Potty training. HELP!!!

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Love your rabbit
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
haleymae

haleymae

Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2010
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Hello!
I am a brand new user and also a brand new bunny owner! I got a lop-ear dwarf a few months ago and we're having a little trouble. We love him to death but he has picked a very odd spot as his bathroom. I read that once your bunny picks somewhere to potty, it is hard to make them go anywhere else but we want to try! Anyhow, he has decided to go right in the kitchen doorway. Obviously we cannot put his cage there and putting a litter box in the middle of the kithcen doorway is a last resort but I am just wondering if ya'll have any suggestions. We have tried some things like soaking up the urine with a paper towel and then placing the towel in his littler box and have done the same with his droppings. We also got him neutered and he is doing really good going in the exact same spot every time, its just a REALLY inconvenient spot! He also uses the littler box in his cage, just not all the time!
I am happy to be apart of this forum and I look forward and appreciate ANY advice!!! Thanks ya'll! :wave:
 
Welcome!

What have you been using to clean it up? Typically a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water is great for getting rid of the smell. If he can smell the pee, he'll think that's his bathroom spot.

Is it possible to block him off from going near the kitchen doorway for a while? With most animals I find if you can break their pattern, they'll forget about the habit they formed. If he's not allowed near the doorway for a few weeks (and you clean it up really well) when you reintroduce that area he may forget that he ever liked to pee there.

Finally, how long ago did you get him neutered? It can take 4-6 weeks for the hormones to leave his system, so it may just take him some more time. I would try my first two suggestions and when it's been 4-6 weeks after neutering, let him near that spot again and see if he leaves it alone.

Good luck!
 
Oh my gosh that helps sooo much! I am going to try the vinegar and water to clean up with because we have just been using carpet cleaner and given that the urine has such a strong scent, it's probably not doing the trick!
We can actually block him off from that area so we will definitely try that too!
He got neutered about two weeks ago so maybe I just have not waited long enough but I will try the first two suggestions!
I really really appreciate the help!
Thanks again!

 
hello there, yes I had the same problem with Mimi when she was "in training" - and this was also prior to her being spayed.

she picked our living room cornerand continued to keep going on the carpet, so I hadyuckywizzle spots (not very nice at all) I got a product called "urine-off" which is for cats wizzle - but ifyou clean the soiled area with soap/disenfectant, then clean it with urine -after the soap it removes the urine odour so cats tend to not go in the same place and it worked for Mimi. Everytime she pooped in the corner, we'd brush it up with a dust pan immediately and put it in a litter tray and so after awhile, since there was nothing on the living room floor - she worked out the scent of her poops was in the litter box and eventually she was trained (took us about 4-6 weeks of being vigilant with the dust pan) but now she never goes inside and always makes an effort to stop whatever she's doing - visit her tray and then come back.



Hope this helps :)
 
Yes! That is exactly how I feel about the little pee spots Butters is leaving!!! It's yucky! Thank you so much and I will definitely look for this urine off stuff! Seems like it could definitely work for us! And im going to try putting his little droppings in his littler box too. We use a little dust pan to sweep them up as well!
Thanks again!!! :biggrin2:
 
Also, once you've had a bun for a while, you'll probably dispense with the dust pan and broom and just pick the poos up with your fingers ;)

I second the vinegar. The vinegar is an acid and neutralizes the ammonia (a base), neutralizing the smell as well! For rabbit pee at least, I've found it extremely effective (plus it's totally safe which is good since rabbits are more likely to chew/lick the floor than most pets)
 
I use the vinegar and it works unless it's an ongoing territorial area, usually meaning there are other bunnies or cats or other targets hanging out on the other side of the doorway requiring at least three or four poops and the odd little puddle. ;)

When Pipp was a teenager, she'd leave a ring of poops around the sleeping cat. I thought at first she was claiming the cat as her own, but it turned out she was telling the cat that everything outside the small circle was HERS.

I still remember my mini-rex suddenly (and angerly) pooping and peeing on my couch for a few weeks after somebody who had bunnies came to visit and sat there). ;)

If the vinegar doesn't work, also put a little tray near the side of the doorway with a little of his poop and pee already in it. (I don't bother with the litter).

