is this good or bad?

[Cupcakesmom]

I have been working with my local rabbit rescue to find a pal for Dizzie. In the past, Dizzie has been very territorial and kind of a bully.  Here is her back story. I had Cupcake and wanted a friend for her since my hubbs and I arent home all day. I took Cupcake to the rabbit rescue and she chose Dizzie. They got along really well at the rescue and when Dizzie finally came home with us. WELL, in the middle of the night, Dizzie escaped her pen and from what I could tell, Cupcake attacked her out of fright. Dizzie had to get stitches on her belly and the two were never friends again. Dizzie wanted nothing to do with Cupcake any longer so I housed them seperately in the house. Fast forward a year and we have to lay Cupcake to rest because of her terrible arthritis. (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! ) Dizzie seemed happy with the new found space, but almost seemed bored too. I noticed a little change in her, but nothing sad, just bored. SOOOOO, I contacted the rescue again and the director came over with 6 bunnies to try in our house. After liking 2 of them, we decided a weekend stay would be best to determine if it would work out or not. Tyson came to stay with us first. Dizzie was a little nervous around him, as he was always around bunnies and she wasnt. They got into a few tiffs and one fight where I didnt think they got hurt, but I have a nice teeth mark in my arm. So be it….I knew it might happen. After the weekend was over, I knew that Tyson wasnt going to work out. They couldnt ever be alone together…or even supervised together. (I’ll miss his though,  as he was SUPER sweet!!) I noticed the next day that Dizzie had a big scab on her cheek. I’m guessing thats why she didnt want anything to do with Tyson. We tried baby Flurry next. (He is at my house right now ) He is penned up in the living room and when we are there to supervise, Dizzie gets to come in and visit him. He seems interested in her and she in him. He sticks his little face up to bars and they go nose to nose, but then here and there, she will nip at the top of his head. Its not hard enough to make him back away or even flinch. Is what she is doing ok? Should I give up and not even continue trying to find her a buddy?  I dont know whats good and whats bad….

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I don’t know I allow Sally and Harley interaction through the bars and Sally will bunch her nose through the bars and Harley will I guess you can call it poorly groom Sally on the nose lol. It looks rough and unpleasant but no hair loss or anything and Sally doesn’t flinch when he does it. So now you have me second guessing the bonding situation now. Hope someone stops by soon!

[Baxter n Boos Mom]

Rabbits sometimes communicate with nipping – and as long as it’s playful/communication and not meant to hurt – it’s not something to be worried about. But be careful that Dixie doesn’t bite through the gate. Sometimes they recommend 2 gates – just so one bun can’t bite the other.

But it sounds like so far – it’s going well. I hope Flurry works out! 🙂

[Cupcakesmom]

I take the nipping as her saying “I am in charge, you little whipper snapper!!” It doesnt look mean…he just sits there and allows her to do it. Maybe ill try it with 2 gates to seperate them a bit more. She has been doing well with it…just lots of poops!! I plan to keep him in the pen when she is around until she feels more comfortable and realizes he isnt a threat to her. Eventually I want to start bonding them together…. any thoughts as to what I should try first? What about boxing? every so often, she will box at the cage….but not necessarily at him. She’s such a stinker!!

[LittlePuffyTail]

I think it’s very normal for a territorial, especially female bunny, to be somewhat aggressive. You just have to pick the bunny that she seems the least aggressive with to work on bonding. Bonding territorial buns takes more work and time. But I think if you are waiting for a match where Dizzie won’t be aggressive or nippy at all, you will probably wait forever.

That’s great that your rescue brings the buns to your house.

[Cupcakesmom]

I picked Flurry (now known as Spike in our house He’s so little that we wanted him to have a “tough” name!!) because he is tiny and will always be tiny (he is a hottot/dwarf mix). We thought it would be the best because he wont look like such a threat to Dizzie. Last night she lunged and growled at him, so I know that its not time yet to put him “with” her in a bonding situation. I did however, hold him in my arms with his face away from her and let her sniff him. She was curious and not at all aggressive. I also put her dinner scattered around his pen, out of his reach of course, so she thinks of being around him as good. He is such a joy and I want them to be together, but if all else fails, I’ll have seperate bunns again!

[Deleted User]

Have you tried swapping their used litter? I had this issue with my buns Skipper and Ian. Ian had started off as our foster and Skipper didn’t like having him in her territory so she would try to lunge to get at him. When we decided we wanted to keep Ian we did a bunch of scent swapping with towels and used litter. This really helped with the aggressiveness between the two. While they aren’t fully bonded they will lay down relaxed by each other within their pens that are about a foot apart. And when we do bonding sessions Skipper doesn’t lunge at Ian when we’re putting him into the neutral territory. Which is a huge thing because she tried to bull rush him when we first got him. Also, doing some really aggressive stress bonding will help. We took Skipper and Ian on long car rides over bumpy roads and that seemed to really help. We thought that the two were completely unbondable without another bun there to balance their personalities. But with the aggressive bonding we’ve seen that Ian and Skipper will work out (with some work of course =p).

