How does your bun react to the halter/leash?

[tinymonster]

We bought a halter leash from the pet supply store the other day and tried it on Muffin, with not great results. First of all I was afraid to make it too tight and he slipped out of it easily and went to visit his cousins under the bed, the dust bunnnies... Even with the halter as small as possible it was too big. (I told my boyfriend we needed the dwarf halter, but noooo...) Anyway I am going to try to modify it but I was wondering if many people use these. We mostly just want to take him out into the backyard without worrying about him making a dash for freedom, but do your buns take well to the halter? At what age should we put him in it? (He's about 6-7 weeks).

I'd love some bunnywalking stories!

 

[Becca]

Mine are fine but it but it depends on your bunny!

If you want to get your bunner used to it you can first of all just put the harness on without the lead and let him run around in the run so he gets used to it then maybe put the lead on and if you have a walk in run you can just walk around the run with him on the lead. Thats how I did it, though some bunnies just hate it and will never get used to it.

 

[Little Bay Poo]

First time, it was too loose so he slipped out. Second time, we made it tighter and he started bashing his head into the wall to try to escape the harness. That was the first and last time we tried putting a harness on one of the bunnies.

If we take them outside we set this up in the backyard:

It's a little expensive but we use it every day as a bunny barrier so it was worth the price. You can find them at Walmart here:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8457890

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

Whiskers, our shy little guy, is very compliant about having a harness put on, but he looks so frightened when it's on that we don't use one for him.

Pumpkin, our version of Rocky, is very calm and quiet when we put the harness on, but then turns into the Tasmanian Devil when we put her down. Apparently, it displeases our little diva to be confined in that way! Consequently, we don't use one with her, either!

 

[RexyRex]

All 3 of mine HATE the harness :grumpy: IF I'm able to get it on them they are so scared that they either don't move or they will run frantically to get it off of them. So, needless to say, they've never been outside

Little Bay Poo, thanks for that link! Your play area is HUGE, is that just 1 pen or did you get 2?


EDIT to add: Whoops...how about I count before I ask you how many, you have 2. :embarrassed:

 

[Hayley411]

Sherbert and Luna do great on the harnesses. We are doing rabbit hopping/agility and they love when you put the harness on because they think something fun is coming up. The thing you have to do is first get a harness that fits and then just put it on your rabbit without the leash. Let them hop around the room or even in their cage, save their all time favorite treats for when they have the harness on and pretty soon the will look forward to the harness. The thing you never ever want to do is drag or put any pressure on the leash when they are getting used to it, if they start pulling walk towards them follow them around.

Hope this helps,

~Hayley

 

[kherrmann3]

Toby liked his old harness (one for a small dog) but then I lost it when I moved. I just got him a new one, made for rabbits, and Berry-Boo hates it, but Toby doesn't mind it TOO much. I liked my old set-up of the dog-harness and to make it more secure, a thin doggy-sweater kept him from backing out of it.

 

[Little Bay Poo]

RexyRex wrote:

Little Bay Poo, thanks for that link! Your play area is HUGE, is that just 1 pen or did you get 2?


EDIT to add: Whoops...how about I count before I ask you how many, you have 2. :embarrassed:

LOL, RexyRex, it's ok :laughsmiley:

What happened was we started out with just one to see if we liked it and how well it worked for an outdoor playpen. We were so pleased with the product, and the enclosed area was SO SMALL with just one playpen, that we decided to go ahead and buy a second. I think the maximum that can be hooked together effectively is two playpens, because the walls start to get a tiny bit wobbly when the pen gets that big.

Unfortunately, both of our bunnies are so scared of birds and the sounds of cars coming from the street behind my house, that we haven't taken them outside since. They were getting too stressed by the car ride and not having fun outdoors so we stopped. But if you have rabbits that enjoy being outside, this product is great! :biggrin2:

 

[tinymonster]

Thanks for the advice, guys! I think we will give it another try, but sweeten the deal with some carrot We have also ordered a playpen, I can't wait till it gets here! Muffin is getting so active and inquisitive, it'll be great for him to be able to really bound around.