Followup post: bonded rabbit bullying

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 4sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 9 months ago by Bam.

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- 06/23/2015 at 4:31 PM
  Jilless
  Participant
  8 posts
  I posted about my small Polish, Mabel, possibly hitting her head and the consequent vet visit in Q&A. She is doing much better today and is on 3 different meds for an ear infection.
  
  Just today she’s been chasing/humping her bonded companion, Dodger. Before we bonded them she was a voracious humper of her stuffed bear, and very dominant. When we took her for bunny dates at the shelter she ended up being very passive, just wanting to be groomed and loved on–she only tried to hump Dodger about three times in the bonding process and he ran away, she eventually stopped. Both of them are fixed, so it’s definitely a dominance thing.
  
  SO, my question is, her behavior is returning after diagnosis of ear infection, potential head bump/possible vertigo. I’ve been sitting in their room to keep an eye on her and make sure she’s not hurting him, separating them when she gets chasey.
  
  Should we separate them somehow? They’ve never been violent in the over 6 months they’ve been together and bonded in 2 days. I’d love input, thank you!
- 06/23/2015 at 6:28 PM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  If it’s just humping and chasing with no actual aggression or fighting I would not separate. If there is repeated attempts at fights, I would separate them and put them in an area where they can still see and smell each other.
  
  It’s hard to say why she has become so dominant all of a sudden. It could be due to have been feeling poorly (and perhaps she is still feeling a bit unwell due to the problem or the meds she’s on).
  
  I would just keep a close eye on them for now.
- 06/24/2015 at 11:12 PM
  Lee
  Participant
  213 posts
  Im not sure if it is the same for buns. But for dogs humping can be caused by stress/over arousal, so as LPF has said it may be because she is feeling poorly and stressed.
- 06/28/2015 at 4:41 PM
  Jilless
  Participant
  8 posts
  They are acting more like their bonded selves…I think her feeling ill and being out of sorts contributed to her “bad” behavior–they’ve been much better! Thanks for the input!
- 06/28/2015 at 4:55 PM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17033 posts
  Good to hear this! Both animals and people can be very short tempered when they’re not feeling well. I know I can be =/
  
  I hope this was the case with your bun and that she’ll recover nicely now.
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