Can there be "Shared Dominance" in a pair?

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This topic has 4sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 8 months ago by Scarlet_Rose.

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- 03/02/2009 at 8:38 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  I’m just curious. I’ve only had a pair for going on 9 months. I know when I was bonding, Meadow definitely was the dominant one. She always requests grooming. No grooming resulted in nips on occasion. Fortunately, that stopped when she realized that nipping drove Max away, and she received even less grooming. She adores the attention. And Max always obliges. There was never any humping from either during the bonding process or after, at least not that I saw. They live together very peacefully now. But things have changed recently. They groom each other A LOT. Both of them will request grooms from the other, and both of them will freely and happily groom away.
  
  But the humping. SO MUCH humping.
  
  It’s getting ridiculous. The other day I heard grunting and I looked over at them and Max was… humping her and grunting LOUDLY. Another time, they were right next to the pen wall and they kept crashing into it and I heard all the ruckus from that. Meadow never seems to care. She lays there perfectly content until he stops. She does not look afraid, she does not look angry. When he stops, she will go over and cuddle up next to him and groom him. Could it be that she craves attention so much, that even humping is a welcome thing for her?
  
  They get along splendidly, I am just trying to figure them out for my own peace of mind. Much of the info I have relates to bonding, and not the relationship after the successful bond. Is Meadow still dominant, or is Max dominant now (or is he trying to be?) Can they both be dominant at different times?
- 03/02/2009 at 10:07 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Any idea why he is humping her?
  
  In my female rabbit pair Twizzler humps Toffee when she’s excited (usually food related) but this can also be a stress reaction. Toffee doesn’t seem to care either way.
  
  One of my friends had a pair that the mail would hump the female only when they were going to the vet or changed locations rather than their regular location.
  
  So I don’t always think that this is a domination thing in rabbits – it could be stress or excitement.
  
  I think it’s more likely the humping doesn’t really bother her – it’s just an accepted rabbit thing.
- 03/02/2009 at 12:55 PM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  I would definitely agree it can be stress or excitement, as well as dominance. And sometimes-maybe sexual? I don’t see why not. Maybe he’s you know-amorous, and then she’s just like “oh no you didn’t” and dominating in return?
  
  But to think about, both Rupert and Kahlua will occaisionally hump each other. Kahlua it’s FOR SURE dominance. She’s a fluffy demon. For Rupert it’s when he’s excited about food, because his first move is to try to push her so he can have all the food and then it’s like you see the lightbulb and then he humps her.
- 03/02/2009 at 2:24 PM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  I have no idea why. It has happened at all different times of day. Not necessarily around feeding time. I haven’t thought of stress or environment. Environment is the same as far as I can tell. We moved our computer desk into the bunny room a few weeks ago, but this was occurring even before we moved that stuff around. They have not changed location, they always hang out in the bunny room, living room, and ocassionally they venture into my room if we leave the door open.
  
  Stress? I hope they’re not stressed. Max is a cautious bunny and is more shy. He’s been like that since we got him tho, that is not something new, but the humping is new. I’m very careful with their schedules and routines so as to not stress them out. I’ll try to pay more attention to the frequency and circumstances that this is happening.
- 03/08/2009 at 6:42 PM
  Scarlet_Rose
  Participant
  4293 posts
  I am wondering if this is more that your Max is a bit insecure and has the need to reassert his “dominanace” over & over again. It is hard to say what his past was and what may have mentally affected him so that he behaves this way. Thank goodness Meadow is fine with it and if it really does seem to start buggng her, perhaps a “stunt double” to fill in for her will help the situation and he’ll get it out of his system eventually.
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