Untrainable... please help

I'm not sure where else to turn with this, so I thought I'd come to some experienced rabbit owners.

My lionhead rabbit is about a year and a half old, and I've basically had him since he was old enough to be given away. He comes from a breeder, so right from the get-go he was very affectionate. When I first got him, he was very timid and shy, but as he got more accustomed to his new home, he became more and more curious and rambunctious. I had him neutered about 4 months ago, and they told me his behavior would likely change after that and he would calm down, but he has been exactly the same for probably over a year now.

I can't find anything anywhere about the weird behavior he exhibits, but my vet says he's all normal and healthy. Rather than go into great detail, I'll list off some of his odd habits:

-He refuses to be litter trained. When I first got him, he was "mostly" trained, but no matter what I try, he still gets about half of it in the litter box, and half everywhere else.

-He paddles in his water bowl?? He grew up drinking from a water bottle, but ever since I switched him to a bowl, he feels the need to paddle in it before he drinks. Even when I put down fresh water.

-He doesn't chew anything (other than food), and takes no interest in any kind of toy.

-Even the loudest noises don't startle him, so gently scolding him for going outside the litter box has no effect. The most that will happen is his ears will perk and he'll hold still for a second or two, before returning to what he was doing.

I have no idea how to handle this behavior, and am even more clueless on how to properly train him. I worry about having him outside of his cage for very long because I don't want him to make a mess everywhere, which he usually does. He's still very affectionate, but it's hard to praise him when he refuses to listen. I've tried positive reinforcement, negative, ignorance, and I frankly just don't know what else to do. Can anyone help?? I will answer any questions you might need to know. Thank you!

Sometimes it's just your rabbits personality, if he is not interested in toys and interested in food perhaps putting his favourite treats in a toy would help.
With the litter box thing, make sure the litter box is where he wants it and by that I mean, majority of the time bunnies will choose a rough area (like towards a corner or something like that) to do there business and wherever that place is, is where the litter box should go and not just somewhere random. Also bunnies tend to pee and poop when they are eating, so having his hay above the litter box or in the box in a pile, encourages him whilst he is eating to use the toilet. Plus you want to start of your bunny in small places with a litter box before working your way up to large places like bedrooms or kitchens. Having a big space with a litter box might be a little too overwhelming for a rabbit and that's why you usually should gradually build them up to a large area once they have successfully accomplished the smaller areas.
Regarding the ignorance to loud noises. That's probably more of a good thing than a bad because having a more confident bunny is a lot more easy going then a very shy timid bunny. He obviously feels very safe and secure around you and his home and doesn't feel scared about those noises.

I hope this helps

I think are bunnies are twins! My Bambi is the exact same .

Our not are sorry

Can you show us a picture of his litter box setup? It might help us give you some ideas on how to make him use it more.

I started him with a small corner litterbox with a grate on top, and moved him to a shallow rectangular box in the past few months, but not much has changed. (he's still pretty small) I keep the box in the same corner where he seems to eliminate the most, and even show him when I place his stray droppings into the box, as well as picking him up and placing him in the box after he goes outside of it (as I've read that's supposed to help him learn). I keep a basket of hay in the box as well, so that helps, but so far, most of the standard tricks seem to have have any affect.

What behaviors was he exhibiting pre neuter, that he retained post neuter, that you feel should have changed or calmed down?

When you say 'refuses to be litter trained", what exactly is he doing? Is he pooping out of the box, peeing out of the box, both, and where and what are the specifics of what is going on with it? Does he have free range all the time or is he let out of a cage at certain times to play? Where exactly is he allowed to be and what is his area like and how big? Are there any other pets in your home? Any new people coming into your home? Do you have more than one litter box for him, in different areas?

Paddling in the water bowl may be a learned behavior. It may be a habit he's formed, possibly to clear debris off the top of the water, and something he does automatically. If this is something you don't want him doing, you could try interrupting the behavior by switching him back onto a water bottle for a little while. If you do this, you need to make sure he is drinking well from the bottle that first day. Afterwards, it is always a good idea to check the water level in the bottle each day to keep track of how much he is drinking, as well as checking to make sure there is water flow through the nozzle. Maybe after a week or two, try putting a bowl back in, but if he's still paddling in it, you may have to keep him on a bottle a bit longer for him to unlearn the behavior. There's also the possibility this won't work and maybe this is just something he likes doing

Some buns just aren't big chewers. Consider yourself lucky. The only thing you really want them good at chewing to keep their teeth worn down, is their hay.

Not all rabbits care about playing with toys, and then sometimes it's just a matter of finding the right thing. Some buns will like chew toys, some buns will like throwing around things. Some like things they can dig in like the dirt outside or a digging box indoors. Some like destroying boxes, ripping up newspaper, digging and rearranging a towel or piece of fabric. Some just like running around, and some are just chilled and enjoy lazing about. Try different things to see if you can find something that your bun likes in particular.

Thank you so much for the advice! To answer your questions, he gets about half of his poop/pee in the box, and the rest out of it. Some days he's slightly better, other days he's worse. He mostly lives in a large cage, and I let him out for a couple hours at a time, but only to romp around my room, as I live with other people, but no other pets. He's very accustomed to his environment, and I think maybe I spoiled him too much at an early age, so now he has a tougher time with discipline. I only have the one litter box, but I leave his cage open when he's playing so he can run in and out (which he does do SOMEtimes).

To be honest, the only thing that sounds like it would be troublesome is the poor litter habits. Not being a big chewer and getting in his water bowl are more of personality quirks than big problems I think.

You can try a water bottle as others have suggested or you can get a water crock that attaches to their cage. Water bottles can be troublesome sometimes unfortunately since bunnies can have difficulty getting the water out. A crock might be your best bet.

As for the litter box, most trained rabbits will be able to pee 100% of the time in their box and as for pooping, well... that can vary a lot My girls only leave a few poops outside their box a week and I consider myself very lucky. Is there anything underneath his litter box, like a rug or carpet? They can mistake that for a kind of 'bedding' since it's soft and absorbent and just consider that a larger part of their litter box. You could try using a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water to remove stains & get their 'smell' out of whatever they've been peeing/pooping on.

edit: If he has the one litter box in his cage, he may be trying to mark his playarea as his own. Maybe put another litter box outside of his cage? You can try baiting it (so to say) by putting a tiny bit of his soiled cage litter into the new one. That might help too.

:goodluck