Bonding Hurdle – Food aggresion

[BeanMode]

Hi all, quick background first
Lop – desexed male, 4ish years smaller dutch mix
Lorelai – desexed female, 4ish years medium florida white/maybe new zealand
They’ve been living side by side for two months, things swapped, show no aggression to each other while in their spaces. Love to lay side by side on shared side and just hang out together. 

We’re doing dates in a neutral / semi-neutral space (they’ve been in enough that it’s pretty familiar to both of them but it’s not a space either have been in alone) and started to introduce items to them. Food looks like it might become an issue fairly quick-

99% of the time Lop wants to be in charge and 95% of the time Lorelai lets him. She’s groomed him, he has never groomed back. She’ll tell him if he’s being too pushy with a light nip or nudge and that is usually quickly the end of that. He hops away for a bit, comes back and they’re happy around each other again. However we have noticed as we introduced food (Hay spread over the floor) that if Lop tries to eat some of it Lorelai will leave whatever she is doing (even if it’s eating her own hay) and do the same light nip and nudge, Lop doesn’t listen in this case, she gets more persistent, and then Lop gets fed up with her and usually will turn and give her a nip back but it’s definitely pushing the line of a more serious scuffle than their usual nip/walk away. The fact Lorelai stops what she is doing to actively push him off food concerns me- Lop is already a picky eater and I’d hate for him to also get scared to approach food.

Any tips?

Maybe moving to a new space they haven’t been in and introducing food there?

[christybiersack]

Try giving them a bowl of food a piece and if that doesn’t help separate them when their eating until they learn to share. I’m not 100% about this but I think it’ll help.

Hope this helps!

[Nutmeg]

just commenting on your post to help give it a boos – as I am in the process of pre-bonding my two and they are both FOOD CRAZY ANIMALS – so this is a future concern for me.

My first thought was throwing the food to spread it around so that they have to forage, but it sounds like that isn’t working for you.

[BeanMode]

We haven’t tried clear opposite ends of the pen but more than a few feet between each bun- just kinda taking a handful of hay and sprinkling it out around the center. We’ll try putting food stuff in two opposite corners probably just to see if Lorelai continues her behavior of wanting to chase Lop off food.

Posted By Nutmeg on 8/07/2018 1:19 PM

just commenting on your post to help give it a boos – as I am in the process of pre-bonding my two and they are both FOOD CRAZY ANIMALS – so this is a future concern for me.

My first thought was throwing the food to spread it around so that they have to forage, but it sounds like that isn’t working for you.

[Nutmeg]

If not, I bought this to try to slow down one of them eating…. I wonder if two would work as they can only focus on one…

https://www.amazon.com/WHEEKY-Guinea-Pets-Adjustable-Opening/dp/B01BHCFRUM/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1533672907&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=wheeky+treat+ball&psc=1

[BeanMode]

Splitting the hay into two piles helped. She was interested in chasing him off for a second but figured out quickly she couldn’t guard both. He stood up for himself like usual and she didn’t want to fight as hard. Might still be a problem longer term and with other more desirable food items but at least there’s a way to keep including food on dates with them. I’m thinking about getting one of those treat balls anyways because they both love to toss toys around.

[Nutmeg]

Oh awesome!!!
And the treat ball is cool because you can change the size of the opening – so once they figure out how to use it (rolling with nose and tossing = food coming out) you can make the opening smaller so that they have to work more at it

[DanaNM]

Hi BeanMode,

I’m thinking you might have moved in to semi-neutral too quickly.

Aggression over pellets is one thing, but being aggressive over hay signals to me that they aren’t quite comfortable enough with each other yet to be in semi-neutral.

I recommend moving them to a very neutral space. Scatter hay all over the floor, or over a large enough area. Wait until they are grooming, cuddling, and able to eat near each other without incident before moving to semi-neutral.

I had a pair that would get a bit testy right before getting their salad or pellets, but they should really be able to share hay without trouble!

Agree that with pellets, scatter feeding is a good plan!

. . . 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.  

[BeanMode]

I don’t think I was completely clear. We didn’t move into semi-neutral. We’ve been using the same neutral space for awhile and both have gotten comfortable/familiar with it but it’s not a space they’ve ever in alone. It’s not a strange space to them anymore.

[DanaNM]

Ah, I see! Well in that case, a change of scenery might help! Do you have another neutral space you can try?

Sometimes a new location can help shake things up a bit.

. . . 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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