Beautiful, brave Weber the Wonder Bunny!
It is my great honor to be the first to congratulate you on your extra special Sunday Pet of the Day honors, precious Weber! What a beautiful, brave, bunny boy you are, and so, so deserving of the title Pet of the Day!:love: I have tears in my eyes, reading how mightily you have faced and fought your very serious health challenges sweetheart, and of your very special human who clearly would do, is doing, all in her power to heal you and keep you with her for many years to come! You truly are a miracle bunny Weber, and your courage and will to live, you indomitable spirit, an inspiration to us all!:love: What a blessing that a bunny so in need of that extra helping of unconditional love and devotion, found his way to the bestest forever family on earth!:) I'll be keeping you in and your Mommy in my prayers sweetheart, that your surgery is total success!
Congratulations and much love and lots of cuddles and little kisses to you, and Dottie and Digit as well, precious Weber! I wish for you and your WONDERFUL family; your parents, and best pup pal Dottie, and darling Digit, a very happy and love filled day of celebration, and many more happy and healthy years together!:love::love::love:
P.S...Your photos are heart melting beyond words, sweetheart! How lucky you are to have Dottie as your canine best buddy and guardian fur angel!:love:
Webber the Wonder Rabbit & Dental Issues
Yes Webber is an amazing bunny! I wish you and your owner all the best of luck.:love:
Just a note: only because I have been down the same path as you are with a Dutch bunny of mine who used to be my Therapy Pet. There is not enough emphasis in warning bunny owners of the dental problems and many breeds that can be prone to dental issues. Most dental problems occur in the rear of the mouth in the molars--if there are problems in the front they will transcend to the rear molars. I am fortunate that I have one of the top bunny vets on the west coast that have had additional training in dental problems that rabbits suffer. The biggest problems is in bunnies that have any type dwarf bunny genes that have been introduced into the breed. The dwarfy head is not conducive to allowing enough room for teeth to grow or many times the teeth wear unevenly and create points within the mouth. Consequently, these points cause pain to the rabbit who then adjusts their chewing which inturn exacerbates the problems and can cause abscesses if this condition is not discovered and tooth trimming is not performed. Another issue is the hay that ALL bunnies must eat and chewed to be used to successfully grind down the teeth to not cause the uneven wear of the teeth--1st cutting stemmy Timothy Hay ONLY! Rabbits can live exclusively on JUST Timothy hay for their diet--it needs to be fibrous enough to wear down the teeth, and is excellent for the gut.
After going through the 6 week teeth filings for 5 years with my little Dutch Bunny, he no longer could be kept comfortable with his dental problems and went over the RB at age 12 in August 2009. I then went on an endeavor to find a healthy bunny mouth for my next therapy bunny. There are alot of bunnies with bad teeth that breeders and Rescues are unaware that they are passing on to the public. I actually purchased a bunny from a breeder with the perfect temperament and good teeth at 5 weeks, only to have them trimmed at 7months of age (if caught at an early enough stage and the teeth are straight they can be "fixed")--we have several more evaluations to go through. I had my vet evaluate 19 bunnies to find one that did not already have dental problems at 6 weeks of age--yes it is that prevalent! The biggest thing any bunny owner can do is find a bunny savy vet who has dental experience and take the time to have them checked every 6 months for any irregular points, and have them trimmed. It will save you the expense and pets pain later. A simple dental trimming for a bunny is $350-400 per session and can be required anywhere from 2x per year to every 6 weeks.
Final note, bunnies with dwarf genes (YES--Especially Netherland Dwarfs) do include Mini-Rex, Dutch, Mini-Satins. Look for snipey or pointy faced bunnies--they will have a greater amount of space for teeth to fit--the more bulbous face less space. The smaller sized rabbits tend to have more dental problems then the larger sized, i.e. Full-Sized Rex, Flemish Giant, Angora, Californian. But regardless of breed and size, you must be aware of this issue that most people do not think about -- "Out of Sight, Out of Mind". Check the teeth!
Thanks,
Teresa
