How to hold a dwarf rabbit
The first fundamental rule for learning how to pick up your dwarf rabbit is: never pick it up by the ears! Besides being very painful, it is also particularly risky for your friend.
Would you like to be pulled by your ears?!? Let’s remember never to do anything to our rabbit that we wouldn’t want to experience ourselves.
But don’t worry: let’s discover together the rules for picking it up properly.
3 basic rules
Never lift your dwarf rabbit by the ears. Always keep in mind that the ears are a very sensitive spot for rabbits and should be touched with great caution.
Always lift them gently. Dwarf rabbits are very fast, but unfortunately they have an extremely fragile skeletal system.
Respect the will of your four-legged friend. Not all rabbits like to be lifted, so if you want to approach them, it’s better to lower yourself to their height.
This rebellion against being lifted is easily attributable to the fact that rabbits are prey in nature, and among their various hunters are also birds. So don’t be surprised if your rabbit feels attacked by you due to this primal instinct.
Some rabbits actually don’t suffer excessively if held properly and love to be cuddled in your arms. But since this is not always the case, I recommend trying to understand what your rabbit prefers and respecting it. They will become more attached to you and live a happy life.
How to
Sometimes, however, regardless of the nature of your rabbit, you will need to pick it up for a veterinary check-up or to cut its nails. In these cases, it is important to know what to do.
Here are all the steps to pick up your rabbit without any problems:
- Approach your rabbit slowly and lower yourself to its level (lie down on the floor). It will help to make it comfortable. Gently stroke and cuddle it to calm it down.
- When you feel confident that your bunny is ready to be picked up (i.e., when it trusts you and is calm), position your hand under its torso and bring it close to your body.
- Support its hind legs. The rabbit needs to feel secure in your arms.
- If the rabbit struggles to jump down when you lift it, hold it firmly and be prepared to lower yourself to the ground to put it back down. It may think it is better to jump out of your arms than stay up there, but this should not happen. Rabbits have a very fragile skeletal system.
- At this point, if it is calm, you can hold it in your arms and stroke it or take it to the doctor. Always remember to support it with an open hand under its backside.
- When you put it back down on the ground, remember to lower yourself slowly, hold it firmly, and let it go only when you are at ground level. This will avoid any damage to its spine.
Your dwarf rabbit may react after being put back on the ground with a little thump or an angry face. It’s nothing personal, they just don’t like heights.