LITTERBOX TRAINING ISSUES...HELP!

[Audrey]

We've had our Flemish Giant Chloe for about a week now, and she's an indoor rabbit so we are wanting to litter box train her [[ASAP]]

She's been doing fairly well so far but we've been having a few problems

I started by putting the litter box in her cage and once she peed in a specific corner, i cleaned the mess, placed her litterbox there and put a papertowel with her urine on it in the box so she would get the idea. She's been doing fairly well with this and [[as far as i know]] has only been using the litterbox while in her cage.

HOWEVER
We let her roam free from her cage while we are downstairs with her and she has started peeing on a specfic piece of furniture [[a futon mattress set up as a bed for one of my roomates]]

We've attempted to protect his bed from her poops and pees by placing blankets over it, but she keeps peeing on it when she's out and about...
It happened the first few days she was here, then she stopped for a few days [[and i assumed she had gotten over it]] but now she's started doing it again...

Its never in the same place on the bed, and we've tried switching the covering blankets several times with no luck

I was curious as to why she's doing this, and if there's anything i can do to make her stop

HELP?!

-Audrey

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I would place a litterbox or two out with her poos in it to use while she's out. You can see if that helps. If not, I would refrain from having her free roam until she's totally trained. Or, limit the time out and get her back to the cage to use the litterbox. At this point, she thinks she can go anywhere or is just marking areas she feels the need to, lol. You can also limit the area she is allowed, making it smaller until she starts doing better, then you can expand the area a bit.


Here is alink from our Library on litter training that may help as well:

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12213&forum_id=17

 

[elrohwen]

Bunnies like to mark their territory sometimes - once they've peed on something, that thing becomes "theirs" and they feel the need to pee on it over and over to claim it again They especially seem to have this attitude about beds and couches - these are areas that smell very strongly of us, and sometimes bunnies want to claim it for their own.

I would try to clean the area very very well with vinegar or another odor removing cleaner. She can still smell that she peed there and it's encouraging her to keep using it as a bathroom.

You can also put a litter box over the spot to encourage her to pee in just the box. Once she's using the box consistently (and you've cleaned the area well) she may forget that she ever used the area as a bathroom. You can also cover it with a shower curtain or tarp - something water proof - for easy clean up.

If that doesn't work, I would completely block her off from the spot she's peeing on. Sometimes things become a habit and a bunny will continue to do it. If you break the habit, by keeping her away from the area, when you let her back over there in a month or two she may have forgotten all about it.

And unspayed bunny will also be more insistent about marking territory, so this should reduce once she's spayed (assuming she isn't already)

 

[petitlapin]

We had to put a bunny gate across one of our bedrooms, Gus would make attempts to mark a certain bed. Since we put the bunny gate up he has not had access to the bed and everyone is happy. It's been up for over a month, I don't know if I'll take it down anytime soon. When we first put the gate up he'd stare into the room :?, but now he just hops right by.:bunnydance:So I guess I would suggest restricting your buns access to the bed or else you'll spend a lot of time and energy on laundry (like I did).

 

[Pipp]

Chloe may be establishing territorial boundaries with your roommate.

Spray it down with vinegar and block off the room. She will get over it, but it may take weeks.

My slob of a Flemmie is now almost perfect after a couple months of pooping and peeing in all areas even close to my other bunnies (including on top of the grids housing poor little Sherry, he was peeing on her head! :yuck How's THAT for establishing territory!) :biggrin2:

And I still remember Jan (Luvabun) and hubby John coming to visit and sitting on what Dill considered to be *his* couch. He pooped and peed on it for the next three weeks. ssd:


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Audrey]

unfortunately i dont really have the option of blocking it off, short of restricting her to her cage the bed, her cage and the area we let her play in is all in my living room, so we have a bit of a predicament...
But i'm curious about one thing...my roommate who uses the bed has only been home once,for a very short while, since Chloe has been with us [[he's been visiting family]] and i wonder if him coming home [[tomorrow]] will make our situation better or worse...

she's been a very good bunny otherwise and doesn't ever poop elsewhere in the living room, though she roams freely for the majority of the day...

 

[Pipp]

Do you have an understanding roommate?

Flemish love beds and couches -- they really are couch potatoes. But they won't always feel the need to mark them. It's an 'establishment' issue.

She will stop. When she's a little older and spayed, she'll stop for sure. Maybe sooner. Claiming territory with a human doesn't take as long as with another bunny, no marking 'wars'.

Meantime you can put a barrier around or on top of the bed made from cube shelving panels, or keep a piece of plywood on the bed or some other deterrent when nobody's around and just wait it out.

Or just find a couple of really thick ratty old comforters to throw over it and just keep washing it with vinegar. (The vinegar part is really important). I still keep my couches covered with sheets or blankets all the time because there can always be a stray poop here and there, best to find them on the surface then between the cushions. Good for when they molt, too.


sas :clover:

 

[bengal77]

I'd also like to suggest that you can put a plastic tarp or shower curtain over the futon while she's free roaming. If she pees it will splash back at her and she won't like it. She'll also be less likely to do it again if it doesn't absorb. Just make sure that she has a litter box in the room and that the tarp is held in place so she can't push it off the futon.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

I second the motion for a plastic tarp.
If you get one of those microfleece blankets (the ones made out of plastic, and then pop a tarp over that, you're good.

I've found that nothing seems to penetrate the microfleece unless you let it sit for awhile.

 

[Pipp]

bengal77 wrote:

I'd also like to suggest that you can put a plastic tarp or shower curtain over the futon while she's free roaming. If she pees it will splash back at her and she won't like it. She'll also be less likely to do it again if it doesn't absorb. Just make sure that she has a litter box in the room and that the tarp is held in place so she can't push it off the futon.

:yeahthat::goodjob

 

[Audrey]

thanks so much yeah, thankfully my roommates are very understanding and helpful with our stubborn little bun lol
were going to try washing the covering blankets with vinegar and puttng a shower curtain over it while shes out about about...i'll update on here and let you guys know how that works out ^_^

 

[Audrey]

good news on the potty front!!!
were still watcing her very closely, but since my roommate got back home, she has stopped peeing [[and the majority of her pooping!]] on the futon ^_^
we even saw her stop in the middle of playtime and go back into her cage and use her litterbox likea good girl!!

she got plenty of treats and lovis for it lol
were still being catious and keeping an eye on her, but were really happy that she seems like she's finally getting the idea down

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

inkbouce::bunnydance:That's great news! Give Chloe a treat from me!

 

[Audrey]

oh shes getting plenty for being a good girl

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Awesome work! :highfive: I think you should come over and give my Evie a hand...

 

[Audrey]

lol i would if i could take credit for it, but honestly i'm still not really sure how i managed to train her lol
I think she just got tired of putting up with me shooing her off her favorite nap spot every day