The best way to train your rabbit is to attend a class but if none are available in your area follow the basics.

Selecting a good agility rabbit
The rabbit you select should have the right personality, active and not too shy. A medium sized rabbit around 6 pounds usually work the best. Smaller rabbits may not be able to make big jumps and larger rabbits tire easily. Pretty much any breed will do but some lops with long ears may not work because they may step on their ears. Breeds with long fur may not work for outdoors competition because the fur may pick up too much dirt and tangle.

Bond with your rabbit
Make you rabbit comfortable around you and other people by not scaring it, limiting picking it up, just sitting with it, and giving it occasional treats. You want your agility rabbit to trust you.

Things you need
Acquire the equipment needed harness and leash, a clicker, and all the agility obstacles like jumps, bridges, tire jumps, etc… Get the rabbit used to wearing the harness by having it wear the harness an hour per day for a week or so.

Basic agility training
Reward you rabbit when it does what was asked with treats, telling it “good”, and/or grooming. Keep treats to a minimum rabbits can get extremely sick very quickly from too many treats. The clicker can be used in place of telling the rabbit it did “good”. Get your rabbit to move by using the foot cue for hop, which is both feet directly behind it, or tickling its butt, remember to reward when it hops.

Add in the foot cues for turns, one foot behind and one foot on the rabbit’s right means left turn and the opposite for a right turn.

Once the rabbit learns the foot cues add in the vocal commands “HOP”, “LEFT”, and “RIGHT” in addition to the foot cues. Practice having the rabbit come to a target, like a jar lid, and remember to reward when the rabbit touches the target. Once the rabbit has target down add in the verbal command “TARGET” or whatever you like.

Intermediate agility
It is time to teach your rabbit to jump. Start with a bar on the ground then use your foot cue for hop or targeting to lure the rabbit to jump over the bar. Remember to reward your rabbit when it completes the task. Once the rabbit is jumping add in the voice command “JUMP”. Keep increasing the height and spread of the jumps until you reach your goal or the rabbits limit.

Advanced agility
Continue using the same methods as basic and intermediate agility, foot cues, targeting, rewarding, and adding in the voice commands but with more advanced obstacles. Advanced obstacles include the A-Frame, Arch(Barrel), Bridge, Long(Fly) Jump , Teeter Totters, Tire Jump, Tunnels, Weave Poles, and Water Jumps.  See the "Obstacles" page on this web site for a description and picture of each piece of equipment and "Building Obstacles" page to see how they can be made.

The Humans