Bunny leash/harnesses safe?

[brittbritt]

Gabby has been outside a couple of times with us in the pen my husband built for her. She watches my dogs the whole time and sees my two dogs being able to run in the fenced in yard. There are some places along the back side of the fence where I know she could get out and with predators I don’t want her to be able to get too far away from me anyway. She constantly tries to find a place to escape from the pen or chews the bars of it. She doesn’t get to enjoy being outside for trying to get out of the cage.

So I was thinking that a leash/harness may be the best option so she doesn’t feel she’s being cooped up in a pen. Are they really safe for rabbits? I know the ones for guinea pigs are not and are not recomended on guinea pig savy forums. Is it the same with rabbits or can they use them? If so, what type is best or are they all the same? Thanks for any advice or comments.

[LBJ10]

I really think it depends on the rabbit. Some rabbits freak out with something wrapped around their body and others don’t. We are able to use a harness with Leopold. He is pretty mellow about it and could really care less that it’s there. I am wary about using it outside though. The main thing to worry about is if the rabbit becomes frightened and tries to bolt. They could panic and hurt themselves if they think they are “caught”.

[brittbritt]

Thanks for your thoughts on a leash/harness. We don’t have a huge fenced in yard but big enough I don’t feel comfortable letting her run around in it. She really watches my dogs and my cat so she thinks she should be able to do and be where they are.

[lwayne]

I strongly advise NOT to use a leash or harness. If you take your bunnies outside, use an xpen and keep a good eye on them.

We have a fenced in yard too and I took my bun Arduina out on a harness a few years ago.. Long story short: she was fine with the dog on the other side of the fence barking, until the dog saw her through the fence and changed his tone of barking. She bolted into a run and the harness did not hold her back. Arduina broke her front leg, the surgeon put a titanium pin in. Arduina has healed completely, but still has the pin in (too invasive for them to remove it). You never want to hear a bunny scream and the $900 vet bill wasn’t nice either.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Ditto-we had a lady here who does rabbit show jumping-knows her rabbits, knows her stuff -and one of her rabbits broke his back in a freak out. They are prey animals and act like it-even if they normally don’t-it can happen.

[brittbritt]

I’m so sorry about your bun Arduina breaking her leg. I’m glad she is okay now. I will not ever use a leash like that then with Gabby. She’ll just have to get used to being in the pen and enjoy being outside like that. I sit right there beside it so she is closely supervised.

[LBJ10]

This is why I don’t think I would ever use the harness outside. You never know what would freak a rabbit out, even a normally calm one. Leopold does really well inside the house, but I would be afraid of him getting hurt if I took him outside.

[Tate]

I think IF you were to do a leash, it would have to be one like this (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3598013) or similar to it. Since it’s more of a vest, it might help to evenly distribute any pressure caused by holding her while she’s trying to bolt. But hearing stories like lwayne’s would make me think twice about using a leash/harness at all. :\
When you put her in the pen out side, do you put her in grass? You could try spreading out a handful of her pellets or a special treat in the grass to really get her foraging instincts going. You can put some toys in there too, like things to hide under, etc. I’m not sure what your yard is like or what your pen is like, but you could try moving it around to different areas, so each time she goes outside she’s in a new spot.

[Beka27]

I always think of poor Arduina’s situation when members ask about harnesses. It’s not worth the risk.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I wish I could use a harness and leash (that it was safe) because it would be such fun to take my buns outside for a walk but like Beka said it’s not worth the risk. I would never forgive myself if my bunnies got injured.

[lwayne]

Posted By Tate on 04/24/2011 09:54 PM
I think IF you were to do a leash, it would have to be one like this (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3598013) or similar to it. Since it’s more of a vest, it might help to evenly distribute any pressure caused by holding her while she’s trying to bolt. But hearing stories like lwayne’s would make me think twice about using a leash/harness at all. :\
When you put her in the pen out side, do you put her in grass? You could try spreading out a handful of her pellets or a special treat in the grass to really get her foraging instincts going. You can put some toys in there too, like things to hide under, etc. I’m not sure what your yard is like or what your pen is like, but you could try moving it around to different areas, so each time she goes outside she’s in a new spot.

That’s the exact one that I had… and yes I thought it would be better since it was more of a harness/vest, WRONG.  When a bunny is scared nothing will stop them.  Needless to say I cut up that harness and threw it away.

Nowadays, Arduina enjoys doing crazy things like jumping up onto the stacked recycling, climbing up to the back of the couch and generally trying to scare me with her acrobatic stunts.  We are very lucky.

You could try hooking together several xpens to give your bun more space outside for running around.  Mine generally like to just chow down on the endless supply of food and bask in the sun.  Just remember to never leave them unattended (there’s always neighborhood cats around and hawks too).  

[brittbritt]

I have it set up where she’s in the grass. My husband gets our yard sprayed except for the part that’s in the fenced in backyard. He knows that’s for my guinea pigs and now Gabby.

I’ll try taking her some pellets and treats to throw around in the grass to see if that will motivate her to eat some grass and enjoy being outside.

[Lmom]

We have used a small dog stroller with large open windows that are plastic. Lucille loves it! She will jump into the stroller when she wants to go for a walk. It is almost like a bubble stroller. She checks out what is going around when we go for a walk. Wish she could go in the grass a bit. She does not like her harness and leash so I don’t think we will use that again. Pet strollers seem safe and are nice. You may get some glances tho as you walk with your bunny haha.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Hi, Lmom. Welcome to Binky Bunny. We ask that members please not respond to old threads as it causes confusion and some of these members may not longer be on the forum.

Feel free to start a new thread on your experience with pet strollers.

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