New To Hopping. A few questions.

[Boz]

So Tomarrow I'm getting another rabbit! ;D And I have a few questions with it.

1) Do you think a French Lop will be a ok breed for hopping? I read large breeds are not the best

EDIT: another question

2) What type of treats do you use?

[Bunbuns]

Im sure it doesnt matter what type of rabbit you have. Oh and congrats on your new addition! Remember to post pics!

[MIKOLI. =)]

Wow! A new rabbit! How exciting.

Large breeds are not very good for rabbit hopping, since they are a bit heavy and all that moving around can be hard on their joints. However, I'm sure if you take it nice and easy with him/her, and don't try any very high jumps, you would be able to get him hopping a few smaller jumps. But anything over his head level might be a bit too high - but I guess it depends on the individual. Don't rush him into anything, and it might be a good idea to put a soft landing on the other side of the jumps for him until he's more fit.

Rachel.

[Boz]

Hey Thanks
I figured that. But that's ok. I can work with her but I won't put them too high. Although I know my other French Lop, TicTac used to jump onto my computer chair! She was a goof.
My other rabbit Domino is a Mini Rex, the only thing is she is easily startled. She's also already 2.5 years old. Any ideas to help her come around? She also hates harnesses so I don't think it'll work out well with her I put it on her once and she just didn't like it. And I didn't want to keep it on her as she looked angry at me so I took it off.

Well I guess for starting off I need to teach her to come. Never done that before! And Harness train her. Anyone have tips for that? I have one already.

[MagicStar]

Boz some rabbits will free jump without harnesses, but the harnesses are mostly for competitions. Put the harness on your doe and then let her get used to it. After she seems to used to it (which may take up to a week or more) then you may leash train her.

Emily

[MIKOLI. =)]

boz said:

My other rabbit Domino is a Mini Rex, the only thing is she is easily startled. She's also already 2.5 years old. Any ideas to help her come around? She also hates harnesses so I don't think it'll work out well with her I put it on her once and she just didn't like it. And I didn't want to keep it on her as she looked angry at me so I took it off.

First of all, you don't need a harness for rabbit hopping if you aren't going to do competitions. It is very helpful, but if Domino refuses to wear one, you can work with her without it. However, it is much harder to control them without the harness, though I made up a system with Ollie which he seemed to understand.

Just as a quick point, Ollie is two years old last November, and he is jumping higher than ever. So two and a half years old is not too late to train her. I think once they get up to around the 4-5 year mark it might become a bit harder on them, but 2.5 is still a good age.

Rabbit hopping can also help to get up her confidence, and to build your level of trust. Is Domino an indoor or an outdoor bunny? If she is an outdoor bunny, I have a system which I call "Natural Rabbit Hopping" which might help her to begin with. If she's an indoor bunny, you can still modify the system so that it works for her as well. In a sentence, natural rabbit hopping takes objects and places that the rabbit is familiar with, and turns them into jumps, so that you can get your rabbit fit and their confidence up before introducing something new and scary. It works better with nervous and anxious rabbits, that might not adapt to a change well. It is mainly a system of introducing a rabbit to hopping, but it can be used to tune up a nervous hopper too. It also incorportates the way you act and move into it, to keep your rabbit calm.

Rachel.

[Boz]

admin said:

boz said:

My other rabbit Domino is a Mini Rex, the only thing is she is easily startled. She's also already 2.5 years old. Any ideas to help her come around? She also hates harnesses so I don't think it'll work out well with her I put it on her once and she just didn't like it. And I didn't want to keep it on her as she looked angry at me so I took it off.

First of all, you don't need a harness for rabbit hopping if you aren't going to do competitions. It is very helpful, but if Domino refuses to wear one, you can work with her without it. However, it is much harder to control them without the harness, though I made up a system with Ollie which he seemed to understand.

Just as a quick point, Ollie is two years old last November, and he is jumping higher than ever. So two and a half years old is not too late to train her. I think once they get up to around the 4-5 year mark it might become a bit harder on them, but 2.5 is still a good age.

Rabbit hopping can also help to get up her confidence, and to build your level of trust. Is Domino an indoor or an outdoor bunny? If she is an outdoor bunny, I have a system which I call "Natural Rabbit Hopping" which might help her to begin with. If she's an indoor bunny, you can still modify the system so that it works for her as well. In a sentence, natural rabbit hopping takes objects and places that the rabbit is familiar with, and turns them into jumps, so that you can get your rabbit fit and their confidence up before introducing something new and scary. It works better with nervous and anxious rabbits, that might not adapt to a change well. It is mainly a system of introducing a rabbit to hopping, but it can be used to tune up a nervous hopper too. It also incorportates the way you act and move into it, to keep your rabbit calm.

Rachel.

Hey Thanks for idea! She was an outdoor bunny (in the garage) but now she's inside. I know she can jump high. She's jumped over 2 ft fences before I'll work with her. Thanks so much!

Oh also, I added another question above, What type of treats do you use?

[MIKOLI. =)]

None. Ollie refuses to eat treats.

[Boz]

Ah! That's how Domino is too, sometimes