Peeing on everything, at my wits end

[Kaitlyn]

Hey! I have been searching for advice for the past 9 months, I have contacted people on social media, the vets, friends etc. But I have recently found this forum and i am searching for advice.

I am at my wits end, and it is driving me insane.

Bertie is a continental giant, he is litter trained, house trained and crate trained- crate trained for when I leave him in my families care whilst I am at work and they can watch him. He has a run attached (had to mention this because on other groups I was verbally attacked.).

EVERY SINGLE TIME I take the cage/grids from around my bed (I am living like a caged animal at night?) he pees and poos everywhere
When i try to feed him or clean his tray he lunges at me
When i open all the baby gates so he can go downstairs, he bites the dogs in the house (we had bonded them when he can a baby, and lived in harmony with them)
He is destructive, so destructive! He has all the toys in the world, I work with wood so i make him stuff to chew on but it doesn’t stop him from chewing my walls, floors, bed, cupboards, drawers, doors, carpets, towels in the bathroom, jumping on my shelves which are quite high up and eating my picture frames. My house is a state!
He is 16 months old, neutered and vaccinated. He was he perfect rabbit for the first year, perfect still after his neutering but the past few months he has changed. I have asked the vets if they think there was anything mentally or physically that could be causing this but they said all rabbits are like this.

I need tips on what to do, how do I stop his behaviour? I have used the word no and when he has done something bad I push his nose down, but it does not do anything!
How do i stop the peeing? I have used grids around my bed for months and I cant live like this, he has to live in my bedroom and I don’t want to cage him at night! I have tried tarp over my bed but he still does it, i have tried waterproof sheets, using a spray with smells he does not like etc.

How do i do any of this! I thought i was so well informed when i got him a 12 weeks, but now i am seriously doubting myself. He’s so lovely and I love him to bits, i just don’t know how long i can carry on with this going on. I sometimes wonder if he’s better off with someone else. Please help me

[Wick & Fable]

It would be helpful to know the “daily routine” and how you and potentially others interact with him day to day. So many rabbit behaviors that owners find unpleasant can be very contextual and shaped by the environment.

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.

[Kaitlyn]

Our daily routine:

6am: he gets half a handful of nuggets and is “let loose” on the herb garden for 10 minutes or so

Then 7am: he is in our bedroom until my family get up etc, then he is allowed downstairs with the dogs and family.

He is outside with the dogs whenever my family let the dogs outside. He eats plenty of hay and grass everyday. He is usually in his run and crate during the school run, or if my family is going out. Just to make sure hes safe.

I get home around 4:15 so I take an hour or so to play with him and give him attention. He can then do what he likes for the rest of the evening upstairs.

He gets his ‘tea’ around 7:30 with more herbs and nuggets. He has unlimited hay all day everyday. He eats burgess excel nuggets

 

On a weekend, I take him anywhere I go- usually in his carry case and I have a harness if its outside and he can run around!

We do the same thing everyweek and he is well socialised with other animals and is never alone unless its on a morning whilst I’m at work.

[DanaNM]

Hmmmm, the change in the last few months is what jumps out to me. Have there been any changes in your household?  Did this happen to coincide with covid-times and everyone just being home all the time?

The only other thing that seems like it might be a trigger is that he goes traveling with you a lot, and you tend to rearrange fencing sometimes? Maybe this is enough to make him feel the need to re-mark and reestablish territory?

The typical advise for loss of litter training is to restrict the space a bit. It also seems like he is very much trying to claim the entire house as his (chewing things is also a way of marking). Restricting his space would also help as you could bunny-proof that area better. I know some people will secure pieces of lumber over their baseboards etc so the buns can chew that instead of the wall.

. . . 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]

I agree with Dana.

Also, if you are telling him “no”, be sure to redirect him. Pushing his nose to the floor isn’t going do anything except make him mad. So if he is chewing the carpet, for example, tell him “no” and then physically redirect him to something more appropriate. I’ve also had a lot of luck with putting something heavy on a chew spot. After awhile, they will “forget” about it. Covering baseboards with wood or cardboard is also helpful. Keep in mind, bunnies really like something stationary to chew on. This is why chewing baseboards, etc. is very attractive. So perhaps he needs some chew toys that are stationary and cannot be moved around.

As for the peeing, it does sound territorial to me. Perhaps the inconsistency within his environment is contributing?

[Crystal]

I had a problem with my bunny drinking a ton and peeing a ton and was really bad about using her litter box. She also was sneezing a lot. She was treated with penicillin and it would get better but never completely knocked it out. Finally after 4 weeks worth of azithromycin we finally got rid of it and she quite peeing nearly as much. Then I confined her in a pen at night and it took a week or so of constant supervision out of her cage and putting her in her litter box every time she peed in the wrong place and now she has near perfect litter habits.  (A benefit of the lock down that allowed me to do that.)
I also had another rabbit who quit using the litter box when he got sick, but no other symptoms. By the time we realized it, it was too late and I lost him. (Still makes me sick. He was the reason I fell in love with rabbits and my absolute favorite and I lost him way too soon.)
All this to say, that I would make sure you have a good rabbit savvy vet and ask your vet to double check his health and make sure there is not some underlying health issue that is causing his behavior. Especially with the aggressiveness. I only had 3 smaller sized rabbits, but I can’t imagine that being a normal behavior.

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