Emma & Geri Part 2.

Last week I told you about Emma & Geri, the spice bunnies. This week I’m going to share with you, part of our daily routine.

Every day after getting home from work I would check my rabbits before giving them free run of the garden. They each had their own towel to sit on during examination; one at a time I would place them on their towel on a table top. Top tip, place one hand gently over the back of their neck while you do checks with the other hand, this prevents them from jumping off the table and injuring themselves. You might want to get someone to help you until you are confident in handling them on your own. Their eyes should look bright and the nose is usually dry but on a hot day it can be wet, this helps to cool them down. There shouldn't be any discharge, this may be a sign of snuffles if their eyes are runny too and you should seek the advice of your vet if you are not sure. Look in their ears; they should be clean without discharge.

Lift the lips to check teeth, the top and bottom front teeth should be in line with each other. This is very important and should be checked before buying your rabbit. Rabbit’s teeth grow constantly, they need to eat 80- 85% diet of hay and grass, the chewing action grinds their teeth together and keeps them trim. The rest of their diet should be a few fresh leafy vegetables like broccoli and some good quality hard food. If your rabbit’s teeth don’t align and they continue to grow, you will have to take your rabbit to the vets approximately every 4 weeks to get them trimmed. The lines on their teeth should be vertical and the gums pink and healthy.

Next I would then check their nails; there is no excuse for long nails in rabbits, once you see a little bit of nail protruding past the fur at the end of the foot, gently clip back to the fur. If you do this regularly, the nails will always look fine and don’t get too thick to cut. Even in their later years, my rabbit’s nails were like fine needles. At this point I would give them a brush to remove any loose hair.

Lastly, pick your rabbit up and hold them against you so that you can look at their bottom. This should be clean, dry and free from any poo. If your rabbit has a dirty bottom you will need to clean it up right away. A dirty bottom attracts flies. The flies can lay their eggs on your rabbit and the resulting maggots can eat the flesh of your rabbit, this is flystrike. Flystrike can happen in a matter of hours and is very distressing for your rabbit.

Once I had completed all of these checks and was happy, then I would let them into the garden to have free run. They loved to run, hop and cartwheel in the air. It’s great for your bunny to eat the grass and they are very partial to dandelions, if Emma or Geri were feeling under the weather I would always go out and pick them some dandelions. Of course, we didn’t let them free run from day one, it took several months to have the confidence to let them out of the rabbit run and train them to go back into the house when I called. Rabbit’s love to run free as they would in the wild, rabbits that are kept in a hutch for too long can get sores on their feet; this is extremely painful for them and can be easily avoided. Once all the checks are done, have fun with your rabbit!

If you have rabbits that need looking after while you away, don't forget to give me a call. I can come to your house and tend to them so that you can have a restful holiday knowing they are in good hands.

I have enjoyed reminiscing about the Spice Bunnies and hope that you have been able to take some useful information from it. However back to the present time, it has been another busy week at K9 Walkies where I welcomed Luis, an 8 year old Chocolate Labrador into the pack. I took him for his first walk around Craigburn estate; he walked really well for me and I look forward to walking him on a regular basis. Luis has already booked his first boarding holiday too!

A little bit about Labradors; they are good tempered, very agile (which precludes excessive body weight or excessive substance). They have an excellent nose, soft mouth and have a keen love of water. They are an adaptable and devoted companion, very intelligent, keen and biddable, with a strong will to please; and they have a kindly nature, with no trace of aggression or undue shyness. On first impressions, this all seems to describe Luis perfectly.

Just to finish, for those of you that have found yourselves having to self-isolate when returning from interstate. Please, please check the SA Health website to find out the latest advice. Last week, I had an enquiry regarding this and after checking the health advice I discovered that the latest recommendation is that your dog should isolate with you. They can either be exercised in the garden or you can search the internet for fun brain training games to keep your dog's brain exercised. This is great for tiring them out and it is a great way to continue to have a strong bond with your dog!

I hope you have a great week.

Thanks for reading.

Regards, Kath