Major Scare!

[felix713]

 A few days a week, I take Felix on a stroll in our back yard. He loves hopping around and I just jog to wherever he choses. We have done this a few times without a hitch. Today he gave me the scare of my life! We were walking alone when he started hopping toward the neightbor’s flowers. I have never let him by there so I stopped so his leash would run out and he would halt. He was just hopping along like normal, nothing fast, when he felt the tug. I don’t know what sparked it, but that lead to him running around like lightening. I couldn’t keep up and he kept flipping up in the air when the leash ran out! I tried to tell him to stop but he ran into the patio and right into the screen door! He was so scared and I had dropped the leash by then. He ran under the herb plants on the patio and just hunched there. I shut the gate as soon as I could and just watched him for a minute, trying to see if there were any signs of him being hurt. I picked him up and he snuggled really close to me (something he rarely does).We were both shaking. I took off his harness and just held him for a minute. I gently felt to see if he had hurt anything, checked for bleeding, his face (from hitting the screen) and his teeth. What should I do? Is there more I should do? I let him hop around a little to see if his legs were ok and he isn’t doing anything abnormal. He is just shaken up, which is understandable. When he had calmed down, I gave him a treat, as a  kind of “sorry”. I can really use some advice!!

[LBJ10]

This is why a lot of people here on BB don’t recommend a harness. Especially in an uncontrolled environment, like a backyard or a park. Something could easily frighten them and the feeling of being caught (by the harness) can freak them out even more. If they flail about, they can hurt themselves.

My advice would be to invest in an outdoor exercise pen that you can supervise him in. That way if he gets scared, he can’t hurt himself. You have to supervise him though.

[Hazel]

Well it sounds like he’s okay, but if you notice anything you should take him to the vet right away. Keep a close eye on him, rabbits are very skilled at hiding pain.

This is why it’s not recommended to take a rabbit out on a leash. They can panic from one second to the other and there’s not much you can do to keep them from hurting themselves as you’ve seen. Luckily he seems to be uninjured, but many many times in cases like this the bun ends up with a broken back. You both got lucky, if I were you I wouldn’t try this again. If you want to let him enjoy the outdoors, a x-pen with a cover on top would be a good choice, always supervised of course.

[felix713]

 I let him out on the patio whenever I am out and can watch him. He doesn’t need much supervision there, but I like to keep an eye on him. He loves the back yard because of the clovers and, of course, running. I think a pen might be best. He went back to acting like a butt, so I think he is fine. Are there any signs I should look out for? He didn’t scream, or make any sound the entire time he was freaking out so if he is hurt, it isn’t enough to make him cry out.  

[Hazel]

It takes a lot to make a rabbit cry out. Being a prey species, they will hide pain as long as possible as to not become a target for a predator. They won’t whine and cry like an injured dog might. Things to look out for are loss of appetite, becoming less mobile, teeth grinding (a sign of pain) and generally things that are unusual for him.

[felix713]

 He has been eating and drinking like a normal exercise day. Other than that he has been grooming and laying down. He was grinding his teeth when I layed down by his cage (his cage is on the floor) but that’s probably out of annoyance because I was staring at him to see if he was ok.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Just continue keeping a close eye on him. It could have been a very bad situation. Like LBJ10 mentioned, harnesses are dangerous and bunnies can break their backs if they get frightened. I dislike how harnesses are marketed for bunnies because of this. I would go with the x-pen. Nice and safe.

[felix713]

He’s been acting very normal today. Like a happy, healthy bun. He is actually coming around me more, hopping up on my back when I lay down. I put my arms in a circle and would nudge them for me to lift them up, its adorable

[Muffinluv]

*$12 Harness I just bought gets thrown in trash*

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