# Female Rabbit spraying urine onto dog?



## BellaCoco (Jan 28, 2013)

I have a female rabbit who just turned 3 years old and recently over the last 3 weeks she has started spraying urine onto the dog and at the back door and in his kennel. Our dog is a little maltese and only just turned 1. The two of them get along well and are often sitting together. She is also pooing a lot at the back door and the urine has a strong smell so I was wondering if there is any way to stop her doing this or why she is doing it?

She lives in the backyard with her cage always open and she goes in and out of that, so we don't really want to lock her in the cage more often. We have never had a problem with this before.

Also she is not desexed and has never had a litter before. Although she has made nests out of fur and hay in her cage a few times before. Is it possible for her to get pregnant and have babies for the first time at this age?


Thanks


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## 1357bunnylover (Jan 28, 2013)

The only way you can stop it is to spay her. Why do you want to breed her? I think it's too late to breed now and there are loads of rabbits at the shelter that need homes.
It's normal for unspayed does to make nests, they do it because their hormones are high, they're usually make more in the spring.


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## majorv (Jan 28, 2013)

It's pretty unlikely that at 3 years she can have a first litter. I agree that spaying her would probably help. I'm not sure if these actions towards your dog and his area are a dominance issue or hormonal...or maybe even an attention issue. Do both she and the dog live outside?


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## FreezeNkody (Jan 28, 2013)

My un-neutered male just settles in and is spraying. (he's getting neutered within the next 2 weeks) It's a nasty habit and spaying her will make a difference.


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## BellaCoco (Jan 28, 2013)

We were only thinking of breeding her if the reason she was doing it was because she was wanting babies and thought that might help her.

The rabbit lives outside all the time and our dog is out there during the day when we are not home so they spend that time together. Most of the time we see them just sitting next to each other when we get home. Although they do chase eachother around the backyard which is funny to see a rabbit chasing a dog


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## Paddy Ohara (Feb 15, 2013)

My rabbit marks in the dog's favorite places by leaving poops. She can be really bad about it too. One time she did pee on the dog because he made her mad for some reason. She got in big trouble and has not tried this again. The dog was so sad, it was hard to not laugh at the two of them. 
I cannot get her to stop with the poops, she does it more when my husband is home because she owns him. She is spayed.


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## tonyshuman (Feb 15, 2013)

If a bunny hasn't had a litter by a year of age, the pelvic bones fuse and make having litters dangerous. It also won't make the behavior go away long-term. Having her spayed would help. My bunnies that are fixed live in two bonded pairs. The females in each pair still like to mark their territory with poo, but rarely with pee. The one that does pee sometimes was spayed relatively late in her life (at least 3 yrs old), and we think having her ovaries longer made her brain and behavior more hormonal in general. It sounds like your rabbit and dog are great friends, which is great. She probably just is marking the dog as "hers" by peeing on it.


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## woahlookitsme (Feb 15, 2013)

I just wanted to add that the hip bones do not fuse together.


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## wendymac (Feb 16, 2013)

:yeahthat: Hip bones do not fuse in rabbits OR guinea pigs.


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## tonyshuman (Feb 17, 2013)

I'm sorry for giving wrong information. Why then is it bad to breed does for the first time after they are fully adult?


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## woahlookitsme (Feb 17, 2013)

Is it not necessarily bad but it is more so that the chance of them catching is significantly decreased. There are different opinions as to why but I personally think it is because of the excess internal fat that builds up around the reproductive tract that prevents pregnancy. 

It can be bad sometimes in that Does that get pregnant at an older age do have an increased chance of having babies with deformities just like in humans. As they age there is more of a risk. If a doe also has any chance of birthing problems (like maybe having chances of stuck kits) then as she ages if that isn't known beforehand the doe either might have trouble recovering from it or can even die from it.


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## tamsin (Feb 17, 2013)

The trouble bunny pregnancy only lasts 4 weeks so it doesn't have much in the way of behavioural benefits. They can spray urine as a defensive tactic, but it sounds more like marking ownership. Rabbit's say 'I love you, you're mine' with a squirt of urine - they are such romantics!

Can't guarantee anything 100% with animals but I would expect neutering to stop it


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## tonyshuman (Feb 18, 2013)

Thanks, whoalookitsme for clarifying. Sorry to get off topic!


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## Cartoonist 35 (Feb 21, 2013)

well i guess she sure expressed how she feels about dogs.
I heard of the word pee on but litery?


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