Couch problem!

[breeats]

Hello all binky bunny experts!!! I'm so sorry if this has already been covered in another post, and also apologize for the length of this message. I need some advice!! We have a 3 month old Giant Flem bunny. Just a bit of backround, I rescued her from a pretty horrible backdoor breeder type situation, When i brought her home, I mistakenly let her have too much "run" of the house. She had access, to living area, dining, kitchen, large hallway, and our bathroom. She litter trained easily/ does not go anywhere in the house though. Shows no signs of dominance in any other aspect of our relationship, After a few days I noticed she would continually poo/pee on the couch. I clap hands, Stomp my foot, and tuned my back on her when she does this. I also would soak her pee/poo up with a paper towel and place it in her litter before disinfecting and cleaning the area. Also I scoop her up and place her gently in her crate. (Does not care for the scooping, Most definitely not used to being handled all that much. Getting better with this every day though!)
I living area is set up in a way, where the back of the couch is facing her, I block that off with pillows, and the entrance to the living room is also blocked by a large cardboard box with pillows on top. (Not a great look, )_But my big bun can obviously still jump over this area, and make her way to her second fav poo/pee place, Our couch!

My questions are, Do I continue to work with her in this aspect? I would prefer her to be with us the majority of the time and to generally have her fit into our household. But also can not have her continually go on the couch. ( I do have towels put down, But the constant washing and scrubbing of the towels, couch, while having to reprimand her continously through out the day is wearisome. I also do not want her to grow to resent me for this consant begrudging in her eyes!)
My other thought was, to prepare one of my extra bedrooms as "her" room. It is decent sized, and of course I would bunny proof. I just sort of feel guilty locking her away in a room as she would not get the constant attention she is getting now! Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. I am at a loss, and have posted on several diff rabbit forums, and have not recieved a thought out response. Please help?!
 

[breeats]

Also If i did room “confine” her, when she’s older, Would I be able to reintroduce her to the house? Btw, This sweet gal is constantly licking me and my fam members, has never “digged” or chewed on anything that wasn’t given to her. She is a really sweet bun. I know her behaviours could, and will most likely drastically change when she’s hit maturity, We do plan on having her spayed, from what I read so far it seems the way to go!
I also had a question though, If her behaviour doesn’t change, And we never plan on getting another rabbit, male or female, making her the only bun in our household. So no chance on breeding! Is the general consensus for her well being and health mean that we most definitely should get her spayed? I am just curious to what others think on the matter.

[Hazel]

Yes, she still needs to be spayed. 85% of unspayed females develop reproductive cancer by age 3-4. It’s very very important to spay, even if there’s no male around.

As to peeing on the couch, it smells like you and it’s soft, both will make a bunny want to pee in such a location. Spaying might help, but some bunnies just aren’t safe to let on the couch/bed. Once she’s spayed you can try again, but there’s no guarantee. You should be able to litter train her so that she can be around the house, though. Flemmies need a lot of space, so her having access to most of the house would be great.

[bunnluff]

I hope spaying will help her situation! What a lucky bun, she gets mostly free roam and possibly her own room! My girls are locked up in an x-pen most of the time. I feel bad they don’t have a bigger enclosure but I live in an apartment. They do get out for playtime several times a day and most people say my bunnies are very spoiled.
I wonder how people let their bunny free roam? Do you put her away when you go out? Or does she just do as she pleases I’m curious.

[breeats]

Thanks guys for your responses! I was like 99% taking the spay route, I was just unsure! So thanks for that input.
We don’t let her get access to the couch area, As like I said it is blocked off. But I also have twin girls, and a dog, and a whole house to take care of during the day, Chores, Laundry etc etc. You know the drill . So of course I can’t watch her the entire time she’s free roam, So when I take my eye off her for a bit, that seems to be when she does the jumpy business over my blocked off living area to get a pee/poo in on that darn couch. (Luckily it wasn’t in the best condition in the first place! lol) So I guess, in her defense, When I leave her, I should put her in her crate. I just hate doing that, You know? She’s still just a baby and very touchy about being held! So I try to only scoop her up when it is absolutely necessary! And give her a small treat after doing so.

What age do you reccommend on getting a bun spayed btw? She is only 3 and a half months.
I do put her away when we go out, As We have a dog that needs her space as well, They generally are around each other a good amount of time. My dog jut tends to think of the baby bun as her playmate still. Lol So we’re working on that. But when we are home she does as she pleases! Although like I said, I’m conflicted on whether or not I should close her off in a room of her own, or continue the training as she is now.

[breeats]

She is litter trained though, she has free roam of my entire upstairs, and only goes in her litter box and ….. Couch. Lol

[Elrohwen]

Peeing on couches is super common. Beds too, so watch out if she gets onto the bed 😉 It’s natural for them to want to mark things that smell like us, especially when they are absorbent like couches and beds. If you don’t have a way to keep her off the couch and you want to let her roam, I would cover it with something like a plastic shower curtain when you can’t supervise.

Spaying may help, though some bunnies continue to do it after being fixed. The spay is definitely important though, as females have a very high risk of reproductive cancers if left unspayed.

[bunnluff]

I don’t think you would feel as bad closing her off to just one room if she had a companion. I feel a lot less guilty caging my bunnies because I know they have each other and aren’t lonely. If she gets her own room, I’d put a baby gate at the door so at least she has that connection to the rest of the house.

[breeats]

I thought of plastic wrap too, It’s just that it’s a “High Volume” area of my house, My kids are constantly everywhere. So it would be sort of hard to plastic wrap, and I don’t think that’d really be teaching her anything… Unless! You think the plastic wrap would prevent her from wanting to go on it at all…? Hmm.
My house is a ranch, so the living room/dining room is connected, her crate is in our dining room currently, SO the couch is literally always in her view unfortunately… I don’t know about getting a companion right away, I’d love to have another bun. But right now our lil gal is already a handful!
Lol And I’m a first time bunny owner, So i’m just testing the waters here and trying to learn as much as I possibly can before thinking that.
That also was my other thought though, her being lonely in a separate room.
I just don’t want her to be cooped up in her crate for being naughty, or her being alone. So i’m sort of at my wits end. Lol. Does anyone have any pictures of their bunny rooms per chance?
I think i’m swinging that route, at least until she’s a bit older. I just don’t know.
So some cute bunny rooms I need to see!
Also I’ve been searching online for ages trying to find proper Flemish house environments and can’t seem to find any anywhere. I’ve seen a few bunny condos, that are nice. But still too small for her really to maneuver herself around in.
Building one myself is an option, I am not the most handy person in the world however, haha.

[breeats]

Also If I choose to go the bunny room route, I’ve seen a lot of talk on this forum about using baby gates, to gradually give them more space in the room, Which would be great. But my Flemish gal can jump 5 feet above most of the tallest baby gates it seems, *Which is why the little bugger gets over my couch and blockades!!

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