Rabbit Agility
I was trying to think up another rabbit toy for Scamp’s ongoing adventures with cardboard tubes. Then Lisa mentioned agility training. Now I’d thought about this before, and then thought maybe it’s not such a good idea to encourage him to jump over things in case he remembers he can jump on the kitchen worktops or tries to take on the baby gate keeping him contained. However surely little jumps would be okay (yes, probably famous last words) he jumps over little things anyway. So here is my next toilet roll tube rabbit toy idea (drum roll, please)… bunny jumps!
They are very simple to make, you need an even number of cardboard tubes, some sticks, and some scissors.
Stab the cardboard with the scissors (making sure not to take out a finger) and post the sticks in. I used two sticks per tube but you could probably get away with one. If you are going for crossed sticks, then offset the bottom and top holes so there is room for the sticks to overlap.
Now, I believe at this point there is meant to be some training with treats or clickers and possibly some strict instructions about not eating the props but I thought first go I’d just give him a call and see what happened. I admit I was expecting something on the lines of ‘oooo stick, I’ll throw that’, hop, ‘oooo another stick, I’ll eat that’, hop, ‘I’m bored of stick, I’m off’. This is how it actually went…
Bit of a natural!
I tried action photos too, but he’s a bit quick. This blur is him (no really!)
Tags: rabbit-agility, rabbit-enrichment, rabbit-toys, Scamp
…and first prize in this Hopper Hack class for rabbits 3 hands and under goes to SCAMP (crowd applauds wildly).
oh how lovely, I’ve seen videos of rabbit agility competitions too. But Scamp definitely deserves a round of applause!
That’s so cool. I can’t believe he just did it first time! No sniffing even! My bunnies would have had to sniff everything for half an hour before deciding which bit to chew first! Go scamp!
Oh wow! I am so impressed!!! Both by Scamp’s knowing exactly what to do, and by your creativity which never ceases to amaze me. Not a chance my little divo or my diva would ever do that. Biff would lay down next to it.
Scamp is a natural! Harrington would have done exactly as you said and destroyed the props on the way. Sugie would have given it one look, stomped her foot and hopped off in the opposite direction.
Brilliant! A natural as you say – and I love the way he comes when you summon him! Humphrey will sit for HOURS without moving once I turn the camera on…
Charlotte
x
I love your site! When I finally have a bunny I’m going to spoil it like this. 🙂
I’ve had bunnies before but my parents have always made me keep them outside (“no indoor pets!”), taking none of my ideas for good housing & care into consideration, so I’d always eventually find them better homes.
Now I’m in college & will hopefully be getting my own place & a new bun from a rescue soon.
Hi, thanks for commenting! It’s so much fun having a house bunny (even if they eat things). I hope you are able to get a bun soon and it’s great that your going to go to a rescue – there are so many buns that deserve good homes!
soooooo cool
I’m sure my bunny will love this since he jumps all around the place, even he can jump as high as my bed! He also jumps the little bars on my chairs. I’m gathering all the toilet paper rolls I can to get enough! Thanks for the great idea!
hi i was just wondering where the best place is to get small sheds/playhouses for outdoor rabbits? and wondered if you got those willow sticks from pets at home, lol, thx
my rabbits love them , just trying to find out a way so they cant knock them over. other than that they are fab! x
Hi Lyndsey, you could use a little blue tack (whilst supervised) to make them a bit more stable (if you’ve got a surface they’ll stick to).
In general agility and horse jumps are designed so that they do knock over, that way if the animal jumping misjudges and hits them, the jump falls instead of there being a big impact against an immovable object. In this case the whole thing falls over but in fancier jumps they are designed so the pole falls off. Of course you do want them stable enough to stand up by themselves the rest of the time!
I would suggest getting some card (just a little thicker than the toilet roll card), cutting out circles that are about half an inch to an inch wider in diameter than the toilet rolls, place the toilet roll bang in the middle of each circle and draw around the inside of the cardboard so you have a circle in the middle, then draw 3 straight lines inside the central circle going from one side to the other. Use a pair of scissors or a stanley knife to cut along the straight lines, then bend the pieces upwards. Insert one end the roll holder so that the triangular pieces are inside the holder. This should prevent them from being knocked over so easily.
That’s a great idea! That would give them a nice base and still be completely safe should a bunny decide to have a chew. Thanks 🙂