Stop Rabbit Spraying With Enrichment

An 8-month-old New Zealand rabbit starting to spray — you're right to tackle this now, it's a classic age for territorial behaviour to kick in. Before I point you toward anything, is your rabbit neutered, or is that still to happen? And are they living indoors or outdoors?

Good — neutering will make the biggest single difference, so keep that appointment. In the meantime, enrichment genuinely helps because a mentally occupied rabbit has less energy to invest in marking territory. Free-roaming indoors is great, but living rooms tend to be low on things rabbits can actually interact with. What does he currently have to do — tunnels, foraging, anything like that?

Cardboard is good, but he needs more to keep his brain busy, especially at this hormonal stage. A rabbit that's foraging, problem-solving, and physically engaged is a calmer rabbit. I'd get him the Rosewood Boredom Breaker Small Animal Activity Centre. It's a wooden frame with bridges, tunnels, and places to stuff hay and treats — it gives him somewhere to dig, climb, and forage all at once. It's built for rabbits specifically, holds up to chewing, and because it's multi-layered it stays interesting rather than being ignored after day two.

Honestly, the neuter is what stops it long-term — enrichment alone won't switch off the hormonal drive. But enrichment does reduce the frequency before the neuter and speeds up how quickly behaviour settles afterwards. A bored rabbit in a territory it feels uncertain about sprays more. Give him clear ownership of an engaging space and you'll notice the difference even in the next few weeks.

Perfect combination. Stuff the activity centre with hay and hide a few pellets inside so he has to work for them — that foraging behaviour is exactly what keeps the stress hormones down. Once he's neutered and settled, you'll probably find he uses it more playfully rather than frantically, which is a good sign things have calmed down.