Help: I need litter box encouragement! - Paw Talk

emiliewasmyeve · #1 09-12-2007, 01:56 PM

Alright, folks. I've been patiently attempting to litter train my buns for 2 months now. They are each 4 months old and not at all fond of the litter box.

I've done TONS of research and have been doing everything you're supposed to do. They use the litterbox about 1/4 of the time. There is always some peepee in it, but never any pellets. I have cage liners in their cage to keep it more sanitary. Lately, I've been having to change the liners twice a day --- they make SUCH a mess! Obviously, the pee is more of a problem than anything.

They are both scheduled to be spayed in November, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Can anyone offer advice from similar situations? I feel like I have the only non-compliant buns!

**Sasami** · #2 09-12-2007, 03:22 PM

It should be much easier once they've been spayed. But could you give us more info? What kind of litterbox and litter do you use? Do you put hay in the litterbox?

**Dragonrain** · #3 09-12-2007, 03:25 PM

Their litterbox habits should improve with age, and being spayed is usually very helpful.

kathydip · #4 09-12-2007, 05:21 PM

Ophelia was awful until the day she was spayed. She always piddled outside of the box. Once she was spayed she was so good. Oliver was pretty good before the neuter but much better after. Of course there is an occasional coco puff in their room. I have to be honest once I added Penelope and Teddy there have been more coco puffs but all in all I still think they are good and I know it will calm down once they are bonded.

Summer18 · #5 09-13-2007, 02:22 AM

My three males were trouble to train.Before being neutered,they tending to spray pee on my sofa cover quite often,not to mention leaving little black balls. I occassionaly had to hold them near the stuff when I caught them doing it,put their nose up to it and say 'NO!' annoyedly.THen I wud gently plac ethem in their litter basket along with the evidence. They seem to have realised.And yes,once neutered,they seem a lot easier to train and more improtantly,remember.(My Betty [male],is like a gentle giant.He is loving,strong and just as stupid.The females have him wrapped around their little finger and so her pees where they pee etc...

**Dragonrain** · #6 09-13-2007, 07:23 AM

Generally it's advised not to use negative reinforcement with rabbits (yelling at them, ect) because they don't really understand why your mad at them, and it can give them negative associations with you which isn't good when your trying to earn their trust. I have heard some sites tell you that it's perfectly fine to be loud and tell them no. I don't do it with my rabbits, I just redirect their attention to something else when they are doing something that I don't like. But you have to understand that marking (pooping and peeing outside the box) is a very normal behavior to intact rabbits and they don't see it as doing anything wrong.

The trick is (in my opinion) to use positive reinforcement when they do something right, instead of negative reinforcement when they do something wrong. That means that when they do use the litterbox, make it rewarding for them as much as you can. Leave hay in the box, and maybe give them a treat or two when you see them use it. That way they can hopefully get the idea of what you want from them.

Litterbox habits usually greatly increase after the rabbit is fixed. And baby rabbits are very messy for awhile until they get older. Usually as they get older they will start to pee more in one corner, because in the wild they pee in one area to keep their burrows cleaner. They will leave poop around though because it is somewhat of a signal to other bunnies that says "hey I live here!". So even if you have a rabbit that is awesome at using the litterbox, it wouldn't be unheard of for it to still poop outside the box once in awhile.

I'd say in your case you sound like you've done all the research and are trying your best. Unless it's something weird going on like your litterbox has posion barbs in it (

) or they just don't like the substraight or the box, then I would just say that it's a combination of the facts that your rabbits are still young, and that they are not fixed.

I would give it until after their surgery, keep working with them, but you should see them start to get better with it especially after they are fixed.

petluvr01 · #7 10-11-2007, 04:58 PM

I have one rabbit ( out of three ) that I trained to us the littler box. What I did , sense mine are outside, I put a pan the size half of her house, which was a large cake pan, that way for aabout two weeks she had no choice but to use the pan. Then I put in a smaller pan, and she still used it. It worked like a charm. Unfortunatly i had to take the pan out b/c it was rusting and I didn't want it to harm her.

Hope this helps, but my guess is that you bunny is any inside bunny, so it probably doesn't have a house connected with an open area like most outdoor cages do. But anyways, your welcome!!