Rabbit Hopping/Agility

Hello! Lately I've been very interested in teaching my young Holland lop Merlin (6ish weeks) and my older Holland Lop Beast (1 year) how to hop or do rabbit agility, but I have no idea where to begin or how to train them to jump. I wish to enter them in shows eventually, so any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

We have training videos, how to build jumps and all other info you need on our site. Feel free to ask me any questions as well!

Www.canadianrabbithoppingclub.com

Kipcha said:

. Feel free to ask me any questions as well!

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Ok i watched the videos but I'm still having difficulty understanding. My rabbit won't go over the jump even when I try tickling him. How can I slowly introduce the jumps to make it easier for him to learn? I have no idea where to start. I'm still at square one still lol. Sorry if this is confusing.


How do you give positive re enforcement? Did you do ground work(like in horses)?If so how? How did you get the jumps? Or what could you use in substitute to what you have for the jumps? How will I get my rabbit more confident hopping the course? What age is a good age to start hopping? Is it just me? Or is my rabbit un trainable? Is there a step-by-step guide I could follow? Like what I should be following, or do your rabbits just go over the jumps?


Sorry I have a lot of questions!

I use head rubs for positive reinforcement. All of mine enjoy just having their cheeks and the base of their ears rubbed so when they do something good I tell them and pet them. I find that treats just haven't worked for me in the past.

Usually I don't really have to make them move, I just have to try and direct them. They kinda hop on their own. So if you can just get your bun hopping forward with a low jump in front of them, just do this a few times and I swear, there is a moment when it "clicks". It's happened over and over, they all of a sudden just understand and do it. It's weird but every rabbit I work with has an epiphany after roughly half-hour/45 minutes.

We built the jumps ourselves, there are instructions on how to do that on our site as well. Whatever you use, just make sure it is capable of falling, especially as heights get higher. Using fixed jumps can lead to an injured bunny.

In order to get them confident, I find just a lot of repition is the key. Do it over and over (Although try to keep the sessions short, around half hour, and always end on a good note) and just keep with it.

You can start them on low jumps at any age, although I've noticed around 10-12 weeks is probably the youngest to try. We do not do any jumps higher then a few inches before they are 9 months as we want to prevent joint injuries.

I think any rabbit can learn and I don't think it's you It's your first attempt, it will take a bit longer.

No worries on the questions, ask as many as you like!

Thank you! I will take this information and try it out, at the end of this week, if I have any more questions I will be sure to ask

Don't know much about the matter but there is a Rabbit Agility group under groups on rabbitsonline.

Ilovemyrabbit said:

Don't know much about the matter but there is a Rabbit Agility group under groups on rabbitsonline.

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Im still kinda of new so I have no idea where that is lol! Im really confused:? Do you have a link to this group?

@Kipcha I need your help again! Ok so my rabbits are comfortable with the harness and jumps (My one rabbit Beast love to jump horizontally when he sees a jump he jumps it like 4 feet more horizontally than he has to, he is very proud of what he can do lol)

But recently my problem is how do I get them to follow me or go where I want them to. I will try to lead them to a jump but I have no Idea how I can teach them to go where I tell them to. Please help!

We use mats, so the rabbits tend to stay on the mats. There are a few rabbits that will run after the trainer, but many don't. Being slightly behind them allows them to move forward and take some cues from your movements, but also lets you used your hands to direct them. If you use a leash, you can direct them a bit, but should not be pulling them around. For example, if the rabbit is wanting to go around the A-frame, you can hold the leash so they can't go forward until they are going up the A-frame and they will learn to go up so they can keep going. The leash can keep them from going forward or help direct them to stay on track.

Having a few jumps or obstacles in a row does help them learn to do one after the other. Something at the end (we use cavy show tables) that they can stop on can help them learn they are done. It does take time for a rabbit to understand what to do.

Thank you, I think I will try the leash idea I let them run around on the leash and harness outside so that would probably be the best place to start for me. What if they are stuggling? Like if I am holding the leash not letting them go forward any wheres else, should I still hold the leash or just wait until they respond to me?

Korr_and_Sophie said:

We use mats, so the rabbits tend to stay on the mats. There are a few rabbits that will run after the trainer, but many don't. Being slightly behind them allows them to move forward and take some cues from your movements, but also lets you used your hands to direct them. If you use a leash, you can direct them a bit, but should not be pulling them around. For example, if the rabbit is wanting to go around the A-frame, you can hold the leash so they can't go forward until they are going up the A-frame and they will learn to go up so they can keep going. The leash can keep them from going forward or help direct them to stay on track.

Having a few jumps or obstacles in a row does help them learn to do one after the other. Something at the end (we use cavy show tables) that they can stop on can help them learn they are done. It does take time for a rabbit to understand what to do.

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Have you got any videos I would love to see some bouncing bunnies

RabbitGirl101 said:

Thank you, I think I will try the leash idea I let them run around on the leash and harness outside so that would probably be the best place to start for me. What if they are stuggling? Like if I am holding the leash not letting them go forward any wheres else, should I still hold the leash or just wait until they respond to me?

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If they struggle, give some slack. You want them to be more in control and not freaked out. The leash can make it worse as they feel confined and can't run. A scared rabbit can be unpredictable, so they might run a direction you are not expecting and get caught up in the leash. Holding the leash so they don't go forward is more to direct them to do an obstacle. Leashes can be dangerous if not used correctly, so you do need to more focused rabbit and you need to be paying close attention.

Ok that makes sense, thank you! I will definitely try that! I train them outside though (they don't stop to eat the grass) and they jump fine its just the following part that I cant seem to get

Decided to give an update on this thread. Merlin has been doing great at rabbit hopping, he loves it! I am still unable to get him to jump where I want but thats partially because he's stubborn, well I'm just going to say thats the reason lolXD I am hoping to purchase some "official" jumps because right now I'm just putting, erm.. obstacles in his ways and he jumps them LOL!! I've started taking more of my rabbits out to do some simple jumps, I am really surprised at how muscled they are becoming! Thank you for everyone who helped me teach my babies how to do agility, I really enjoy it!