Another thing to look at is how much territory he has. While its nice to have a free run bun in a large house, it got exhausting for Pipp, she had to race around constantly to check her territory. She turned out to be much happier being a bedroom/office only bunny.

But everybunny is different!

Welcome to RO btw!


sas :bunnydance:
 
Misty, that's not necessarily true. My bun has never ever pooped outside of his litter box. Ever! And I've had him for a year. He's never peed either. Maybe he's a rarity, but I don't think he is - I think there are a fair number of other bunnies just like him.

Now, if there are other bunnies around (unbonded) or buns are speutered, you're probably not going to ever see perfection. But someone with one speutered bun in the house can possibly have a perfectly litter trained bun.
 
So I have been trying the vinegar/water solution thing but it doesn't seem to be working and I don't know what I'm doing wrong..... I filled a water bottle with half vinegar, half water and sprayed the area. Then I put an extra litter box just outside the area. The vinegar doesn't seem to bother him at all. He is still leaving the little poops in exactly the same spot. However, he has stopped peeing in that area so that's definitely a big improvement! The only thing I can think of, and I thought of this after you mentioned that your bunny leaves a circle of poops around your cat, is that my bunny is leaving his little poops just out side the kitchen doorway but it's also just outside where we keep the dogs food and water bowls. So would it make sense that he is letting the dog know that she needs to stay in the kitchen area? What did you do to keep yours from doing that??? Or maybe I just need to spray with a little more vinegar, less water? What do you think?
 
I've had my bunnies(2 of them)since they were 6 weeks old and they are 10 months old now and they still leave poo in their cage, outside their litter box. They are litter box trained. But their is some strays. When they're out playing they'll leave some pootoo. I dont' think it;s a big deal :)
 
Rabbits pee where they tend to pee before and the vinegar totally elminates the pee (not just the smell), it changes the chemical compound. The the same with the poop. It does help with the odor to keep the bunny from pooping where he (or another bunny) pooped before, but it won't eliminate the reason for the pooping. Which in this case is very likely the dog.
The bunny is 'drawing the line'. :laughsmiley:

The bunny is associating the feeding area with the dog's 'territory' and marking his own.

Did I mention its best to put the poops in the litterbox off to the side everyday? And when you put it off to the side, is is still in line with the entrance? Just moving it over a few inches from where it is now is the best bet.

I just use a small cardboard flat like the kind a dozen small cans of cat food come in) with a bit of newspaper, (a 'disposable mini-litter-box) and putting the poop in there should convince him to move, and eventually he should stop altogether. The marking usually only goes on for a month or two here before they feel settled.

Unless another pet shows up or something else changes. ;)

Good luck!

PS: I use straight vinegar, but not sure that I need to.


sas :clover:
 
elrohwen, Ive got a very similar bunny! Jezzabelle practically litter-trained herself, it was so weird! She does still leave some poos outside her litter box, but thats in her cage and she never leaves them anywhere else outside of the cage. She has never peed outside of her cage either, at least to my knowledge. So there are other "almost perfect" buns, lol. And I find that the water and vinegar works great for cleaning out her litter box, no smell left whatsoever afterwards :)
 
My Gus is pretty darn near perfect (IMVHO;)) with his litter box habits too. He's free roam from 10-15 hours a day and I never have to worry about him pooping or peeing in the house (it probably helps that theonly other pets we have fish). He does tend to mark his cage with poops, but he ALWAYS pees in his litter box.

Haley, if he's stopped peeing in that spot, then I'd call it a success! Picking up a few poops is no biggie in comparison to the pee! But keep putting them into the box and hopefully he'll get the message and start using the box instead of the doorway! :)

Hope that helps!

Rue
 
Funbunmum, Otto's our only pet too - I definitely think that helps litter habits. I can't really blame a bunny for marking (with poo) if there are dogs, cats, other buns, etc around the house. I can't wait to get a second bun (and a dog) but I'm not looking forward to the potential loss of perfect litter habits!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top