I\'ve never heard of rabbits walking on a leash! But some how I\'ve managed to train mine to do that... Dont ask me how, I\'m amazed myself! But I was just wondering if anyone else\'s rabbits do this?
I put him on a harness and i\'d always just let them do their own thing and eat grass or whatever. But now when i put them on the harness they follow me. I thought this was the cutest thing. I walked him around the block, which an hour and a half
, and he just hopped along behind me, stopping every few minutes to rest or wash his face.
By the time we got to the field where i was taking him, his nose was all wet.. do rabbits sweat? his paws were wet too, which im guessing is because he was cleaning his paws, but im not completely sure.
My daughter had a pet rabbit she took on a leash for regular walks. A word of caution though...watch for dogs. Many dogs do not seem to notice or care that the rabbit is on a leash. The rabbit is simply potential prey. It is quite a challenge to grab up a panicked rabbit and keep him away from a determined canine.
Rabbits don\'t sweat, but they do exchange moisture from their nostrils when warm. A rabbit with heat stress will evidence wetness around the muzzle and nostrils. Your rabbit could have just gotten damp from moisture in the grass, but be safe and don\'t walk your rabbit in the direct sun or when temperatures are nearing 80 degrees.
I also might suggest that instead of taking your rabbit for a walk, let him take you. In other words, rabbits are adapted to short bursts of speed when threatened or a \"hop, rest, hop, rest\" pattern when foraging. You don\'t want to stress your pet by taking him longer and farther than he would normally travel if left to his own devices.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
I have a rabbit leash. I tried it on Pebbles, but she didn\'t like the feeling of the harness part that is near her neck so she paniced and started struggling as soon as I put it on, so I took it off. Pebbles always gets a damp nose when she\'s stressed out or running around.
Just watch for dogs, and make sure if she eats grass or anything that it\'s not sprayed with anything. Also watch her intake on greens as she could get soft stools.
We let Petey outside with his harness as well. Although he doesn\'t love the harness, he does love roaming around the yard, and soon forgets the harness is on. He likes my front garden bed because it has tall grasses and other bushes that he likes to hop through and around.
I am always weary of a loose dog, but Petey does a good job of staying hidden in the plants and around dark mulch.
I\'m also cautious about him munching on things in the garden. The only thing he has really shown any interest in munching are twigs from a flowering bush.
One quick question about these outings: A wild cottontail has spotted him once, and I was wondering if in the future, would he/she be prone to coming toward Petey? Should I be concerned?
I don\'t think a wild rabbit would approach him if he was near you. If it does seem to come over, pick him up immediatley. Wild rabbits can have lots of diseases and fleas ticks ect. , and depending on where you are wild rabbits can carry a deadly disease called myxomatosis.