Has Anyone Tried Walking Their Rabbit?

[ALRyder]

I’m just curious if anyone has tried walking their rabbit on a leash, and if so, if they have any tips for starting out. Even ideas on the best type of harness and such. We have a padded harness I think might work that we use for our small cat, and is made for ferrets as well.

Kind of a branch off from this, but we have a young indoor rabbit, and there’s not a ton of sunlight in our house. So I thought it would be kind of fun to start taking him for walks. Also, my daughter wants to do tricks with him in the talent show next year. So, I figured it would be good to get him comfortable outside on a leash.

[HipHopBunny]

Hi ALRyder 🙂

Walking rabbits on leashes is generally not a good thing to do. For, rabbits do not like being in them and are going to try to escape from them, in which the result could end up harming your bun. 🙁 It is a very good question to ask, shows that you are really thinking about the option. 🙂 Since I’m a protective rabbit mom, if I were you I would not have my rabbit be up on stage, for it could scare him. 🙁 I don’t mean for any of this to come off as aggressive, I just wanted to drop in and try to help. 🙂

Wishing you easy thinking! 🙂

[DanaNM]

For doing tricks, you’ll want to start with clicker training, rather than leash training. 🙂 There are lots of resources on youtube etc. to help get started with it!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wick & Fable]

I would also recommend against walking a rabbit outdoors. A rabbit will not “walk” like a dog and variables of loud noises, sudden smells, predators, cars, etc.. can send the rabbit jolting one way or the other. Dogs are pack animals that naturally follow a pack leader. Rabbits do not function that way, so the concept of a “walk” and how to do it isn’t going to register. If you have concerns about sunlight, something much more safe and controllable is setting up a covered-xpen outside where you can supervise and sit with the rabbit. You also want to make sure the grass is pesticide free. I enjoy being with my rabbits on my balcony, where I put up pen grids along the fencing to double-ensure they cannot accidentally hop off or be attacked by predatory birds while I’m there.

If it’s a “virtual” talent show, I think it’d definitely be appropriate and fun to show, but if it is sometime in the future requiring transportation of the rabbit to a classroom or something, it would not be good for the rabbit nor your daughter probably! Humorously (and unfortunately), I think of an episode of the Youtube show Good Mythical Morning where one of the games was betting on what food the rabbits would go towards. Every single round, neither of the rabbits did anything and just stayed hesitant in the center of the stage, despite being surrounded with veggies, herbs, treats, etc. They aren’t wired to react well to new environments.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Hazel]

It’s not recommended, as the others have already said. It’s a recipe for disaster in my opinion, so many things could go wrong unfortunately. 🙁  I agree with Wick, x-pens are a great alternative. 🙂

Don’t mind HipHop’s bossy post, she always comes in way too hot. 🙄 😉

[HipHopBunny]

Excuse me? 😯 I was trying to be polite for once, gee, thanks for the encouragement. 😆 It’s just my passionate nature!

[Hazel]

😛

(I’m kidding, I’m kidding, don’t yell at me… 😉 )

[HipHopBunny]

Humph. 😀 You can make up by bringing the pizza instead of me… 😛

[Hazel]

I guess that’s fair. 😆

Sorry we got off topic, my bad!

[NoodletheRabbit]

Lol!!! 😆

I wouldn’t recommend taking your rabbit out on a leash in the public. Dogs could injure him, and as @Wick said, there are many other variables that could scare or harm your rabbit. Something that I do (After 2 years of finding a leash that my bun didn’t wiggle out of!!!) is take my bun out in the yard, and he likes to hang around and eat grass (Don’t worry, I’m no where near a RHDV2 outbreak area) He hops around a bit, but mostly stays in a few spots. This is safe, and allows your bunny to get excersize, fresh air and vitamin D. Make sure to keep a close eye on him if you choose to do this, but I’m sure you know that 🙂 .

[LBJ10]

I agree with the others. If you decide to pursue this, proceed with extreme caution.

[Kianna]

I have tried this, CAREFULLY! I have two buns, and tried it with my more calm bunny, I used a harness that fit snug (but not too tight!) I put it in inside in another room (that he’s not familiar with) to see how he would handle it. He didn’t try to escape and didn’t freak out as I’m sure some bunnies will. I brought him outside with his little portable play pen. I will say make sure wherever you bring him is very calm and there isn’t loud noises that may spook your bun. I also have brought him outside in his own many times so it wasn’t a completely foreign place for him. Anyways back to what I was saying, I attached an adjustable leash so I could keep him close if need be or let him roam a tiny bit (i would recommend not letting them go far from you just in case)

long story short he loves it, it’s like his favorite thing. He likes to run and binky in the grass. As someone else mentioned make sure the grass is pesticide free and not freshly mowed, because they say the lawn mower can like infiltrate the grass with gasoline. Also always bring a carrier and play pen they are comfortable with for them to return to in the case they do get spooked or have had enough. All bunnies are different this is just what has worked for me.

oh also I found sitting on the grass with them first helps, kind of getting on their level and showing them it’s okay

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