Tips for stubborn “out of the box” bunny

[moonbunny]

Hey everyone!

I’m having difficulty litter box training my Dutch bunny Nibbles. She’s about four and a half years old and has been spayed, but she’s mischievous and a bit of a diva. 

I have read several articles about litter box training (from the House Rabbit Society, the RWAF, “My House Rabbit”, and this site), but Nibbles seems to be one of those stubborn “out of the box” bunnies.

Here’s my current method:

• I have confined her to a puppy pen in our living room for the time being. 
• Her litter box, which I’ve placed in the corner of the puppy pen, is shallow and a comfortable size. 
• I line the litter box with newspaper and then place lots of hay on top to encourage her to hop in (which she does; she’s recently learned to love hay).
• I try to pick her up and place her in the litter box when I see her trying to go somewhere else, but she’s usually must faster than I am!
• I place any stray poops in the litter box and try to change her blankets (the puppy pen is resting on blankets) as often as I can after she’s peed on them (so that only the litter box smells like pee).

My main problem with Nibby is that rather than picking one or two areas to go in (like most bunnies do), she goes everywhere! She does have several areas that she prefers, but pretty much every inch of the puppy pen is fair game. She is using the litter box a lot, but she also pees and poops outside of it a lot.

Does anyone have any tips for bunnies that can’t pick a spot to go in or bunnies that use their litter box but also go everywhere else?

EDIT: Has anyone with a stubborn bunny had success with sprays? I know that a lot of people use Bitter Apple spray to deter chewing, but are there alternatives that can be made using home ingredients?

Thanks a bunch,

Laura

[Wick & Fable]

No experience with sprays.

It seems she was spayed recently, or was the latest operation just to remove tumors? If she was recently spayed, she’ll be going through a hormone spike which will make litter box habits worse for a bit. Once the hormones regulate back, it may be easier for the training to kick in.

You should employ a sound to accompany training. I find the best of litter training is a short snake hiss, which inherently freaks out rabbits. Since it happens so fast at times you need to be ready to hiss. I know getting there in time is difficult, so it’s easier to hiss when you see it/while you approach. The hiss works as a nice bookmark, signaling to your rabbit “I’m moving you because of what you were doing when I hissed at you”, so it helps make delayed movement to the litter box actually effective. It’s the same method when you do clicker training. Ideally, you want the connection to be made: Snake hiss = go to litter box. Nowadays, if I see Wick about to pee somewhere across the room, I hiss and he’ll jolt to the litter box to pee instead. Sometimes it takes me hissing and guiding him there when he’s lazy, and other times he’ll do it automatically.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[moonbunny]

Posted By Wick on 12/17/2017 8:00 AM

No experience with sprays.

It seems she was spayed recently, or was the latest operation just to remove tumors? If she was recently spayed, she’ll be going through a hormone spike which will make litter box habits worse for a bit. Once the hormones regulate back, it may be easier for the training to kick in.

You should employ a sound to accompany training. I find the best of litter training is a short snake hiss, which inherently freaks out rabbits. Since it happens so fast at times you need to be ready to hiss. I know getting there in time is difficult, so it’s easier to hiss when you see it/while you approach. The hiss works as a nice bookmark, signaling to your rabbit “I’m moving you because of what you were doing when I hissed at you”, so it helps make delayed movement to the litter box actually effective. It’s the same method when you do clicker training. Ideally, you want the connection to be made: Snake hiss = go to litter box. Nowadays, if I see Wick about to pee somewhere across the room, I hiss and he’ll jolt to the litter box to pee instead. Sometimes it takes me hissing and guiding him there when he’s lazy, and other times he’ll do it automatically.

Yes, she was spayed about three weeks ago now; the spay was to remove uterine tumours. 

Thanks for the tip; it’s really difficult to catch her fast enough! Hopefully this’ll delay her pee/poop so that I can scoop her up and place her in the litter box. She has no problems with being placed in there, I’m just usually not fast enough.

In terms of sprays, I’ve heard of people using vinegar, but I’m unsure if I should dilute it or if it’s dangerous so I’ll have to do some more research on that. If anyone knows more, please let me know!

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