Customer Reviews

Hop To It: A Guide to Training Your Pet Rabbit (Pet Series: Training)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I've been a house rabbit owner for around 4 years now, and I'm part of a couple local rescues, along with the House Rabbit Society. I decided to read this book just to see how it held up to the information I know about rabbits, which has been given to me by the HRS (www.rabbit.org), other house rabbit owners, biologists, and rabbit-savvy veterinarians. Sorry to say, the book ranks poorly in my mind, and I'm sure in many other house rabbit owner's minds. Here are some of my reasons for disliking this book to so much extent:

-The methods in which she "trains" her rabbit practically have a boot camp air to them.

-Advocates scruffing a rabbit, which is definitely not a safe way to pick him/her up (rabbit's skin is very thin and can tear easily).

-Also advocates keeping rabbits on wire-bottomed cages. This, like mentioned in the chapter written by a veterinarian, causes sore hocks in most rabbits. Wire flooring in a cage can also cause arthritis and can rip off toenails.

-Deems rabbits as "dumb" before "properly trained." An animal is never, ever dumb. The only way they can be perceived in this light is if the person calling them that is completely uncompassionate towards animals in general.

-Even the chapter written by the, supposedly, rabbit-savvy veterinarian is chocked full of incorrect information. She states that pellets should be the main staple in the diet, when in actuality, timothy hay should be, followed by fresh greens, and very limited pellets.

-There's typos in the book, making it seem a great deal less professional.

This book is definitely not worth reading, whether you're just starting out, or you're a rabbit enthusiast. If you're looking for books to learn more about house rabbits, check out the House Rabbit Handbook by Marinell Harriman, along with Stories Rabbits Tell by Susan E. Davis & Margo DeMello.

Dangerous and misleading notions abound in Ms. Hunter's Hop to It, including: bunnies can never get electrocuted when they chew electrical wires (they can), and bunnies should be fasted before surgery (they shouldn't).

There is, however, some good, basic (stress: basic) advice contained in this small tome, which is surprising, as it seems most of the info is gleaned from her own experience WITH ONLY ONE RABBIT. Therefore, this predominately anecdotal book serves more as a photo-journal of the author and her own rabbit, than a comprehensive, authoratative, and objective training guide about rabbits in general.

Stick with the superior House Rabbit Handbook, by Marinell Harriman, instead.

I think the information in this book would have been better presented in a magazine article. It was more of a cute story of Life With Woodstock, rather than a guide to training. As a new owner of two bunnies, and no experience, I looked forward to learning how I could train my bunnies. Instead of tried and true methods used in many circumstances for many bunnies this book is just one person's experience with one bunny. As noted in another review. some information is misleading or wrong. The only helpful hint I gleaned from this book was to make commands be one or two words. I am still looking for a good training book. Sorry I wasted the money on this one.

The book is very easy to read and has some practical advice.

However, some of the advice doesn't seem right. For instance, she advocates de-clawing a rabbit. How inhumane! Also, the parts about walking the rabbit outside on a leash. Just putting a leash on a rabbit: no wonder she had him declawed. The advice about giving the rabbit commands doesn't jive with the way trainers teach other animals. They say to use one word commands only. Her commands have 2-4 words.

Pictures of her husband cleaning the cage in the living room were a little humorous. I liked the part about Mr. Rabbit coming to inspect the clean cage. Mine does that.

This book was written in 1991. Much of the very important information regarding nutrition, health concerns and treatments and how to appropriately pick up a rabbit is out of date. Nutrition section is especially alarming. Some sections, such as traveling and working with an aggressive bunny are good.
Overall, I would recommend a more recent rabbit care manual.

The problem with this slim journal is that not enough research went into it. Many of her statements do not seem to be substantiated by research, but seem to be her personal opinion. For instance she states that rabbits do not need company and sites dependence on humans as one of the reasons for keeping only one rabbit. Rabbits are highly social animals that do everything together. A spayed/neutered pair not only keep each other company, increase each other's likelihood of surviving illness/trauma, but also form a special bond with their human (provided the human has taken the time to form one). Another problem with the book is that Woodstock's cage is a bit small for a rabbit of his size. It doesn't seem like he can do much hoping in that cage.
However, not to say everything in the book is bad. The pictures are good. It's a fine introductory book provided you do more research. Excellent sources are the House Rabbit Society's web page or The House Rabbit Handbook.

I've recently read this book, and I agree that this is a good back-up, but shouldn't be your only source of information. When I was in the 4-H Rabbit Club as a kid, we focused more on the ARBA standards and breeding. Then, the preferred methods of raising rabbits were similar to those recommended in this book (handling, diet, etc.). It should be taken into consideration when reading it that *it was written in 1991*. The book is 14 years old--times have changed.

I wish that this book would have been brought up to date, or that someone would write a new book solely dedicated to training your rabbit. This is one of the reasons that this book has value, despite its age and a few factual errors: there just aren't any other books out there entirely dedicated to the subject.

If you want some great information on rabbits, read The House Rabbit Handbook by Marinell Harriman, which has been revised this year--and visit Rabbit.org

There is a new book called The Rabbit Whisperer by Ingrid Tarrant (currently available only in the UK) that I hope tackles this subject for the more "advanced" rabbit-person. Otherwise, to somebody out there willing: Please re-write this book!!

This book gave much needed information to pet owners on how to train and care for your rabbit. It seemed to give the information in an easy manner and was parallel to what my vet recomends for my rabbit.

I got this book for my three daughters who have two bunnies....and this book rocks! It is full of information and things to do and not to do! They have learned new things to do with their bunnies and both - the bunnies and my girls are thrilled with this book!

As many other reviewers have said, this book has a lot of misinformation. This should not be labelled as a guide for training rabbits. I have owner rabbits for many years. Pellets should not be the staple diet, wire bottom cages are not good for them, cords CAN kill rabbits (I lost one rabbit this way, from electrocution), and the handling just does not fit all rabbits. Scruffing a larger rabbit is a horrible idea. Also, untrained rabbits are not dumb, they are locked up and terrified. They exhibit personality when allowed freedom, movement and playtime interaction.

Please view this book as one beginner's experience with making some mistakes, and not as a guide for new owners.