumorofrain
- seymour pigeons
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(Also hi. :) Friended you back. Want to come brush Reggie? :))
On the other hand, instant Halloween decoration!
Austen is also insanely hard to brush, since her skins appear to be twice as large as her actual bodies. I usually end up just plucking out the tufts of the old coat with my fingers.
Good luck with Reggie, though. ;)
You should start spinning the fur, or selling it to someone who would. :)
We do positive reinforcement with the bunny, but not with a clicker. She's pretty food-aggressive, so it's been hard to get her to associate the click with the treat. Instead, we just toss small pieces of dried papaya and banana as treats, and that's helped immensely. She now tolerates being brushed, being medicated with a syringe, and being picked up reasonably well. She doesn't do them willingly, but she doesn't freak out anymore, which is a HUGE step. (Also, it's really cute when she runs over to her treat dish and begs afterwards.)
Naturally, I suggested that she make bunny slippers made from genuine bunny.
I've actually got a couple of drop spindles, but haven't tried my hand at spinning yet. If I like it, I am going to start collecting Austen's fur. It is amazingly soft!
We tried giving her chunks of fresh pineapple, but she wouldn't touch them.
Papaya is also supposed to have enzymes that help break down and prevent hairballs, which is why we give her dried papaya as treats.
does your bun accept fresh papaya?
I've given her regular dried papaya, too, which she'll eat but isn't as over the moon about as the Sweet Meadow stuff. Its only ingredient is dried papaya, so I don't know what they do to get its texture to be the way it is.