Just to clarify two points, our dogs are not directly around the rabbits. Their enclosure has barriers, and the kitchen and extra area are gated off from the dogs. So the rabbits can see/hear them, but no direct access.

And I forgot to list George’s temperament. He’s very hyper and unihibited around Fred, and the food aggression didn’t scare him off. He would cuddle and groom, but also seemed to taunt/bug Fred sometimes through poking him. We did wonder if he started to vy for dominance.

Thanks for the quick response, @dananm 🙂

I’m happy to know it’s not just me who finds it tricky haha I’ve been wondering if I’m overthinking things!

In the good times, they seemed to do all the right things. While there were some brief grooming wars, George would groom Fred 99% of the time and there was some reciprocation, too. The only issue was George would groom too aggressively at times, it seemed, annoying Fred.

They otherwise ate, slept and played together, and did share a litterbox (tho preferred to each have it one at a time).

I did notice that they’d sometimes dig toward one another, preceding instances where they’d seem tense. Where I actually saw the fights begin, they’d be head to head (often in the back enclosure) and that would turn into a fast chase plus hair flying.

It did honestly seem like every time they’d get more comfy, and us too, a fight would occur. So it’s really tough to trust them in a shared space.

I’ve been watching for depression with this separation, as we cover/reinforce the barrier at night to be safe (George is a little Houdini). There’s been some stress but they’re eating well and still flopping, and they eat face-to-face “together” well. They don’t seem overly bothered by the separation arrangement, so that’s confusing too. They kind of play “together” with toys on either side of the barrier and there are even binkies…

We can certainly try to officially close the door that’s between them and give it more time, but should I try a real/third bathroom bonding session first? I just got put off by Fred grunting and lunging a week ago, leading to the softer pre-bonding today.

Haha okay. That makes sense about binkies. They really do seem to taunt one another at times, and I know Fred loved to flop near and against George (which was cute, but I knew from research could be an insult).

This is a frustrating situation but it is possible to have them live apart as they are now, with each getting exercise and not seeing one another. I’ll for sure keep an eye on their mental health, tho.

I really adore them both, so I guess we’ll see if a reset works… Given both of their fosters saw some issues (a point we learned post-adoption), I can’t say I’m super shocked at this assessment.

And, I mean, we previously had a solo bun that we just gave a lot of love. So we’re not unpracticed there.

I really hope so too, so fingers crossed. I am off work for two weeks starting Dec. 23, so might just see how they’re acting and start some pre-bonding etc. before things get busy again in January. But I’m going to give them a bit of time with the barrier walled-off as you suggest.

They did seem a little sad/off today, so that will definitely play a part in my decision. And I know Fred has some minor overgroomed spots from either the stress of fighting and pre-bonding or of being separated (or maybe all of the above).

I’ll def do everything I can, and am trying to give them both extra love. What helped is we got a big new batch of hay today, so they each had a nice treat, followed by hay comas 🙂 Thx for all the support so far!!