[Cupcakesmom]

I havent swapped their litter, but I’m definately going to try that tonight! good idea!! When you put them together in the car, were they in a carrier together? i just worry that i will put Spike in with Dizzie and she will go crazy and attack. I’ve also heard of putting them in a laundry basket on top of the washer…has anyone tried that?

[Deleted User]

I have a stacked washer/dryer so I wasn’t able to put them on top of it. But I did have them in a laundry basket all together right next to it and it seemed to really help out. To make sure that my buns didn’t fight in the carrier I had them in separate carriers at first then transferred them into one carrier when the car was in motion and took the lid off. I noticed that if I had the lid on they would try to scuffle. And taking it off prevented this from happening.

[Cupcakesmom]

I’m really nervous to put them in a carrier together! The girls from the rescue promised to help, so I’m definately going to take them up on that offer. I plan on giving Diz some more time getting used to him. I am going to swap their litter boxes tonight though. I set up gates on the side of Spike’s pen so Diz cantget at him at all, but they can still almost get nose to nose. At this point, I think more than anything, Dizzie needs time to get used to him. Once she can be around him without being a diva, then I want to really start the whole bonding process.

[Cupcakesmom]

Dizzie was being really sassy yesterday I let her in by Spike with the gates leaned up against the pen so she cant directly get at him. She growled and lunged at him. I swapped their litter boxes so she can get used to his scent. I also have his kennel in her room so she can smell him from there…she goes in it even! I was holding him and with his head away from her, I let her sniff him. She growled and lunged again. I fear that she will never accept him in our home

[Baxter n Boos Mom]

Give her time. Our first bun Baxter did the same thing to baby Boo – and I felt so bad for Boo, because all he wanted to do was play with his new friend 🙁 We decided to put off bonding, until Boo had a chance to grow up, then tried again.

I’ve never heard or seen this done, but when Boo was tiny, we got him a very large hamster run-about-ball. By exposing the buns this way, Baxter could be in the same area with Boo for short periods of time, but not attack him. We were only able to use it 2-3 weeks before Boo outgrew it.

In the meantime, I bought each of them stuffed animals, and every few days switched their stuffed animals – to get them used to each other’s scents. Also switched litter boxes. And I started feeding them together, but on opposite sides of the gate – again to encourage a positive behavior in close proximity…without the ability to make contact. This went on for several weeks.

We had started bonding them in a small semi-neutral space (kitchen, where neither bun ventures) – but Baxter who had run of the house, would be so stressed in a small space, and only grunt and attack Boo. So we stopped the sessions in the kitchen.

Once Boo was big enough to defend himself – we tried bonding sessions in half the living room where we had also moved Boo’s cage and pen….unfortunately not neutral…but our place is so small we had no other choice. Luckily Boo was so fast, that Baxter couldn’t get anywhere near him. I think he gained respect for Boo – stopped trying to lunge at him, and soon learned to tolerate him. After several of these living room sessions – we were able to take down the gates all together. It took a couple more weeks before it moved beyond tolerance to friends.

[Cupcakesmom]

Do you think I should just continue to have them together in the living room when I am home, but with 2 gates to seperate them? My husband keeps pushing me to put them together, but I just dont think shes ready…i dont want to force something and ruin it all together.
I have another question though…Dizzie was never allowed in the living room when Cupcake was alive. Once Cupcake passed, she was allowed in there and she really liked it. I dont want to boot her out so Spike can run around, but I want him to get his “out” time too. Does anyone have any ideas as to how to get Spike his out time but not make Dizzie jealous?

[Stickerbunny]

Allowing them to swap habitats helps with bonding. So when it’s “out time” for Spike, let him run in Dizzies area and let Dizzie be in his area. Downside of this, is there will be marking. Upside, they will be used to each others scents.

As for the washer thing – I tried that with my two, but it didn’t seem to help much. They were scared, but they didn’t try to comfort each other at all. But, you could try it. Anything works that causes stress, car rides, vacuuming (if they are scared of the vacuum) near them etc.

What I did with my two was let them meet through a baby gate so no fighting could happen for about a month or so. Then, they moved to a x-pen in neutral space with no nothing in it. This didn’t work for mine because Powder did nothing but hump Stickers the ENTIRE time they were penned together (as in, 30-40m non-stop humping until Stickers began crying), so I had to graduate them to running around a room together so Stickers had room to run from him since she hated being humped. This brought on a little nipping, much running / chasing and when Powder got tired out chasing they would flop together… for all of 1m until Powder decided he wanted to hump again.

