Out of ideas

[NotaCocoaPuff]

My 2 female rabbits were spayed back in September. It seemed to help their litterbox habbits tremendously... for a while. Rue is still doing great, she seems to be using the litterbox however he urine doesn't stink and it lighter in color so its hard to tell sometimes. But i see her use the litterbox often.
Then there is Basil... she is the dominant female and very alpha. She does use the litterbox but thinks nothing of marking other areas as well. In particular she has chosen near my cats litterbox which is housed inside a wood trunk. She pees outside the litterbox and outside the wood trunk. She also has another area on the patio that she likes to mark. This morning I cleaned the carpet real good and was laying down a plastic floor covering. Immediately she came over and peed on the floor covering. She was also very aggressive towards me. I have tried moving a litterbox for her, closer to this location to see if it would help but she still prefers to use the carpet or wood trunk.
I am absolutely out of ideas. Her big personality is very hard to deal with, although she is friendly. I do feel she also suppresses Rue in that because she is so dominant Rue just hides most of the time. I'm wondering two things... Should I consider separating them? Is litterbox training Basil somewhat of a lost cause? I mean it's been 3 months and I've seen no progress from our current point.

 

[John Wick]

It can be very frustrating to have one rabbit who is very adherent and one that is not, and it makes it difficult to be more tolerant of the latter. I have two rabbits: one who is impeccable, and one who is not.

One thing, which is important to keep in mind, is rabbits are not necessarily wired to be litter box trained— we are simply taking advantage of their tendency to do their business in the same spot, especially while eating. Because of this, there are rabbits who pick up this novel, human-concocted toilet-technique, and there are definitely others who need some actual training. You mention putting the box closer to her— again, if she doesn't understand the fundamental message you're trying to get across ("You need to go in this."), that won't do anything for her.

It sounds like you're maintaining the environment by cleaning up messes as they occur; however, this will not be enough to have Basil connect that she should go somewhere else. I sort of think of it as a child who makes a mess somewhere— just because it's cleaned up doesn't deter them from doing it again. To put two-and-two together, the biggest recommendation is restrict her space so she learns that going in the litterbox is preferable than other areas in that space. Then, you slowly expand that space. Also, when possible, you want to bar off places that you just know she's going to mark because you don't want her non-adherence behavior being enforced by her doing it. This is why a lot of owners bar off their bed or couches, because lots of rabbits enjoy peeing on soft areas.

Regarding your rabbits' bond, if you feel there is bullying and the bond is not there, then yes, I would recommend separation. It sounds like a very tense life for Rue if she is hiding and fearful because of Basil. Also, it could be that, because they lack a secure bond, Basil is marking as a result. The "turf wars" are very common for non-bonded rabbits. It could be that Basil can actually pick up litter box habits well, but right now shes marking because of Rue.

 

[NotaCocoaPuff]

They are definitely bonded, they do cuddle and clean each other. It just seems that Basil always has to be first to the food dish and loves to steel food items from Rue. Rue just isn't human social at all. No matter the attention we give her or the treats she runs the other way when she sees us. these two are just so different from my other rabbit that I guess I didn't realize what I was getting into. My other guy was pretty clean and neat, free range, loved attention and human affection, he played and interacted with us. These two seem are more work and don't really seem to need human interaction... I assume because they are bonded so they have each other. I wonder if Basils marking issues are because Rue is around and I wonder if Rue's antisocial behaviors are because Basil is around