Aggressive behaviour during bonding

[Luna and Mateo]

Hi everyone,

I have a 2 year old female dwarf/lion head (Luna) that’s been free roam in our home since we brought her home. We recently adopted a second rabbit, a one year old holland lop (Mateo). I have been trying to bond them but it has not been going well and I really need some help. I used the template I found on the forum to give as much information as I could.

Spay/Neuter
Are your bunnies spayed/neutered? Yes, they are both spayed/neutered
If so, for how long (for each)? Luna: Over a year; Mateo: almost 5 weeks

Housing
They are both indoor bunnies and take turns roaming the house. Luna has her own bedroom and is mostly there when it is not her turn to be out in the living-room. Mateo has an enclosure set up in a part of the living-room and is allowed to roam the rest of the living-room when Luna isn’t out. they can see each other when each of them is out roaming the livingroom.

Bonding background
Did you allow the bunnies to “settle-in”? Luna has been with us for 2 years and Mateo has been with us for 4.5 weeks.
How would you describe your bunnies reactions towards each other (answer for each bunny): Mateo seems calm and curious (though he is starting to ignore her more now); Luna is VERY on-guard and aggressive and tends to lunge, growl, pounce to get at him. There are moments (especially recently) when she is able to calm down-ish and touch noses with Mateo but it can very quickly escalate to a nip on the nose. She has even on occasion managed to nip him on the nose or take a chunk of fur off. I’ve tried to block as much as I can but I’ve missed it a few times – no blood has been shed yet (as far as I can tell).
Have you done any “pre-bonding” (cage or litter box swaps, etc.)? Yes, I let Mateo roam Luna’s bedroom every now and then and vice versa. I switch around their beds and blankets every now and then as well. They also share the livingroom space which smells like both of them. I have also swapped litter a few times.
If so, for how long? Not consistently or (probably) long enough.
Have you started sessions yet? Yes, I have tried to introduce them on neutral territory (a hallway) everyday since the second week we got Mateo but Luna has not been nice about this.
How long have you been working on bonding your bunnies? They’ve been around each other since Mateo came home with us 4.5 weeks ago but I started officially bonding them in a neutral space 2.5 weeks ago.
How frequently do you have bonding sessions, and how long are they? Everyday – anywhere between 10 to 30 minutes.
Have you tried any stressing techniques? I’ve been trying to avoid stress bonding as I was worried that their relationship will be based on fear but I have tried the bathtub a few times – Luna gets EXTREMELY stressed and comes to me and Mateo seems quite relaxed – Mateo has tried to mount her a couple of times in the tub but I block him since I’m blocking Luna from defending herself by biting/attacking Mateo.

I know this is all to be expected and we are aware that it may take up to a few months – I’m just worried that I’m not doing it correctly and I’m also not sticking with any one thing long enough to give it a chance to work. I block Luna from getting to Mateo when she is barky/growly/lungy and I don’t let Mateo mount her when she is feeling so scared and helpless but I feel like I’m interrupting their process to assert dominance and bond properly. I’m also EXTREMELY worried that one of them (mostly Mateo) would actually get injured if I didn’t block Luna from nipping at him or chase him. I have read A LOT  about bonding. I’ve even been thinking about using Pet Remedy for Luna  as I’ve read that some people have used it successfully for bonding.

I was hoping you can let me know what to allow and how much/when to block. I am happy to pay you for the time you will spend helping me with this, as I know it can be time consuming.

 

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.

[DanaNM]

Thanks for filling out the template!

Oh Luna, what a diva! A discerning lady for sure.

So, if you are up for it, I would recommend a change in their housing set-ups that will probably make things easier in the long run, although Luna I’m sure will express her displeasure.

If possible, I would split the bunny room in two, or build two pens within it. NIC cube grids are really useful for this, they also make a small mesh one that you can use as “nose guards” to prevent nipping noses. House the bunnies side by side, and completely swap who is on what side every day or two for at least a couple weeks. I would do this (with no actually bonding sessions) until Luna has calmed down. It might take some time though! And it is essential that they cannot nip each other, jump over the barriers, or otherwise “get at” each other.

I think with Luna only seeing Mateo when one is exercising it is contributing to her seeing him as an intruder. The side-by-side housing will help her realize he isn’t a threat because she will get very used to his presence and scent. Side swaps with somewhat dirty litter boxes also really helps with this.

I wouldn’t consider the bath tub to be stressing. But car rides can be a very useful tool, and might be something to consider if things are still tense after pre-bonding. It’s not the only thing you would do in bonding, but they can help rabbits get past initial phases of fighting. The basic idea is you have someone else drive, and then pop the bunnies in a bin and go for a 10-15 min drive. Have gloves on so you can break up any fights. If they don’t fight in the car, you are on the right track. Then you could repeat this a few times, and then try going straight from the car to a regular session. Sometimes all that you need are a couple car rides to get over a plateau.

