My rabbit attacks me when I smell like my other rabbit

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This topic has 4sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 1 month ago by Asriel and Bombur.

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- 09/30/2018 at 12:03 PM
  June Bloom
  Participant
  6 posts
  I adopted my 1yo lionhead, Juniper, 9 months ago and my 3yo Holland lop, Alfie, 3 months ago. They are both spayed and neutered. When I lived in my apartment they had cages side by side (but not touching), and Juniper was very aggressive towards Alfie; she would lunge, growl, chew at the bars, etc. I rescued Alfie from my neighbor who had severely neglected him so he had a few health issues I wanted to have the vet treat before I even thought about starting to bond them; to this day they have not had any bonding sessions.
  
  One day when I had a friend over while the rabbits were both out in their separate play areas, that friend forget to secure the barrier that separated the rabbits. I didn’t realize this until I heard a faint rustling in Alfie’s room. I ran in there and they were attacking each other. They got separated and both were fine, there was only hair pulling. From what I could tell by the trail of pulled hair, Juniper hopped into Alfie’s litter box while he was lounging, and he was the one who attacked her. This happened 2 months ago.
  
  This was the last time they have seen each other, and soon after that I moved into my mom’s house because my lease was up and I’m saving up to get a place with some friends. Right now, Juniper has free roam in my room while Alfie has free roam in another bedroom. I love on and take care of Alfie multiple times a day, and when I come back covered in Alfie’s scent, Juniper will sometimes full on attack me!! She is never aggressive towards me otherwise and is very sweet, she will follow me around my room and sit at my feet all the time and give me kisses. But sometimes when I come back from loving on Alfie without washing my hands and changing my clothes, she will bite me to the point of breaking skin. It is very scary, and the only thing that will make her stop is pressing her head to the floor and scooting her into her pen. This aggression only started happening after the incident and has been getting more severe (only towards Alfie’s scent).
  
  What can I try to do to make her not afraid of Alfie’s scent and not attack me?
- 09/30/2018 at 1:58 PM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5813 posts
  Experienced bonders may have different advice, but I think this is the point of prebonding, where you swap objects that are the other rabbit’s scent so they get accustomed to it. Have you done any litter box swapping or toy/blanket swapping?
  
  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 09/30/2018 at 2:21 PM
  June Bloom
  Participant
  6 posts
  I haven’t tried prebonding yet, but I can start. I’ve also put some of Alfie’s fur from when he was shedding in her area, which she didn’t pay any attention to. I’ve also tried petting her with his scent on my hands and clothes, but that’s risky since she might bite me.
- 10/01/2018 at 1:31 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  16965 posts
  I agree with Wick. Try pre-bonding. A toy first. Then proceed to swopping litterboxes after a week – two weeks. It’s “normal” for a rabbit to attack a human that has a stranger-bun’s scent on them. Not all rabbits will do this of course, but it happens often enough for it to be considered normal.
- 10/01/2018 at 12:35 PM
  Asriel and Bombur
  Participant
  1104 posts
  Putting fur in won’t really matter. It needs to be things like toys or litter boxes that really carry the scent, not to mention the excess fur on the ground could either be ingested or cause some respiratory irritation.
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