Harness training a rabbit

[Remmy]

Ok! So I have a few questions:

I plan on agility training my baby bunny Remmy. He seems to really enjoy running around and jumping up on everything he can reach. So! With that in mind, when should I start harness training Remmy? He is about 9 weeks old right now. (He still has a lot of growing to do if he is going to get as big as his mother.)

I also wanted to know, what's the safest way to go about harness training a rabbit? The last thing I want is him freaking out and injuring himself.

Finally, what type of harness is best for a rabbit? I was thinking of using a mesh one at first.

I don't plan on doing any agility training until he's at least 7-9 months old, even then I don't want to go too big. But I would like to go ahead and harness train him as soon as its ok to do so.

 

[Azerane]

As far as I'm aware there's no limit to how early you can harness train a rabbit, just keep in mind that you may struggle getting a harness to fit such a small bunny. The recommended harness type is the "H" harness like this: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41RrHRUt6gL._SL500_AA300_.jpg with a long lead. You have to be very careful they don't jerk at the end of the lead and it can also be recommended to get a bungee type lead with a bit of spring so that there's not sudden jerking resistance if your bunny does bolt.

As for how to harness train, I started very slow, with small steps. At first I simply draped the harness over Bandit's back, repeat that step until your rabbit is comfortable, I also got him used to the sound of the buckling/unbuckling which can be a surprise at close quarters before I tried clipping it around him. The first time I tried to clip it around him, I started with one loop only, quite loose. It's important in that step that your rabbit doesn't have a lot of places to run and hide. Because if you do up the harness, and then he startles and bolts, he could run everywhere, possibly get the harness caught and cause injury. So make sure he's in a secure place. I found the belly harness strap to be the most difficult because rabbits are sensitive about having their stomach touched. But just work slowly with your bunny. It doesn't have to happen in a week. If it takes a month to harness train your rabbit that's fine. Whatever he's comfortable with

I hope that made some sense, writing in a hurry

 

[Remmy]

Thank you for the advice! I've started his harness training today, and so far I've just let him sniff it and laid it on his back. It doesn't seem to bother him too much. Hopefully he'll eventually grow on the idea of a harness so I can do the agility training when he's older.

 

[flemishwhite]

I didn't try harness training too much. Maybe I gave up too fast. I had a harness on Bunny and let her hop around the front and back yards for maybe 15 minites or so...went OK until in the back yard she started hopping quickly. I started running to keep up with her. Then she went bizerk...now that she was running and I was running behind her, her bunny brain told here that there was a 200 pound predator chasing her. She immediately tried to run full speed and panicked when she was restrained by the leash. She thrashed violently trying to get free of the leash. I had to reel her in and calm her. I've read of similar incidents like this. I've read that some people have successively trained their rabbit to be leash trained. My anecdote, that echos others experiences, is that it may not be easy to leash train your particular bunny.

My motive was not agility training, but to just lead the bunny and educate the bunny as to what part of our property was "hers." By the time she died at nearly 12 years of age, she knew what our property lines were.

 

[3bunmom]

Flemishwhite, I have had bunnies that did great in harness but I have also had one startle when a truck went by. It is traumatic for both owner and bunny. Thank you for sharing the upsetting memory