Other things to think about are experimenting with the space. Sometimes a very large and very unfamiliar place can work wonders (like a friend’s backyard or garage).

I think eventually you will want to allow interactions where Mateo tries to mount and Luna can either allow it, or convey to him that she’s not having it (sometimes a lunge, a nip, or a grunt is enough to get the message across). You just want to get to the point where they are calm enough that it doesn’t explode into a fight.

 

 

. . . 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.  

[Luna and Mateo]

Thank you so much for getting back to me and for all the suggestions. I’ll make the changes in the room (and you’re right Luna will not be a fan). I have lots of NIC cube grids as I’ve been using that for Mateo’s enclosure and got extra to create an outdoor space for them as well (which I’ll save to use as the neutral space in the future). I’ll also hold off on the bonding session for a couple of weeks and add car rides to the list of things we could try.

How much lunging/growling/nipping should I allow if/when they are together?  Again, my big concern is Mateo’s safety. I’ve been using one of the grid panels to push luna back if she tries to nip but I feel like I’m also not letting either express how they really feel.

And have you used or heard of anyone use Pet Remedy spray?

Thanks again!!

[DanaNM]

You’re welcome!

So, lunging, growling, and nipping are all OK to allow, and are how she is communicating with him that she does NOT want to be mounted. BUT if those things tend to escalate to a fight quickly, then you should intervene. The main things to stop immediately are circling, hard biting, boxing, and chasing for more than a couple seconds. I’ve always found that bigger spaces allow the buns to interact a bit more easily, as they can get away from each other without it turning into a circling by default.

Do both bunnies accept petting? Another tip to help them be more calm is that when they come nose to nose or approach each other, you can start petting them both and swap scents. This makes them think the other rabbit is grooming them and can help get things established on the right foot.

. . . 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.  

[Luna and Mateo]

Ugh, I feel like I made things worse by blocking all of those behaviours – then again she can easily escalate things so who knows.

Yes, they do enjoy being petted! About a week ago I even managed to get them to sit nose to nose while I petted them both. I’ll keep alternating who I’m petting so they can smell each other.

As of yesterday I have 2 enclosures in the bedroom. Luna was not a happy camper but she has already calmed down a bit. I didn’t have Mateo sleep in the bedroom though because I was worried that Luna would find a way to jump out or Mateo would be too stressed since it’s new territory for him. I will have them both in the bedroom together when I’m able to keep an eye on them until they are both a bit more calm and then I’ll let them spend the night together too.

 

Thanks again!! I’m sure I’ll be back with more questions and updates.

[DanaNM]

Don’t fret! It’s better to block things and prevent fights if you aren’t sure. As your confidence builds and you get a better sense of their behaviors, you will feel better about when to intervene and when not to.

But that’s great they accepted pets together, and sounds like the new housing set-up will help!

 

. . . 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.  

[Luna and Mateo]

Me again! Your suggestion to do more pre-bonding has worked like a charm.  Bunnies are doing well in their separate enclosures in the same room. They’ve been there with me switching them around everyday for over 2 weeks now. It took them a while to calm down the first few days but now they’re happy in either one. When I’m home I let them out of the enclosures (one has the bedroom half and the other the livingroom half). They both typically choose to stay in the bedroom and  at times even lie down next to each other with the barrier between them. They both seem to want the other one’s attention, which is sweet but they both also want the other want to groom them so that’s been an issue

For the last 3 days I’ve started re-introducing them in the tub. I’m trying not to intervene unless I see it escalating or one of them being in distress. The first day Mateo mounted Luna and she allowed it. Then they cuddled for a bit. But Luna seemed to get over her initial fear of the tub and is no longer allowing it and is turning around to bite him. I allow some nipping but Luna seems to be going  in for an actual bite instead of a nip.  They both want to be close to each other (Luna even initiates this) but she always ends up biting him and now Mateo is scared to even try. Today I tried the bathroom instead of the tub so Mateo has more space to keep away if he wants. They both calm down and cuddle if I’m right there petting them – even then Luna seems to try to get a bite in on Mateo (and he gets scared and tries to leave).

I feel like either they both want to be the dominant or Mateo isn’t realizing he should be grooming her.

I appreciate any help or suggestions you can give 🙂

[DanaNM]

That sounds like wonderful progress! I would just keep up what you’ve been doing and don’t be too afraid of intervening with lots of petting in the early stages. When things are still a bit tense it can be better to intervene too much just to make sure things don’t escalate. It takes them some time to decide who will do the grooming, etc., so now you play the waiting game.  😉

. . . 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.  

[Luna and Mateo]

Thank you for getting back to me again! That’s good to hear – I will keep doing what I’ve been doing with them (stick with the bathroom instead of the tub for now and lots of petting when they’re together).

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