Bunny to the park?

[laylalover]

Hi everyone, it’s me and layla again. So, we live in a small apartment with no balcony and no outside. Layla runs around the house during the day, and at night when we go to sleep, she gets closed into her cage. so she does ave space to jump around…but am I being cruel by never takin her out? my only option is that we have a small pak around the corner that no-one really goes to – so i thought that i could get a body leash like you have for a small dog, and take her to the park, and let her hop and sniff around, the length of the leash…what do you think? im nervous…and how do i get her to the park? carry her? walk her? the way there is thru quiet back streets…or put her in a carry bag? (which i dont have…) doesnt she need to hop around and smell the grass etc? i feel really bad….

[Beka27]

i don’t think she needs to be outside at all. fleas, ticks, mites, etc. can get into her fur and you can bring them back to your house. she can hurt herself on the leash. Kimberley&Darren just had a scare with a leash a couple weeks ago. her rabbit got tangled in it and let out an awful scream. thank goodness he was okay. not to mention if she did get loose. have you ever tried to catch a loose bunny? it’s not easy. if a dog was walking in the park, i don’t think there is a thing you’d be able to do to keep him away. even in your arms, your bunny would be an easy target. did she come from a petstore? if so, she’s never seen grass once in her life. i don’t think it’s necessary to start now.

[rabbitsmba]

We used to live in a condo and I would take our bunnies out to the courtyard and set up an xpen for them. They loved it! Just make sure you are there to supervise at all times, that they have shade and that the grass hasn’t been treated with pesticides and they should be fine.

[RabbitPam]

I weigh in with Beka on this one. I had Spockie for 8 years in exactly the same arrangement as you’ve described. Total house bunny, never tasted grass (which is likely to have pesticides on it in a public park, by the way), slept in his house at night. He was a very happy bunny. I tried to put a harness on him once when he was about 3 years old and it was the only time I’ve ever seen him completely panic. I never did get it on him. For fresh air an open window was fine, and actually I noticed he would get more nervous because he’d hear many strange noises coming from outside and be alarmed.

I decided that an animal won’t miss what it never knows. If you still want to, take your bun to a secure place such as your parent’s or a friend’s yard. Be sure their grass doesn’t contain chemicals, bring her in a carrier and bring an x-pen. (Both are good to own by the way.) But I wouldn’t worry about not doing it.

[ScooterandAnnette]

We’ve been taking our bunnies to the park for the occaional run in the park (on leashes) for years and they’ve all enjoyed it and none have ever had any problems. I think a lot depends on your location and using common sense. When I was a kid we lived in a very quiet neighbourhood and it was the norm to let cats run loose (I’d never do it now!) but none of them ever came home with fleas or mites. Every household in my family has dogs that go outside for walks or just in the back yard, 2 have cats that are allowed outside, and none of them have ever come home with fleas or mites. In fact the only cat I’ve ever had that got mites was a strictly indoors cat so I’m not sure how she got them. Tick season here is relatively short and we don’t take any of the bunnies outside then.

I don’t know where you are so I don’t know what your climate is like – if you’re in a more southern area then you’re more likely to run into problems with things like fleas and mites than if you’re in a northern area.   Also be prepared to run, and be very cautious!  They like to make mad sprints for 50 or so feet, then just stop.  So you’ll be running to keep up with them and need to be prepared for them stopping without warning.  But they really seem to like the opportunity to get in some good distance running.
– Annette

[Nicci607]

I also weigh in on this with Beka, and Rabbitpam!!

Those are some of the reasons I don’t take my little bunny outside:

TICKS!!!, Fleas, spiders, snakes, chemicals and pesticides on the grass, dogs…etc…etc…Actually, dogs can come out of NOWHERE, trying to chase down your bunny, and can give your bunny a heart attack [which can happen rather quick].

Putting a harness on a bunny itself, can be scary, tricky and challenging. most bunnies WILL panic. I have just heard too many tragic things happen to bunnies, who where on harnesses, leashes outside. I wouldn’t do it. Too many things can happen, and believe me, then you would deeply regret, ever have taken your bunny outside.

I really don’t think, they miss it. since our bunnies are not wild bunnies, they are…House Bunnies!! So, please don’t feel bad about not taking your bunny outside. He has it a lot safer indoors with no predators, or who knows, what else. cuz I have a friend, and she lost her beloved bunny because of this, taking her out on a harness. her bunny got loose, run away, across the street, and got hit by a car!! she feels terrible about what happened, and now she wishes, she never took her bunny outside!! Bunnies are prey animals. they can easily get scared, you just never know.

