Hormonal marking, having them spayed/neutered will help, until then not really much to be done.

I hope spaying will help! In my case it didn’t make much difference. I feel like my rabbit used her box better before she was spayed. Now she’s getting a bit older and more sassy and defiant and she lets me know she’s the boss. I smack her on the nose when she does pee out of the box, but I’m pretty sure it just makes her hate me more. I reward her when I see her go potty in the box. She’s pretty much a toddler and I feel I’m constantly potty training.

You should never smack a rabbit, you’re right, it will make them fear you. The best way to get a rabbit to pee in the box is to clean everything with vinegar when they have accidents, put a paper towel soaked in the pee in their litter box for the smell and if they are REALLY stubborn, confining them for a little while until they get better at it can work (a few weeks with lots of litter boxes in their smaller area and constant cleaning). Rewarding when she goes to the litter box is fine.

Spaying and neutering eliminates hormonal driven marking but you still have to litter train and be consistent, etc… afterwards. As stickerbunny said, confining space, increasing the amount of litter boxes, and cleaning up accidents is really the most effective way to work with difficult litter training situations (after spaying/neutering). NEVER smack/hit a rabbit or any animal, they don’t really understand it and it only ruins your relationship with them. Positive re-enforcement is the way to go.

Spaying/neutering will help the litter training process. But sometimes it can be a process and sometimes it does take some litter training before they get the hang of it. With my buns, we used a small area with a few litter boxes around. As they got better about using them, we would make the area bigger. They usually catch on pretty quickly and will continue to only go in the litter box. Every time they have an accident, wipe it up with a paper towel and throw it in their box. As they become better, you will be able to limit the number of litter boxes. But if they’re not spayed/neutered they may not catch on right away. Mine all did much better after their spay/neuters but it did take some time and effort with my Tans. I also did some clicker training with one of my buns who would just NOT use the litter box and it worked like a charm. After a week, his litter box habits improved greatly because of all the positive re-inforcement he was getting.

NEVER HIT YOUR RABBIT. It’s not only cruel because they don’t understand but also just does nothing but ruins your relationship with your rabbit. Your right, she probably does dislike you more for it so I’m confused why you would continue doing it if you knew it was causing that effect?

I should say that by “smack” i mean that I tap her on the nose with my finger. I have never hit my rabbits and would never do so. Sometimes it takes every piece of patience I have not to actually hit them, but I digress. My naughtier rabbit, as I’ve discussed in another thread, is likely that way by nature and not by anything I did and honestly all I have to do is say her name in stern voice for her to know she’s in trouble. The nose tapping is done rarely but honestly when I’m frustrated and want to get a point across whether it works or not.

Yes, smacking/tapping or any type of negative physical correction does not work with rabbits.

Mywishresign… your best bet at this point is just dealing with it until they’ve been fixed. Those habits should start to improve once the hormones are out of the equation…