7 month old bunny still not potty trained...please help

[guccitotherescue]

Hi everyone,

I am a bit confused with this one. Our bunny is 7 months old and at the start I know there was an adjustment period; however, he has a litter box in our kitchen and he can roam free throughout the day literally until I go to bed.

He is very excited and happy (jumping in the air) especially at night when my kids go to bed and it's just him and I while I watch TV etc but now he jumps onto our couch and constantly poo's and when I go to touch him sometimes he pees on the couch. He has jumped on our couch before but didn't poo until recently. Not to mention I've cleaned his litter box and he continues to poo outside of the litter box. I don't know how to potty train him because I was told just to sweep up his poo and put it back in the litter box which I do like 10 times a day so he'll learn.

He is an absolute sweetheart but the potty training is getting to me now. I don't mind him jumping up on the couch and hanging out with me because sometimes I massage his back which he loves but he continues to poo. It's been going on for a few weeks now and I don't know how to make him poo only his litter box. Any ideas?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Luce21]

Hi there your bunny's around the age they sexually mature this may be territorial if he is not neutered. Mine before neutering/spaying pooped and peed on couches and beds as thats where my scent is strongest. If he is neutered he may need some encouragement such as moving his box to corners he likes to go in and sticking to picking up and putting in his box (I know it’s soul destroying and back breaking). If he has a big area to run a round start smaller until he is trained (playpen size) and once he is back In his larger area decide if he may need more than one litter box. I have one in the hall and one in the living room because the space is so large I use cat litter boxes because the backs are high so they cant flick the contents out when jumping in and out and change them both every second day. Also NEVER use wood shavings not even the dust free ones rabbits have sensitive respiratory system’s, use 100% paper litter made for rabbits. Hope this helps

 

[zuppa]

Hi, how long is he with you and is he neutered? As commented above it sounds like he gets hormonal and keeps marking his territory. Also it is nice that you free roam him but he should be limited in space until he is fully toilet trained, and often it is only possible after he is neutered and plus 2 months after that because they need time for their hormones to calm down. So call your vet and talk about neutering asap, until that limit his territory to just a cage and maybe a playpen, he will mark it all over but at least it won't be on your couch.

 

[gelliebean]

Neutering is definitely the first solution. My girl is getting spayed on Dec 7th. I couldn't allow her to go in my bed because she would pee all over it. It became a really big problem when she learned how to jump on by herself. What really helped is getting her a special blanket to smell like her. She has a blanket that I let her sit on, I kept it in her area for a bit, and just encouraged her to get her smell on it. I kept that on top of my comforter and she did have the occasional poop (which wasn't a problem because her blanket was on top of mine) but the need to mark her territory is completely gone.

 

[AVIE]

@gelliebean , my girl is to be spayed on the 7th as well. And it can't come soon enough! The hormonal beast is driving me crazy! @guccitotherescue you are not alone!

 

[guccitotherescue]

Thank you everyone for all your insights. I would love for him to cuddle with me on the couch and just hang out with me but this can't continue. He's peed so many times on my couch. I will be calling a vet tomorrow to find out the best option and what they recommend. Good luck everyone!

 

[Diane R]

You could try putting a blanket he sleeps on (so it has his scent) on the couch but if that doesn't work you need to keep him off the couch (pen the couch) for a few months and hope he forgets about this habit. It's a very common problem, using couch and bed as toilets.

 

[guccitotherescue]

Thank you I spoke to a vet today and they said it will most likely get worse. He's just "marking his territory" like most of you said. I'll have to get him neutered.

Thank you I'll let you know how it goes. I'll try the blanket thing too.