Litter training is hard

[Jupiter_Flemish Giant]

I have had a hard time working with my new Giant Flemish, Jupiter. I have taught him how to do tricks, not dig on his pee-pads, and even how to not bite things unless I give them to him. I started litter training him because I believed that litter training was one of the easiest things, also I wanted to be able to prove that he didn’t need to be an outside bunny. He lives inside, but my parents plan to move him outside. As I am 15, they pay for his food. I have been training him for almost three weeks now, and he simply doesn’t get it. I know he isn’t just dumb, and he listens quite well, but nothing works. I have tried new litter, a new box, new hay, even new food. I do not whip my rabbit like my parents recommend, but his discipline is going in his cage instead of in my room. My room does have hard wood, but I have two carpets put down for him to not slide. He had a sister when I got him, and simply could not afford her.  I tried to give every amount of information just in case its important. PLEASE HELP

[DanaNM]

Is he neutered? If not it may be very hard to litter train him.

Can you describe his housing set up?

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

Rabbits are not like cats when it comes to litterboxes. They aren’t programmed to go in random rectangular boxes– for a rabbit to likely do all business in their litterbox, they should be spayed/neutered, the litterbox set up should be spacious w/ plenty of easily accessible hay, and the location of the litterbox has to be in places where a rabbit would naturally want to go, like a corner of a room.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Litter_training

Also, I noticed your profile picture is a rabbit on its back. Please note this is called “trancing” and is highly NOT recommended to do: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Trancing

Time outs will not work and no forms of punishment would be effective. Rabbits aren’t going to understand why they’re being “punished”– it’s just going to frustrate them and make them fearful. Do not physically punish a rabbit.

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.

[Jupiter_Flemish Giant]

Oh, I didn’t know I was hurting him. I thought he just maybe liked it? Tbh honest I didn’t really have a scientific reason, but I thought it was cute. I will stop holding him like this, I feel bad for doing this to him.

To reply to @DanaNM He is not neutered. I am trying to save up money, which is the main reason my parents pay for his food. I have about 500$ saved, while the surgery is 700$ where I live. He hasn’t sprayed, but then again most of my inside animals are females, so I think maybe he doesn’t feel the need to. He has since last night got a cleaned cage (which I do about every other day) and got him a new hide. Since the new hide he has started to use the litter box more often, but I don’t why.

 

[DanaNM]

Ok yes, then this is probably the biggest issue with litter training! Even if he isn’t spraying (thank goodness) they will still leave poops and pee around.

I would say keep him confined to an area that has the flooring protected for now and just hang on until he’s neutered. Usually litter habits improve greatly on their own around 3 weeks after neutering (it takes some time for the hormones to settle).

 

. . . 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.  

[LBJ10]

Yes, I agree that timeouts and physical punishment are not going to work. You can use a “timeout” to break the cycle of a repetitive behavior, but this type of “timeout” is simply removing bunny from the situation. For example, they just won’t leave something alone even though you go over to stop them multiple times. I have found that removing them from that situation for awhile can help break the cycle and they will eventually decide to move onto something else. You can also combine this with redirecting them to something more appropriate. Simply locking them up in a cage when they do something “bad” isn’t going to register with them that they are being punished.

As for physical punishments, that will only teach your bunny to fear you. They won’t understand why they are being punished and they especially won’t understand that pooping outside the litter box is “bad”.

There are tons of resources out there for litter training. Keep in mind that some bunnies are going to be better than others when it comes to using the litter box. Setting him up for success is going to be your best bet.

And yes! You must get him neutered if you expect him to have any kind of consistency using the litter box. The urge to mark is just too strong when they aren’t neutered. We see it all the time. Someone is convinced their bunny can’t be litter trained. Then they get them spayed/neutered and TA-DA! Bunny is now using the litter box.

[Jupiter_Flemish Giant]

Thank you!!!!!! I still feel bad for holding him on his back, but since Ive stopped he no longer is angry when I try to pick him up. I will try to save up money for him!!!!

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