How do I litter train a stubborn rabbit?

[Ciara]

My rabbit is 1 year old + neutered and I have been trying to litter train him with the normal tactics: having him in a small pen, scooping up any accidents and putting it in his litter box, scooping up pee with paper towels and doing the same (he only seems to pee on soft things like blankets, otherwise he only pees in the litterbox); but he just isn’t learning. It’s been like this going on 3 weeks now 🙁 I really want to have him free roam again but I can’t have him peeing on my bed and pooping all over my room. I used to free roam him because while he did have a lot of poop accidents it wasn’t a huge deal because he didn’t pee anywhere besides the litterbox, but then he got into the habbit of jumping up on my bed to pee on it.Please help!!

[DanaNM]

Can you describe the set up in his pen? During litter training it helps to have a hard smooth surface everywhere except the litter pan, so remove any blankets and beds. It also helps to make sure he can only access his hay while he’s inside his box, as most buns will pee and poop while they eat hay.

Soft litter like Carefresh also seems to be especially good for litter training due to the soft texture.

. . . 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.  

[Ciara]

In his pen I have a bunch of toys (wooden balls, plain cardboard cause he likes to chew, wooden log, etc.), his water bowl and food bowl and that’s it. I have his pen in a small section of my room bc I know it’s better to keep the area smaller while litter training. Unfortunately the floor is carpet bc of the apartment I live in so he doesnt have a hard surface to be on. The only hay is in his litterbox, I use a cat litter pan with Yesterday’s News Unscented Paper Litter and plenty of hay 🙂

[DanaNM]

Gotcha!

You might want to get a sheet of vinyl flooring to use under his pen for now if he’s peeing on the carpet. You can get it pretty cheaply at hardware stores (I was able to order some from Home Depot and pick it up curbside recently, but not sure where you are in the world!). He could be marking the carpet if there are lingering pee-smells there.

Re-reading your initial post, is the main problem the bed? Beds can be a problem area, unfortunately because they are soft and smell strongly of humans. Some people have had success putting a shower curtain under a blanket on the bed, which blocks the scent and protects your bedding in case the bun does pee. Other than that most people opt to block access to the bed.

Perhaps some others will chime in with more tips. How long ago was he neutered?

. . . 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.  

[Ciara]

He doesn’t pee on the carpet fortunately, I may still look into getting the vinyl flooring though. I am going to be moving in July so hopefully I can find a place with hardwood floors bc that would make my life easier haha he likes to dig and chew at the carpet.

Yes, the bed is the main problem, he likes to jump on my bed a lot and almost every time he pees on it. He’s even specifically jumped up on my bed just to pee on it! He wasn’t even on it for 5 seconds before I was trying to push him to get off and he had already peed 😥 I haven’t tried the shower curtain trick yet, maybe I will try that. He seems to only like peeing on blankets, otherwise his litter habits (pee wise) are pretty good. I used to give him his own blanket to lay on but he also peed all over that :/

He has been neutered since last September 🙂

[DanaNM]

OK gotcha! So yeah… beds are tricky. Hopefully the shower curtain helps, or if not using an x-pen to block access to it might be the easiest option!

. . . 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.  

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