Injury

[M_Obos]

My rabbit leaps off of high furniture or off my shoulder while I am holding him. I am concerned that he is going to hurt himself! 

Is it okay for him to be jumping off things? What do I do?

Thanks

[LBJ10]

Yes and no. Young rabbits can be springy, jumping on and off things. Some are even climbers with apparently no fear of heights. Bunnies can typically jump down from beds or couches with no problems. If it is higher than that, then I would worry. Are you standing when he tries jumping from your shoulder? He’s not riding around like a parrot, is he?

[Beka27]

This could be very dangerous. If he were to land the wrong way he could definitely hurt himself.

Regarding jumping from your shoulder/standing height, try to interact with him while on the floor and don’t walk around or hold him while you’re in a standing position for longer than necessary.

Regarding the furniture, how high is he going and where is he jumping to? If he’s jumping off of a couch, that shouldn’t cause an issue.

If you don’t already have a rabbit vet, research your area so you know who to contact in case of injury or illness. You don’t want to wait until there is a situation requiring immediate care to locate a vet. Also, have the info for an emergency vet clinic that sees rabbits available if he needs treatment outside of usual business hours.

[Lady Cardinal]

Annabel is a serious jumper so I have to keep a close eye on her. O_o I keep catching her jumping on and off my bed which I have been working to discourage. I would try to discourage your rabbit from jumping on and off stuff at a certain height. Expectially when they are getting older. Their strong muscles make up for how fragile their bones are but they can land wrong and pull a muscle. Or even worse if they kick too hard with their back feet, they can hurt their back.

[Beka27]

If it’s a bed you’re concerned about, I know some people who have used those small dog staircase things (do you know what I’m talking about? It’s a little 2-3 step staircase for animals to get on and off the bed?) Maybe that would work, if your rabbit would use it…

[RabbitPam]

If you are carrying your bunny while standing and he wants to get down, lower yourself as fast as you can so you decrease the height of his jump. Squat, but do not clutch him to keep him on you. One of the biggest mistakes we make when our bunnies wiggle to get free is we clutch them tighter. Once they release, they often twist and they can break their own backs that way. It is heartbreaking, so let a wiggling bunny loose to land without twisting. Unfortunately, they do not have the ability to right themselves like cats do.

The doggie steps at the bed are an excellent idea. You can train your bunny to use it by either clicker training or putting a treat on each step, like one pellet or a raisin, to get him to go there every time. You can also say firmly “No Jump” or another command when he jumps, then ignore him. But if he seems to want to jump, and resists, you can give him a positive reward for NOT jumping. Positive reinforcement is a way to train bunnies, but they don’t really respond to negative scolding or punishment at all.

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