Proper Training?

Question
Hello,

I have a two year old neutered male house bunny.  I recently moved to a larger place where instead of a small cage he gets his own large under the stairs closet (door is always cracked for easy entry and exit.  He seems much happier here and was doing very well adjusting.  After about a month of good behavior he started acting out a bit.  It began with him just pooping right outside his box. It never seemed to be a problem so I just moved the pellets back into the box.  However, he started to get slowly worse until he pretty much just pooped everywhere in the closet; where he ate, drank, and slept it didn't really matter.  On a side not he never has peeing accidents and very rarely poops anywhere else in the house.  There was one spot he fixated on, and I just set up a gate for now, and he seems to have lost interest.

However my question is how I am handling his training behavior.  Since I can't be with him at all times I have set aside an hour after work.  I go into his closet with him and just sit with him while he eats (I play on my computer).  If he slips up I put it in the box, and when he gets in the box I praise him(sometimes with treats).  By the end he normally is doing much better.  However, when I am not sitting in there with him he goes back to pooping everywhere again.

Please help, I can't sit in my closet forever.

Answer
Dear Megan,

Hmm.  This is a tough one.  I wonder if he's feeling lonely, and so is marking his territory out of boredom and frustration.

Since he's neutered, why not consider letting him pick a pal from among the spayed girls at your local rabbit rescuer's foster home.  Two rabbits can actually be *less* work then one, since they entertain each other and keep things happy when you're not around.

I've found that bonded rabbits are less destructive and healthier than singletons.  It's not a 100% guaranteed cure, but I will bet this will help.

It might be worth a try.  Contact your local rabbit rescuer via:

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters

Hope this helps.

Dana