The Mark of Zoro -- Loss of Litter Training?

[Zoros Mom]

Hello,

Background: Our dwarf bunny Zoro was litter trained 6 months ago -- soon after we brought him home. We've had occasional incidents, but I don't mind cleaning up an occasional pellet or two.

Problem: A few weeks ago, Zoro developed this fixation with the couch. The second my back is turned -- or even in a flash right before my eyes -- he'll get onto the couch or loveseat and drop an unholy amount of pellets. I mean an "it seems like this pile of poop is bigger than my rabbit" amount of pellets. Even though he has his run of the apartment, it's starting to seem like when he's out hopping around he never strays far from the couch, just waiting for us to give him an inch.

Training Failures: We've tried squirting him with water, squirting him with soapy water, rewarding him for going extended periods (a few hours) without pooping on the couch, but nothing seems to work.

It seems like Zoro's developed some kind of fixation concerning the couch that we've been unable to correct. Any suggestions?

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

No idea, lol. Dont spray poor Zoro with soapy water, thats just mean!
Have you tried putting a litter box by the couch? Is he neutered? It might be time. Good luck!

 

[agnesthelion]

There is unfortunately SOMETHING about couches!! I don't know what it is, maybe smells like us, feels soft and cushy on their bums...but it's something.

Agnes has near perfect litterbox habits both in and out of her cage. Except she has peed on my couch a few times.

We got her spayed a few weeks ago and, I hope I don't jinx myself, but the peeing has stopped!!

Before the spay, I reduced her free time to supervision only. When she got on the couch i lifted her off. I just kept super vigilant about that. Personally, i don't agree with water spraying.

I also tried tin foil on the couches. Sometimes rabbits won't like the sound and feel of jumping on tinfoil and then will stay off. Unfortunately Agnes thought it was super cool and got up there more!

So if he isn't neutered get him neutered for sure! thats the #1 thing. Otherwise, it's about watching him and keeping him off the couch.

Good luck!

 

[Zoros Mom]

Thanks for the advice. It probably is time for him to be neutered. He started circling about a month ago, which apparently is a sign of sexual maturity. He's just so active and playful and I'm concerned neutering will make him more lethargic. I realize the benefits for him will outweigh the costs.

Some people believe spraying is mean. I feel like as long as you're not cruel or vindictive about it a little spritz should help if positive reinforcement isn't working.

For Zoro it's turned into a game that he enjoys too much at this point for it to be an effective negative reinforcement tool. When he was younger he was more interested in finding out the source of the water. Now that he's a bit older, he dances around, binks, wiggles his ears, and oinks around me if I try to give him a spritz. The ordeal usually ends with a bunny flop that says "I didn't learn anything and I'm too cute to stay mad at; so just clean up my poop and we'll do this again in 10".

 

[nc_bunnys]

I've seen that large pile of piddle. We now have a poo box beside the fireplace.

It's very nice - warm fire, glass of wine and a bunny in a poo box!

 

[woahlookitsme]

When I got my french lop neutered he didnt change a bit. Of course the first day or two he was still sleepy and tired but then he was back to his normal self and i would say binkyd more after his surgery.

I used a spray bottle for whenever franklin would start trying to chew our carpet. He listened to me well but the spray bottle was for if he didnt feel like listening and it worked to get my point across

 

[Zoros Mom]

nc_bunnys wrote:

It's very nice - warm fire, glass of wine and a bunny in a poo box!

:biggrin2: Yup I definitely can relate to that one!

wholookitsme wrote:

When I got my french lop neutered he didnt change a bit. Of course the first day or two he was still sleepy and tired but then he was back to his normal self and i would say binkyd more after his surgery.

That's reassuring! I'm going to set an appointment for Zoro for after labor day. The more I watch him speed around the apartment, I'm starting to realize that it's probably exhausting for him to keep showing off to mate when there's no hope of that happening. Once he gets snipped he can go back to zooming around for his own pleasure, no longer a slave to his hormones.

wholookitsme wrote:

I used a spray bottle for whenever franklin would start trying to chew our carpet. He listened to me well but the spray bottle was for if he didnt feel like listening and it worked to get my point across

You're right -- even though spraying Zoro can turn into a game for him, I definitely have his attention!