Can you leash a rabbit

In order to keep your rabbit from a sudden anxiety attack you need to walk with it wherever it wants to go. The leash should never be used to restrain at all unless danger makes it essential. If your rabbit wants to run, run with it. If it wants to sit in a corner for 30 minutes, so be it. Never force your rabbit to do anything.

That includes dragging it over obstacles if you want your rabbit to jump, tempting it with treats works so much better and is so much more fun for everyone involved.

Let your rabbit decide what it wants to do outside. Be mindful that a rabbit has very thin bones and becoming entangled with the leash may cause sudden anxiety.

Try to avoid that as much as possible, because it could lead to broken bones. A scared rabbit that also feels restrained will rarely stop its frantic behavior until it frees itself and can run away.

Please get your rabbit accustomed to the harness before attaching the leash. Until it is absolutely comfortable with the harness and leash, stay indoors only. This may take several attempts or may never happen at all. Be patient. For a better chance at success, make sure your rabbit associates happy times with the harness. Favorite treats, fun games, extra cuddles — whatever your rabbit loves, now is the time.

He was the most stoic and patient rabbit I have ever met and nothing could ever upset him. He tried to take it off. Once he associated it with going outside, though, he got excited whenever he saw it. We have a fenced in yard now, so Bailey has never worn a harness before. If you are familiar with the principles of training other animals, simply apply them to rabbits and watch them learn! I even heard recently about a rabbit that was trained to take medicine on command.

Close Main Navigation Menu. Sign Up Log In. Hide Saved searches. Photo Credit: Thinkstock. Share this Article Print. More in Rabbit Health. If want your bunny to stay in tip top condition, then rabbit walking could be a great way to help. Products included in this article were carefully and independently selected by the Squeaks and Nibbles team.

If you decide to make a purchase from one of the links marked by an asterisk, we may earn a small commission on that sale. This is at no extra cost to you. In fact the rabbit you can see pictured in this article is my very own bunny on a leash — Coco! Unlike our other chilled out bunny, Bing, Coco craves our attention. When you walk past her run she follows you down the side, standing up on her back legs and begging for a cuddle.

I have also used harnesses and leashes with my ferrets when I was young, so I had a good idea of how it could be done. If you want to go for a bunny walk, and emulate a dog walk with your tiny friend, you might be tempted to use a rabbit collar. Most rabbits life in hutches, cages or outdoor runs. A least part of the time. These enclosures are all full of stuff. Bars, toys, water bottles and hay racks.

They are all potential places that a collar could get stuck. Well, there is a problem here too. Necks are very delicate, and when your pet tugs forwards on the leash they will be putting force through their little necks. Some pet retailers even make harness specifically designed to be comfortable on rabbits.

It should have a loop that goes over their head and sits around their shoulders, and another that goes under their tummy. Bing is a Netherland Dwarf and Coco is a Dutch rabbit, so they are quite different sizes. But once you have got the sizing right the process of putting it on them is the same. Bing will sit still and calmly when being handled, so it was very easy to clip the clash underneath him. If your bunny is interested like her, then just pop a treat in front of them to distract them for a few moments.

You could be able to easily put a finger under it anywhere, but no more than that or it might be loose enough for your bunny to slip out and run off. Carry your bunny to somewhere familiar, with a clear space. No trees, toys or garden furniture.