Now, mine obviously had an issue that wasn’t aggression, but still caused problems. Sounds like yours is more territorial issues. Which a neutral meet-n-greet area (bathtub maybe?) when you begin bonding will be a good idea with. Slight nipping is not harmful and a part of bunny talk, but carry a colander or heavy duty gloves in case you have to jump in between bunny teeth. When there is an issue that could damage bonding it’s a good idea to start out with short sessions, the humping caused my two to nip a bit and caused a lot of stress in Stickers so I started them out with 5-10m then slowly moved it up as they progressed. Make sure to try to end anything on a positive note, even if it’s just ignoring each other.

[tanlover14]

Hey there — I only briefly skimmed this — but I know you said Dizzie is being slightly aggressive – from what it sounds, you have Spike housed in Dizzies “territory”, this may be causing all your problems with the aggressive behavior.

I would try to start bonding in a neutral territory. So you can get a real sense of their feelings. Tanger goes absolutely wild if he even SEES another bun anywhere near his space.

[Deleted User]

And you have to keep the litter swapping up. I did the litter swapping for about two weeks before I did formal introductions with Ian and Skipper. It does take them a while to get used to each other’s smell. I second Tanlover. I totally had missed that you had them together in Dizzie’s area.

[tanlover14]

Also, I think you’re jumping WAY too ahead on the “Dizzie will never allow another bunny” front. Think like a rabbit. What would you personally do if someone just came into your home, uninvited, and set up camp in your house? You’d be pissed. Downright pissed. Haha! This is how Dizzie feels.

I think you should set them up in a way they can’t see each other yet. Swamp litter boxes and possibly areas. Along with towels. If she’s aggressive, then there’s a good chance she may take her aggression out on the towel that smells like him. After a few days of this, THEN try MEGA NEUTRAL territory. Somewhere NEITHER has been. If she has already seen the bun in her area, she may be more aggressive towards him. At least this is the impression I got from Tanger when attempting to bond him with Simba. Remember bonding is ALWAYS stressful. The goal is to make the rabbits trust each other – and how do we humans learn to trust other humans? We become friends slowly and build up a bond. You can’t expect your bun bun to any differently.

So BREATHE. And think positive thoughts!! You will have us all to help you – and there has been so many people bonding on BB lately, I’m sure between the lot of us we can get your two bonded! POSITIVE THOUGHTS REMEMBER!!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Are you putting them together in 100% neutral territory?

[Cupcakesmom]

Dizzie was only allowed in the living room for about a week or a little more before bringing Spike home. It is really the only place in our house that isnt “hers” per say, so its really the only room that will work. She seems to be doing ok with him when I lean the gates up next to his pen so she cant reach him. They can almost go nose to nose and she doesnt get aggressive. If she can reach him, she gets a little sassy. I have also been switching their litter and blankets and swapping their play areas so they can get each others scent. I am going to start making sure that I feed them together so they associate food with each other. If i sprinkle treats around his pen where she can reach them, but he cant, do you think that might help? She doesnt get aggressive towards anything that smells like him, like she used to do with Cupcake. Should I just not allow her in the living room for awhile? Now I’m kicking myself for making Dizzie an almost completely free range bunny…there is nowhere that isnt hers!!

[tanlover14]

A week, she has already claimed it. Haha!

Why don’t you try sprinkling treats around there for both of them? Put some on his side and some on her side. I would continue with the swapping – I would try and let him out in “her area” and put her in “his area” to help get their scents around both of them.

[LittlePuffyTail]

If she’s anything like Olivia she only has to be in a room once and it and everything in it is hers!

[Cupcakesmom]

She is like that! I have Spike in his pen in the corner so when I let her in, I put the gates up slanted in the sides so she cant get at him, but can almost get nose to nose. Since there is no other place to put him, I am going to continue with that set up. I have been switching their litter boxes each evening so they get each others scent. I have also been swapping out their stuffies and blankies so they get scents. She doesnt get aggressive toward him with the gates up. I think more than anything, she just wants to be in th living room with us. I am also going to start feeding them at the same time and putting their food so they have to face each other to eat it. that way she can hopefully see that he isnt a threat and he isnt going to eat her food. hopefully with doing all of that, we can start to see her softening up towards him.

[Cupcakesmom]

Things have been going very well since I last posted. Dizzie is getting used to Spike more and more each day and while I am not ready to put them together yet, I can see a huge change in my baby girl. They are no longer fighting through the cage bars. They go nose to nose and while sometimes of them pulls away, they arent growling or swatting at each other. I have been swapping out their litterboxes and some of their toys and blankets each day. I also let Spike run in Dizzie’s room and vice versa. In the evening, when Spike is in his pen, I let Dizzie into the livingroom to visit and mostly she just ignores, which I think is a good sign Things are looking up, but I am still going to move slowly.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Glad to hear it.

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