 

 

[Beka27]

S&A makes a good point about fleas… it also depends where you live. i pet-sat my parents dogs for two weeks, before we had Meadow and both of them were infested with fleas, after just TWO WEEKS. my parent’s live 5 minutes away from us, and before that, they never had fleas. we live in a wooded area and my grandparent’s (who live next to us) always have problems with fleas. they used to have outdoor cats, but they don’t do it anymore b/c they would get so bad.

[bunnytowne]

I teach buns early about the harness leash or which ever is used according to preference. only once had a problem with cotton when he panicked I dont’ know why he panicked. scared me. he took off running fast as he could in the circle around me as I tried to get closer to him to catch him and calm him.  now when I take him somewhere I carry him and hold him. I put him on my porch to groom him or carry him to the river to brush him on the table out there which is too hot to take him out for long like that now. I just groom him on the porch when the sun is setting. and he is always on his leash jsut in case. that is the only time I ever had a problem with him tho that once when he panicked. I dont’ know if was cuz he smelled the neighbors dog who was on a leash or an ant bite. I never did find a bump like from an ant bite tho.  he likes to dig too in the dirt. people here have little dogs they keep on a leash  except for one who is so submissive she sees a stranger she runs over turns on her back to be petted. now the other lady her dog would get cotton if he could  so I dont’ let him down unless it is on my upstairs porch and no one in my bldg has a dog  or on the dock.  when he is on the dock he comes to sit in my lap. there is a park here with wild bunnies  but people bring their dogs and are squirrels and coons etc. there. the squirrels here this year have squirrel pox tho supposedly not contagious  to rabbits and is carried by mosquitos  all but that 1 experience was a positive for cotton. and I would take all my buns out as well. one of my fosters I would take her outside and she would find her way back  home no kidding.I guess she tracked the scent we made when we left the apt. ahaa. she was one smart bun I tell you. now Laith he didn’t care for outside he would see a car drive by and flatten himself so I quit taking him out except to carry to visit a friend who lived there. he was a bit of a scaredy bun.  so dangers are dogs and coons and birds of prey mites fleas and parasites on the grasses when they eat it.  now there are quite a few people who let their buns run outside on a leash or in expen supervised. the decision is up to you. not every bun will panic being outside or on a leash with soft harness. oh a test to do when you first put the harness on is to test the bun out indoors to see how he responds. cuz some of them are quite smart and can pull on it til it comes from their underbelly to their neck somehow they pull and get their front paws thru. so practice with bun in the house first to see how it goes and get him used to it. as in any situation there are pros and cons dangers and advantages even for house buns there are dangers. but I think more so outside. cotton likes to be carried when outside and gets upset when I put him down he jumps back into my chest I have to catch him ahaa he is so cute was hard to brush him he would keep doing that til finally I put ahand on him to keep him on the table ahaha. now when I am done i let him know it is ok to jump to me and I catch him. or he will stand on his hind legs saying  pick me up NOW I don’t  use a jacket leash outfit on him to brush him tho just the ferret type harness leash thingy. so I can get his underbelly.

 

[LittlePuffyTail]

My bunnies are strictly indoors as well. I agree with “they won’t miss what they don’t know”. I used to bring Stormy outside in the yard just holding him in my arms to get him some fresh air and he was absolutely terrified. Also there are a lot of wild animals in my area (raccoons, skunks, squirrels, groundhogs) and I’m pretty sure some wild animals can spread diseases to your buns. I read this somewhere although I’m not sure about specifics.

I try to give my rabbits the most natural life possible while still living indoors. Most days I open the window as wide as possible in the rabbit room so they get lots of fresh air. And I feed them hay on the ground and spread it all over, here and there, because rabbits in the wild spend most of their time foraging.

[Scarlet_Rose]

I wouldn’t worry yourself about outdoor time too much. Does Layla have a window she can look out and windows that open (with screens) so some fresh air can be let in? I believe that it is best to keep Layla inside and not feel guilty about it. In an unknown area i.e. a park there are so many variables and worries like broken glass, feces from other animals that could be infected with something,along with pesticides, fertilizer, puddles with unknown contaminants in it like oil and gasoline, food wrappers that are tempting to your rabbit, used gum and so on. This is without even mentioning predators scaring your rabbit, loud screaming kids, dogs off leashes, feral cats and really a sensory overload for your sensitive rabbit.

[MarkBun]

Yeah, Save A Bunny doesn’t recommend buns being outside at all. When we have outreach programs and bring buns, we always put them on the blacktop instead of the grass due to possible parasites. Wild buns have better immune systems but domesticated ones have had that bred out of them.

[Gravehearted]

yes, another hoppin on the bandwagon to recommend inside only play.

[Author]

Messages