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He's neutered-when will he stop marking???

LloydFerris

Warren Scout
Lloyd has been neutered for 3 weeks now. When the heck is he going to stop marking? He only does this in one spot on the couch. I have used different pet products to remove the scent or whatever it is that keeps him going back to that spot, but to no avail!
Help!
 
Marking with spray? or with his chin?

Whilst both may decline after a neuter (within about 8 weeks), they both may never go. I have some neutered guys who still spray, and pretty much all of them still chin mark everything.
 
Lloyd has been neutered for 3 weeks now. When the heck is he going to stop marking? He only does this in one spot on the couch. I have used different pet products to remove the scent or whatever it is that keeps him going back to that spot, but to no avail!
Help!

Is he spraying or just urinating in the wrong place for your liking? Use dilute white vinegar in warm water to remove the smell. Most cleaners contain ammonia which only attracts bunny back to the spot!

He may need to be re-litter trained if he's just urinating inappropriately. So lots of litter trays to start with, lots of tasty hay in them to encourage him to use them and if you see him back up for a wee, clap your hands and herd him or lift him into his litter tray and reward immediately afterwards. Rewards have to be immediate (within seconds) or have no effect.
If it's spraying, then it might calm down, hopefully it will disappear in a few weeks, but again it may not.
All bunnies chin...neutered or not, male or female! :)
 
He's not spraying, he's peeing and leaving poos in one single spot only! I have cleaned it with just about everything under the sun, including products that don't contain ammonia.
Other than that, he is perfectly litter trained. He's one of the tidiest buns I've ever met. Which is why this is so weird!
I have a litterbox in his pen area and I have another one right by the couch he favours, although he very rarely uses it. The living area is quite smalll in our house, so if I was to get a third box I don't know where I could put it.
 
Put a litter tray on the spot he's using you can then gradually move it to a more appropriate place.

Lot's of rabbits find sofa/beds irresistible, probably because they smell so strongly of us :)
 
He's not spraying, he's peeing and leaving poos in one single spot only! I have cleaned it with just about everything under the sun, including products that don't contain ammonia.
Other than that, he is perfectly litter trained. He's one of the tidiest buns I've ever met. Which is why this is so weird!
I have a litterbox in his pen area and I have another one right by the couch he favours, although he very rarely uses it. The living area is quite smalll in our house, so if I was to get a third box I don't know where I could put it.

Where is he doing it? can you block that area off? if it is a sofa then pile up some cushions/pillows along the edge so he can't jump up.
Do you give him any reaction at all when he does this? Any reaction given may reinforce the behaviour.
The fact that he's also leaving poos at the same spot would indicate that he is using this spot as a latrine. Once a bunny repeats a behaviour a few times it becomes a habit so you have to block off the area or give him a tray there and try and gradually move it. I would also avoid any eye contact or reaction when he does this in case it is for your benefit! :lol: Sorry, don't mean to joke, it's just we have a bunny who used to pee inappropriately for protest reasons and this can be their ultimate weapon! :D If it is behavioural then you have to not rise to it in anyway!
I would also suggest a vet check up, any change in toileting should be first investigated by vet, and then when any potential health reasons ruled out you can focus on it as a behavioural issue. Good luck :wave:
 
So I shouldn't clap my hands or give a firm "NO" when I catch him? Are you saying this demented little bunny likes this? Oh, dear. Maybe he needs a bunny psychologist instead!
Yes, I can and do put cushions there so he can't just up, but I don't always remember. If I make a quick bathroom trip myself or even get up just to let the dog out, Lloyd jumps up and pees right away and then takes off! (certainly not everytime, but he sure has seized the opportunity before!) I doubt I'd ever have the presence of mind (nor would my son) to have cushions piled up every darn second we aren't occupying the couch.
If I happen to nod off in that spot he will jump up then and have a wee-even if I am in the way! The warmth wakes me-grrrrrrr!
This isn't a daily occurance, and Lloyd usually doesn't go up on the couch except to pee and often poo in that spot usually once or twice a week. He never goes up there to just poo, though. It's pee only or pee and poo.
He has been to the vet also and has a clean bill of health, which is great.
Am I babbling? Naughty bunny! Oh my goodness, though! I just love him soooooooooooooo much!
 
So I shouldn't clap my hands or give a firm "NO" when I catch him? Are you saying this demented little bunny likes this? Oh, dear. Maybe he needs a bunny psychologist instead!
Yes, I can and do put cushions there so he can't just up, but I don't always remember. If I make a quick bathroom trip myself or even get up just to let the dog out, Lloyd jumps up and pees right away and then takes off! (certainly not everytime, but he sure has seized the opportunity before!) I doubt I'd ever have the presence of mind (nor would my son) to have cushions piled up every darn second we aren't occupying the couch.
If I happen to nod off in that spot he will jump up then and have a wee-even if I am in the way! The warmth wakes me-grrrrrrr!
This isn't a daily occurance, and Lloyd usually doesn't go up on the couch except to pee and often poo in that spot usually once or twice a week. He never goes up there to just poo, though. It's pee only or pee and poo.
He has been to the vet also and has a clean bill of health, which is great.
Am I babbling? Naughty bunny! Oh my goodness, though! I just love him soooooooooooooo much!

If it's not happening daily and he's not using it as his daily latrine, and if his health is all ok, then you need to start keeping a behavioural diary!! Write down everything that happens each day with this bun from his daily routine, what happens, when he does this, what happened immediately before, what happened immediately after...etc. so you can see a pattern emerging! This definitely sounds behavioural to me and it sounds like it is purely for your benefit. He's trying to tell you something - you need to find out what! I honestly would give ignoring the behaviour a go - when you do this the behaviour often escalates for a while in an attempt to find another behaviour that will attract 'mum's attention' i'm not kidding!! We went through something very similar with our rescue girl. It's like dealing with a small child on the intelligence stakes. If you respond - he's got your attention - for whatever the reason was. The problem is that whatever he's trying to tell you is not being solved cos you don't speak bunny. The behaviour gets repeated and then becomes ingrained. You need to break it now. Find out if you can what it is about - it could be anything, a noise, sound, smell, your behaviour, a change in his routine, maybe you're late to put him to bed or get him up before this happens? I would record the daily events, look for a pattern so you can try and avoid the behaviour and just give ignoring it a go - for a week or two and see what happens! If' i'm wrong the you'd better find yourself a bunny psychologist :lol: We used one in the end! It helped us to figure out ourselves what was causing our bun to do what she was doing - it was complicated - took us a year to figure it out!! Good luck :D:wave:
 
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