Carrot Tops Rabbit Rescue

Tellington Touch - The Touch That Teaches

A Gentle Way to Better Behaviour and Health for Your Rabbit or Guinea-pig Based on Cooperation and Respect

Tellington Touch or "TTouch" as it is also known, is a specialized approach to care and training based on cooperation and respect. It can help establish a deeper rapport between humans and animals through increased understanding and more effective communication. It can also provide solutions to common behavioural and physical problems and can improve health and daily life.

Incorporating some TTouch into the everyday handling of your rabbit or guinea-pig will help establish trust, alter their expectations of what hand contact might mean, release tension, and influence physical and mental balance which in turn can have a positive affect on behaviour.

Carrot Tops has its own TTouch Practitioner working with them on a regular basis, helping to improve the quality of life for some of the more traumatised and anxious rabbits and guinea-pigs that end up with us through no fault of there own.

Denise our TTouch Practitioner would be happy to work with rabbits re-homed from Carrot Tops on a one to one basis. For more details contact Carrot Tops or contact Denise directly by email: denise.forrester@btopenworld.com and mention Carrot Tops in the title.

Tellington Touch also known as TTouch was developed by animal expert Linda Tellington-Jones. it is being used in many countries across the world by rescue centre’s, vets, animal trainers, therapists and pet owners alike.

TTouch has been used effectively with anxious, frightened and aggressive rabbits and guinea-pigs and can also help with bonding, reducing symptoms of ageing, and speeding up recovery from illness, injury or surgery. TTouch helps increase levels of self-confidence, self-awareness and self-control, it can teach a rabbit or guinea-pig to accept and enjoy contact and can help to alter their expectations of what hand contact might mean.

TTouch is a form of bodywork that uses gentle hand and finger movements to push the animal's skin in a circle. These movements may look deceptively like massage, but they're aim is to influence the nervous system, relieving fear and tension in the body. Using this technique can help the rabbit or guinea-pig to be in better mental, emotional and physical balance and to behave in new ways. It also provides an opportunity to deepen your relationship with your rabbit or guinea-pig through a form of non-verbal communication.

Learning just a few of the simple TTouches could help make a difference to your rabbit’s life and establish a deeper rapport between you.

This simple technique, with a short learning curve, can help with many health and behavioral issues, but is never a substitute for veterinary care. If you suspect your rabbit or guinea-pig has a physical problem please consult your vet.

One example of a successful outcome is Trixie-belle: When Trixie-belle arrived at Carrot Tops she was with a much larger male rabbit that seemed to bully her and within hours of arriving she produced two babies. Trixie belle was quite healthy but disliked being taken out of the hutch and would bite anyone that attempted to take her out. Everyone at the centre worked tirelessly to gain her trust and help her to feel safer and happier about being handled and taken out of the hutch. Trixie-belle improved a lot but still wanted to bite anyone taking her out of the hutch.

Denise our TTouch Practitioner worked with Trixie-belle for four sessions, all fairly short sessions of between ten and twenty minutes, working first with her in her hutch using tools like soft paint brushes and then moving her to a carrying cage where she felt secure but was slightly more contained and at the end of fourth session Trixie-belle was happy to sit in Denise’s arms for more than ten minutes without biting.

Trixie-belle continued to be happier about being handled and being lifted out of her hutch and went on to find a home very soon after this.

Another example of a successful outcome was Blackberry. She came to Carrot Tops from a meat factory along with a number of other rabbits and had probably rarely been handled.

We noticed that when she was being moved from one hutch to another for cleaning purposes, she looked petrified. After 1 session with Denise of about 15 minutes doing different touches to her ears and body incorporating some gentle comforting words and calm breathing Blackerry become considerably calmer. At the end of the second session, her whole demeanour had changed, she looked much less afraid and had actually started to enjoy having contact with us. Blackberry has a wonderful disposition and went on to be re-homed successfully.

To find out more about TTouch go to www.tilleyfarm.co.uk