“Walking” your rabbit?

[nastooz]

Hello fellow bunny lovers,

 

My 3 year-old holland lop rabbit has never been the type to like being picked up. He doesn’t mind being touched/pet and being “half picked up” (just his upper body). I only pick him up when it’s necessary, eg. nail clipping/grooming. But he seems to get stressed when I bunny burrito him.

 
I recieved a harness and leash for a present a while ago, and never gotten around to using it because he’s never liked being picked up. But I would really like it if he could explore outside!

Do you think it’s bad if I were to bunny-burrito him (so I can put the harness on) to take him for walks? Anyway, what I’m trying to get at is…  Is it not worth the stress? I’d really like him to get fresh air and explore.

Also, what’s your thought on taking your bunny out on walks in the first place?

Thanks and hoppy easter!

[Q8bunny]

Hi Nastooz and welcome. Your bun is a cutie.

Different people have different opinions on taking buns out and on harnessing in general.
I have a lionhead who, like most buns, hates being picked up and squirms while being harnessed, but once at the beach or at the park, loves hopping me ragged (he’s an intrepid explorer).
Having said that, I’m not sure harnessing can be accomplished by using a bunny burrito, but my bun’s Houdini skills are quite well honed.

[Azerane]

You don’t need to be able to pick him up to put a harness on him. I never picked up Bandit to harness him. Having him being ok with his front end being picked up though is very useful. While you don’t need to pick him up, I do recommend having him in a smaller area that’s sectioned off from places he could get into trouble with a half attached harness. To start with you can drape the harness on top of him over his shoulders to get him used to the feeling. I would attach the stomach loop first, before the neck loop, because if you attach the neck loop first and he panics and runs off, if it gets caught he could cause more serious damage. When I was training, I had the harness a bit loose so that when I was connecting it around his middle, it wasn’t as constrictive which is a feeling rabbits often hate. You don’t want it to be squeezing them anyway, but it does need to be secure around them. I started with very short harness sessions. Drape the harness, feed a treat, remove the harness, feed a treat. Drape the harness feed a treat, thread a loop under his belly, feed a treat, connect the loop, feed a treat. Etc etc. When you first get the harness completely on, I recommend a very short time wearing it, no more than a minute. Distract with play, treats or head rubs and then remove the harness. It can be a challenging process for rabbits that get very scared at first, but they can certainly get used to wearing one. Then if you keep your rabbit in a room with access to the backyard, all you need to do is attach the harness and leash and open the back door and out you go.

You do need to be very careful when it comes to leash length and slack on the leash. Always keep the leash slack, but you also need to train that a little bit of pressure on the leash is a good thing, not a bad thing. Sudden pressure on the end of the leash if you’re not paying attention when your bunny hops away can cause them to panic and take off running in fear, which in turn causes more pressure and more fear. If you have a secure backyard, it can sometimes be safer to let go of the leash so that the pressure is released and they can calm down.

[Mikey]

Azerane nailed it. You can also partially lift your bun to get his feets through it if the harness is one like mine that clips above the shoulders. Treats are an easy way to help your bun know that its ok. You wont want to go outside right off the bat either. Heres how i trained my bun with a leash and harness: I put the harness in his cage so he could see it, smell it, and chin mark it if he wants to. After he got used to it being around, i put the harness on him and pet him and gave him a treat, then took it off him, and pet him more. Wed do this a little longer each day until he didnt care whether he was wearing it or not. After that we introduced the leash. Ive seen rabbits freak out about leashes before (full on screaming at the leash), so it was more scary to me than my bun. We introduced it similarly to the harness. First with it in his cage, then with it attached to his harness but not being held (so he can run around with it), and then walking him around the living room. Hes fine with it now, but ive not tested him outside yet, because i dont have a yard. I would not take your bun outside for a normal walk without testing him in a fenced yard or pen outside for the first few times

[Azerane]

^Also great suggestions. My only concern with leaving the harness or leash in the cage is some rabbits will chew through them

[Mikey]

Very true! Blue is not much of a chewer so i didnt have to worry about that with him. If your bun free roams, you could try leaving the harness and leash out on the floor for him to sniff and whatnot. If he starts to chew it, redirect him with food or toys

[Eepster]

If you aren’t able to pick up and hold your bunny securely with ease, it’s not a good idea to take them for walks.

My current bunny Porky won’t tolerate a harness,but my previous bunny Nibbles was fine with it and enjoyed going for a hop. It was often necessary to pick him up though. If there was a dog anywhere near I need to get him secured quickly. If he started hopping under a bush, I needed to carry him away, because pulling them by the leash is not safe. Etc.

On the subject of chewing. Nibbles bit through 3 leashes while on walks with surprising speed. After that I changed to a metal chain one.

[Author]

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