Not being able to establish dominance in bonding

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This topic has 5sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 10 months ago by LolasMummy.

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- 01/04/2014 at 3:02 PM
  Maddy B
  Participant
  4 posts
  Hello!
  
  Brand new to posting but have been using these forums as reference for advice for a while.
  
  Anyways, I have two buns I am attempting to bond…a male fuzzy lop (neutered) and a female holland lop (spayed). They have lived side by side for a long time and gotten accustomed to each other. I have also let them have play sessions regularly. They don’t fight and they love to follow each other around, binky, etc. Until recently there has been no mounting. I don’t want them to live together until I feel that they have established dominance and the submissive one has accepted it.
  
  Recently, they have been humping…so I was like “cool, maybe they will figure out their hierarchy soon”. But they keep switching and it has sometimes turned into a hump-chase (haha), which I broke up.
  
  My question is…how do I fix this? I know I can’t force one of them to submit but they both seem unwilling to give up dominance. I also don’t want to break up something that will help them figure that out, but I don’t want it to turn into a fight either.
  
  Thanks
- 01/04/2014 at 3:15 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17028 posts
  If there isn’t any fighting, then I would just let them work things out on their own. It might take awhile, but I’m sure they will figure it out.
- 01/04/2014 at 3:26 PM
  Maddy B
  Participant
  4 posts
  Even if they chase each other? I read somewhere that I should break up any chasing or more aggressive humping. I don’t mind letting them mount it out, I just didn’t wanna go about it the wrong way.
- 01/04/2014 at 8:52 PM
  MoveDiagonally
  Participant
  2361 posts
  If the rabbit getting humped gets irritated with the humping then I would suggest letting them hump for a few moments before gently pushing the humper off. This lets them feel “dominant” without annoying the humpee.
- 01/05/2014 at 2:07 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17028 posts
  I agree with MD, you can let them work things out but still mediate if needed. Chasing is okay as long as it is brief. Just keep an eye out for any signs of aggression.
- 01/05/2014 at 10:29 PM
  LolasMummy
  Participant
  25 posts
  Hi there. My two desexed bunnies were exactly the same, they both wanted to be groomed and both wanted be the humper! I would only interrupt if here was circlin going on. After a couple of weeks of this they seemed to work it out, and both ended up being the groomers. They didn’t necessarily have a hierarchy, they seemed mutual to us. Give them some time, and as long as there is no significant aggression they will be fine I’m sure! Best of luck.
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