HELP! HE WON’T STOP PEEING

[Rachel]

My rabbit is almost a year old and I worked really hard to potty train him and it worked for the most part (pellet outside of the box every now and then).  For a while now he will pee outside of his box.  It is usually in the same place.  We have cleaned the location with different cleaners and vinegar thinking that the smell was attracting him.. I even try to move his litter box right over the area he pees but he still pees outside of the box. He does it when his box is freshly cleaned and when it needs to be cleaned so it’s not a matter of a dirty litter box.. I am at a loss, I have no idea what to do.

[Wick & Fable]

You need to get your rabbit used to the idea of peeing inside the litter box. This can require actually picking him up right before/while he’s peeing and plopping him in the litter box. Cleaning the spot will not make your rabbit learn; you need to make an action when he’s doing it outside the litterbox. For Wick, I use a snake-hiss sound when he does something bad to get his attention and pair it with corrective action (bringing him to the litterbox). When he does go in the litterbox, even if it’s after I put him there, I praise him with pets.

If you rabbit is not neutered, it will make it more difficult to get this message across.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Try to make the litter box a place he wants to spend time in. Make sure it’s big enough that he can lay down and if you don’t already, put lots of hay in it, piled on one side. Bunnies love to eat and poop/pee at the same time. If it continues after you’ve tried this, you might want to get him checked out to make sure it’s not being caused by a health problem.

[Author]

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