poop control?

Question
Hello,

I have a question about my one and half year old holland lop. She's never
been fully potty trained but she would do her poop in one general (large)
area. In the beginning she would leave traces here and there but I figured she
was marking her territory. However, recently she's been pooping
EVERYWHERE. And I mean that literally. It started out slow, when she would
run into the den one piece of poop would fly out as though it was a slip. But
now, she just did it everywhere in the den and she was in my room earlier
and I see some here as well. I feel like every time she walks it's coming out.

My question is, is this abnormal? Should I be worried? She's always been
extremely stubborn but is this a personality problem or a she can't control it
and she should be checked over immediately kind of problem?

( She's been fixed for a while now and the only change to her diet is a few
less pellets and she never really ate her hay but it never affected her before )

Answer
Dear Monica,

Some rabbits have naturally better box habits than others.  And some well trained bunnies can lose their good habits if there's been some sort of change in the house that makes them feel threatened about their territory.  Has a new pet come into the house?  A new roommate, or visitor who comes frequently?  A baby?  Any of those are common culprits for eliciting extra marking behavior.

Holland Lops also seem to be particularly moody and sensitive to any changes in their world.  Try to figure out what might have upset her, and slowly try to get things back to normal.  Or just wait, and she should eventually get used to the new stimulus that started all this.

In the meantime, though, you'll need to start re-training her from the ground up.  I hope this will help:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/training.html

If none of this helps, then you can also ask the rabbit behavior experts at:

behavior@rabbit.org

for some suggestions.  

I hope this helps get you started on a poop free home!

Dana