Bad weather, could I try to bond them indoors?

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Owen and Molly have had several uneventful dates of about 1-1,5 hours now. I’ve read advice on bonding pages to increase that towards 4 hours, 8 hours, and so on. However, the weather isn’t helping us: the forecast for the rest of the week is temperatures over 24 °C with frequent showers. It’s either too hot for bunny comfort or we’ll have wet grass like today 🙁

Could I neutralise the bathroom for them, so we can keep bonding and have longer dates? They’ve both been in the bathroom before, but not in the last week. I’ve read that you can wipe it down with vinegar, but I’m not sure if that’ll help enough.

Or would you advise to wait out the weather and see what next week brings?

[DanaNM]

I think it’s worth a shot! You could at least do some shorter dates inside to try to keep the momentum going. I think when you start making progress (which you are) it’s good to try to do a date every day, even if it’s short.

If you notice right away they dynamic is really different, I would be very hands on and keep the date short.

. . . 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.  

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Thank you so much, again!

I’ll get scrubbing right away tomorrow morning! It’s probably going to be an early morning too 😒 I’ve got two bunnies who seem to want to get together again: there’s a lot of rattling at the bars and following each other around.

They had a very short last date because the grass turned out to be too wet, and no date at all today because it was too hot. An added bonus is that the bathroom floor is nice and cold, which they’ll appreciate in this heat.

They’re becoming a lot more physical: they’re often sitting together bum to bum, or flopped against the bars in opposite directions. At other times they groom each other, and to my surprise Owen is doing a lot of the grooming and Molly is doing a lot of the rattling.

Just look at those two 🥺 🥲 It’s tempting to go too fast, but I’ll remember to take it slow!

[DanaNM]

Ahh they look great!
Yes it’s tempting to move fast but no harm in going a bit slow!

When I get to the point where they are doing pretty well (like spending a couple hours together without incident), I will often try to do some really long sessions over the weekend (6-8 hours if they are doing OK). If that goes well I start planning for an overnight together or a marathon. 🙂

. . . 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.  

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