Hi guys,

We have an almost one year old Mini-Rex Snickers who is an absolute joy to have. We have a quiet household with a respectful, well mannered 10 year old son.  Snickers and my son get along VERY well with no issues whatsoever.

We thought perhaps Snickers would enjoy a companion so we speed dated him with some local rescue buns. He and another neutered male mini-rex got on really well at the store (neutral adoption site).  However, when we brought home the rescue bun (Reeces) home, Snickers got VERY territorial. Reeces also became aggressive as well.  We immediately set up identical ex-pens next to each other (with space between) and started the pre-bonding process.  We did try one date at home, and it went AWFUL.  Bunny tornado and fur everywhere.  Ok, so we completely backed off and have been swapping cages daily for the last three-ish weeks with no further dates. They each have separate time to free roam the house and Reeces has displayed binkies, Bunny 500s, etc.

Up to this point the rescue bun (Reeces) has been very anxious around us humans and will not allow my son or husband to pet or care for him. He will allow me to pet him but only after some gentle “hellos” and everything.  He has lunged at us all and on occasion and chases my son when out on free roam. We have been very careful approaching him, calling his name, saying “hello”, holding our hands out to the side so he can see us, etc.  When I do pet him, he gets down in the submissive position and breathes very quickly and loudly…so I’m not even sure he is enjoying the petting

Well, this last weekend he got very aggressive with no provoking.  My son was laying on the floor, hands under his chin, not moving at all per my direction.  We were just letting Reeces investigate and run around the room, getting used to my son and to build trust.  Well, Reeces lurched at my son and scratched his face.  Then, this morning I noticed he urinated in several spots in his ex-pen (which is unusual).  I got my vinegar and paper towel to clean it up.  I called his name, speaking kindly to him, opened the cage door, bent down to pet him, etc.  He let me pet him and went about his business on the other side of the ex-pen.  Then, as I was cleaning he lunged at me with aggression I have never seen from a bun!  His teeth were out and he was scratching like mad.  Thankfully I got the paper towel roll in between us, it was shredded. Had he gotten me I fear I would have needed stitches.

I am at a loss as to what to do.  We have tip toed around this bun the entire time, lavishing him with love when he seems to want it, plenty of room, food, exercise, etc. That being said, I can’t have an aggressive bun around my son and our long term bunny.  My son  and his safety is obviously the most important thing.  I don’t believe in keeping Reeces in his cage and not allowing him to free roam. I feel if we keep him in his cage all the time, his territorial behavior will only get worse.

Given all of these behavioral issues, I also don’t see how bonding will ever work between the two buns either. They seem to be two stubborn old men.

Any advice?  I felt like if we were at least making baby steps, we could maybe “tough it out”, but I feel like things are getting worse the longer he is with us.  I hate thinking Reeces isn’t happy and we are making it worse.

I am about to contact the rescue to get him re-homed as I feel that they weren’t completely honest with us when we adopted him. We were told the previous owner relinquished him because he was “anxious”. My guess is he was being aggressive to her as well and she couldn’t deal with it either.

Please help!