Outgrowing his harness

[Krissa]

Zander is getting big and he won't fit into the harness I had for my dutch rabbit anymore easily. I would like to get a H- style harness and I was wondering what size to get.

Anyone with a Californian want to chime in with their rabbit's harness size? I got one of those retractable leashes meant for tiny dogs and I love it. He can zip around and not get tangled up in it.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would probably go for a large size cat harness.
Lillian weights about 10 pounds and has a Rogz cat harness and it is set at about 3/4 the size it can be.

I would measure him around the neck and chest, then see if there are any you can find that actually have the measurements. You can also try to measure one in the store. If you can, bring him with you to a pet store to see if they have any that fit.

 

[AquaticRex]

i agree. if you can bring him in that way there are no mistakes

 

[Krissa]

Maybe if I take him into a Petsmart early in the morning there will be less dogs in the store? He doesn't like to be picked up yet - I am slowly working on it. The new harness may have to wait a few weeks then.

thanks all

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

In my experience, Petsmart does not have H cat harnesses. They do have the rabbit and ferret ones, but I doubt they would fit.
Smaller, locally owned stores tend to have more of what you need. Try to see if they have a website and list the brands they sell, then see if that brand makes an H harness. Check the cat products and most don't have a good selection of rabbit ones.

 

[Krissa]

Thanks for the heads up - I'll check the Jack's Aquarium and Pets by my house when I get my cat food this week.

Btw Korr_and_Sophie your bunnies are such an inspiration to me, I am working on building a few small jumps for Zander to step over. What age do you start jumping your larger breeds? I want his bones to grow fully first.

Once I have his new harness I will start clicker training him to follow me.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Thank you

I started Lillian just after I got her and she was about 15 months old. I am not really sure what a good age to start is for a younger rabbit, but probably 8-12 months would be good for the higher jumps. You can do lower jumps and obstacles like the A frame a bit younger, just go slowly. With larger breeds, you don't want them jumping too high and Lillian doesn't jump that high anyway. Make sure you do have a soft flooring to work on for safety.
I haven't really dealt with training young rabbits, the youngest I have started with is Amelia and she was 8 months when she started.

 

[Krissa]

That's good to know. I'll have my dad design an A-frame this winter for me (he does wood working)and I'll keep an eye out for a tunnel. I also saw a pause table in one of your videos. Does the table work the same as in dog agility.

I did agility with my dog but she was bitten by another dog and is now very dog reactive so I can not take her off leash. She still does backyard agility but I don't have access to the large A frame or teeter anymore. I miss dog agility so much so I am excited to be able to train my bunny with smaller scale items

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

The pause table we have is really just a start/stop box. The rabbits start on it and for the time trial, end on it. They are cavy show boxes, so I don't know how to make one.
For the A-frame, there are directions on how to make one on the CRHC website. The bunny walk is similar, just a bit different.
Cat tunnels work great for rabbits. Pretty much any pet store will have them. I got one a Jysk. A child's play tunnel could also work.
Jumps are fairly easy to make, especially if you have tools. A flat base is better if you are working inside, but a t or X shaped one is better outside on less flat terrain. A lot of the design comes form trial and error. Look through pictures to see if there is a design you like and can build.