Overly dominant bunny

[bunnyfriend]

Wilbur and Totoro only took a couple days to bond, with zero aggression. For a while I thought Wilbur was the boss but over the past couple months Totoro has become king. I know it’s normal for one bunny to be more dominant than the other but this is starting to become a problem. At first it began with food and attention from me, Totoro would lunge and chase Wilbur, so I began monitoring and sometimes separating them during mealtimes so Wilbur had a fair chance. Now it’s gotten to the point though that Wilbur is afraid to come out, she mostly hides out underneath my bed. She’ll come out and then dart back. They still groom each other and sleep together. I’m thinking maybe it’s more of a problem when people or food are around. Wilbur is deaf and also very tiny and I just feel so bad for her being afraid all the time. Totoro is a very, very sweet gentle snuggle bunny all the time except for when he’s bossing her around. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do? Are they not really bonded? 

[Stickerbunny]

If it gets too bad, or she’s too stressed, or can’t eat at all then you can stop him but for the most part you just have to let them work it out. Stickers is the dominate in my pair and she will steal food out of Powders mouth, run him off his sleeping spots cause she wants them, nip him if he’s not being a good husbun in her opinion, etc. It was a lot worse when they first bonded. But for the most part, they are great together, Stickers is just a bully to show she’s the boss. And oh boy if he insults her she gets so mad, once he binkied and landed on top of her while she was napping, he was in the dog house for days. Mine were a fast bond as well and at one point it ended in a break up – Stickers chased Powder biting him, so I broke them up, then for two months she just kept after him anytime she saw him, but then magically one day they made up and went back to being best friends and are even closer than ever. So rabbit bonding can be up and down. One thing that helps my two cause Stickers hates when I give Powder attention without her, is I pet them both at the same time, one hand on each. Of course, usually she hates attention, so she’ll hop off and I will keep petting Powder and she’s fine, as long as she had hers too. Treats are the same – one hand to each bun with one craisin each.

[bunnyfriend]

Okay thank you Stickerbunny, that makes me feel a lot better. I guess I’ll just try to let them work it out and see what happens.

[Beka27]

I agree, I wouldn’t separate them unless Wilbur is seriously having negative physical effects or getting injured. Having you tried confining them again and doing a second cementing/honeymoon period in an xpen? Maybe it’s too soon to have a lot of space for them?

[bunnyfriend]

I never even thought of that, I’ll give it a try! Thanks!

[mocha200]

My bunnies have their share fights too. Mocha is the dominant rabbit but Lulu is still very aggressive. As soon as a touch the treat jar it seems like she takes one big leap and lands next to mocha grunting the whole way then they both chase eachother arround until they get their treats. She does that with her veggies too! If mocha is eating kale and Lulu wants it she will take it out of his mouth and runs away, but Mocha doesn’t really care! Even though Lulu is so agressive Mocha is still dominant, when i am petting Lulu Mocha will come over and hump her until she leaves even though he hates to be pet!

[LBJ10]

Leopold is dominant, but we haven’t had too many problems. There is some pushing and shoving, but Wooly doesn’t let Leopold walk all over him (meaning, he shoves back). I agree with the others, I would just let them continue to work things out. Only interfere if Wilbur is being deprived food or is being stressed out way too much. I like the idea of maybe confining them to a smaller area for awhile. Too much freedom can do weird things to the bunny mind.

[bunnyfriend]

Alright thank you both! This made me feel a lot better that it’s more normal than something I need to be seriously worrying about

[Elrohwen]

Hannah terrorizes Otto all the time. I’ve noticed that she’s much worse in the spring time and then gradually settles back down again. She chases him away from food and will chase him just for fun sometimes, pulling fur out of his bum. He hates it, but he also gets used to it and learns where to run so she won’t follow him. When I’m bringing food, he always hides in a place she won’t follow him, then runs out as soon as I put it down and she’s fine then.

When she’s being particularly bad I’ve sprayed her – she’s a bunny who reacts strongly to being sprayed and will learn not to do things again. Most often I just say her name in a deep voice when I see her going to bite him and she backs off and looks at me. I vote to let them work it out, but you can tell Totoro to knock it off if he’ll listen.

[bunnyfriend]

Okay thank you! He’s pretty responsive to sounds so maybe that will help.

[Author]

Messages