Starting Pups on Bunnies

The very first time a young pup opens on the trail of a bunny is always a special moment.  This first encounter may be a short site chase in a training pen or may be a bark or two when the sent of a bunny is crossed in the wild.  In either case the results will be a big smile on your face and a proud moment in your life.

Tame bunny runs
Tame rabbits in small training enclosures can provide pups with their first chase.  I have often introduced pups as young as seven weeks old to a tame bunny.  Most will give chase and some will open.  Unlike other training this training may include several pups at the same time.  Two or more young pups yelping after a bunny can be a fun site to behold.   Tame rabbits may provide a good little run for very young pups.  I keep the number of tame bunny chases to a minimum.  For the most part these are sight chases and these pups need to learn to use there noses.

If this training is postponed until the pups are nine or ten weeks old, most tame bunnies will not be able to out run the pups.  Pups will catch and put the bite on the tame bunny.

Cuddles is a fine little bunny that has helped to train a pup or two.  She can hold her own when the pups are young.

Trapped bunnies to run

  When pups are around four months old they are too fast and furious for a tame bunny.  They are ready to take a close look at a bunny from out of the wild.

One of the ways that I introduce my pups to wild rabbits is to trap a rabbit for the pups to make close contact with.  Before you start trapping bunnies, you may want to make sure it is legal in your area.    While you may be allowed to trap and move wild rabbits out of your garden or crops, some states may have laws that forbid trapping on public lands.

A trapped bunny allows the pups to get up close to see and smell the critter that they will spend the next few years trying to catch.

I catch most rabbits using sliced apples as bate.  I have tried other vegetables such as carrot, but always return to apples.

If you set traps, be sure to check them often. If a rabbit is forced to spend too much time in a trap, they will beat themselves up trying to escape.  If a dog or cat finds your trapped rabbit, they will attack the trap and kill the bunny in the trap.  How they can get at the bunny is a mystery, but they can and will.

The sight and smell of a rabbit will excite young pups.   In full cry they will bay at the bunny while attacking the trap.

If the bunny survives the savage attacks of the pups it can then be released and allowed to run for its life.  At best your pups will get to join in on a short sight chase.  The release should take place in a large open area.  You may want to hold the pups to allow the bunny a head start.  If the pups and bunny are released at the same time, there is a good chance that they will catch the rabbit before it gets far.  If the bunny is in good condition and is allowed to get his running gear working, a short and exciting race should transpire.  A small pack of pups in full cry will put a grin on your face.  They will sound ever so good for as long as it last.

These out of the trap runs are normally very fast and very short.  Most pups will stop as soon as they lose site of the rabbit.  Some may run right back to the trap to see if it is there.  A few pups may take this process to the next level and use their noses to stay after the prey.  If this should happen, your grin will change to laughing and shouts of joy.  Don’t start the jubilation dance just yet, most sight chases after a bunny released from a trap will not result in a fully trained rabbit runner.  This is just one of many steps towards that goal.

Tame rabbits and trapped wild rabbits have proven to be a good way to introduce my pups to the sight and smell of bunnies.  This activity is best done as a group, but if you only have one pup to train, you can apply the same steps to train your solo trainee.

One word of caution, “DO NOT OVERDO SIGHT CHASES”.   You want your pups to learn to use their nose to find those old smelly rabbits.  This lesson is best learned solo.  The next important step in the training process is to show each individual pup lots of bunnies.  This is where the real training begins.

Go find your best light.  It will soon be dark and you will want to take a pup out for an adventure in the dark.
 

Show me the bunny!
 

  Time for a run……..