Why could my bun be doing so much damage?

[detectivepikachu]

Hi, all!
I’ll just cut to the chase, my bunny (Taro) has been causing a LOT of damage. (Warning for some unsanitary talk ahead).
For some background, Taro is about 1.5 years old, an unfixed male, and… I’m not sure what breed. He’s fluffy and has black ears and eyeliner, if that helps. He’s allowed free roam of the house, and has multiple clean places to pee, a steady supply of hay + water, chew toys, etc.
My issue is, he just causes so much damage. I can’t let him on any furniture without a piddle pad because otherwise he’ll have an accident, but he’ll also just pee and poop on the floor, in my laundry basket, on my bed when I’m out of the room, etc.
He also likes to bite, which was the last straw: he chewed up my favorite pair of boots, and I’m not too pleased with him at all.
I do try to discipline him by nudging his rump with my foot, or picking him up and moving him away from the scene of the crime, but I’m a heavy guy and I don’t want to accidentally hurt him. Plus, I don’t usually catch him in the act.
Basically what I’m asking is, a) am I not asserting myself as the “top bun” enough? b) how can I discipline him without worry of accidentally hurting him or making him uncomfortable? And c) is there a way to deter him from causing this damage, so I don’t lose more bedding, shoes, books, etc. to his wrath?
If you have any other questions, let me know.

[DanaNM]

The vast majority of these issues would be improved with neutering (especially the litter box habits). So that would be my first step. Bunnies do not respond to punishment/discipline, or humans in their hierarchy, so it doesn’t really have anything to do with you. He’s just a bunny doing normal bunny things.

The next step is to up your bunny-proofing (some great resources here:https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bunny-proofing/) . To protect your shoes, books, etc, keep them out of his reach or in some other protected area (like a bin or off the ground). NIC cube grids are really handy for blocking off certain areas. You can use an x-pen to block access to the bed or rooms with lots of trouble spots.

To make things more manageable, you might want to confine him to a smaller region until he’s neutered. Not small, but maybe not full free-roam for your own sanity.

 

. . . 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.  

[Louiethebunny]

I would assume him being unfixed has a lot to do with it. Neutering him would most likely help with a lot of behaviors as many destructive and territorial behaviors (such as the peeing and pooping around) are caused by hormones. If you cannot get him neutered you may need to restrict his access to certain areas and/or do some extra bunny-proofing.

[OverthinkingBun]

One more thing you can do is make sure he has interesting textured bunny toys.  I would give my bunnies a toy when they were clearly in a destructive mood, and they decided they liked those better than the furniture.  But that wouldn’t take the place of neutering, though.

[Hazel]

Agree with the others. He should get a lot better after being neutered. As Dana said, punishment doesn’t work with them, and attempting to assert yourself as “top bun” won’t help because as a human you’re not part of the bunny hierarchy. And even if you were, rabbits assert their dominance via humping and pee/poop wars, I don’t think you would want to get into all that with him. 😉

Chewing on things is a very normal bunny thing to do, even after they have been fixed it’s not advisable to leave anything in their reach that you don’t want to get chewed up. I learned that the hard way, rabbits really teach you to pick up after yourself. 😆

[prince dorian the bun]

The peeing and such as others have said could be helped by neutering. That said buns are sort of destructive little punks at times, Dorian is pretty much free roam as well, but I don’t give him unsupervised roaming out side of his room (converted spare bathroom) and the kitchen & living room.  Those areas, especially his room, have been so bunny proofed there is very little he can destroy, which didn’t stop him from trying to cause havoc and destruction while I was on a work call today by actively trying to remove the bunny proofing to tear stuff up. Mind you usually he is much better behaved than he was today and simply giving him a toy or box to chew/dig/shred into a million pieces will do the trick and save my carpets, clothes or furniture… but my point is Taro may just need less access for a while. For one you’ll be better able to stop bad behavior as you see if… I do the distract method, ex. give him a toy or move him off. Reward him if he plays with the toy so he sees that as good (buns are all carrot no stick in training from my experience at least).

[LBJ10]

I 100% agree with the others. Neutering will definitely help, but also have to remember he is a bunny is going to do bunny things.

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