Remi is territorial, Peppy and I are intruders!

[peppypoo]

As some of you may know, Peppy is my girlie that lives with me and Remi is the family bun-overlord who stays with my parents.  When I go back to visit, usually over school breaks, I take Peppy with me and she gets the upstairs cordoned off for her (Remi hardly goes up there), and both are pretty content.

The problem, though, is that Remi is a very territorial bunny and can be quite aggressive in “defense”.  I’m pretty sure myself and every piece of clothing I own is covered in a fine layer of Peppy hair, and Remi does not appreciate this one bit!  He sees me as an intruder and tries to attack me, even breaking skin once with a bite – it would have been worse if I didn’t instinctively jerk my hand away.  Peppy, on the other hand, has never shown aggressiveness toward another bunny, even in her own territory.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to improve this situation?  Would it be a good idea to let them meet with a barrier in between to let them get to know each other, or would this cause unnecessary stress? I’m not worried about making them best buds since I have no intention to bond them, but I’d like to be able to pet the little guy, or at the very least to cross carpeted areas without fear of my feet being savaged.

[Deleted User]

I would not start off with a barrier meeting. Just because I don’t want Peppy getting hurt. I would take a towel and let Peppy have a day with it to get her scent on it and give it to Remi. So the aggressiveness he’s showing will be taken out on the towel instead of Peppy. And if you’re going to introduce them. There is the possibility of ending the interaction on a bad note. Which is something that you don’t want to do. I would just get Remi used to Peppy’s scent first before any face-to-face meetings happen.

[peppypoo]

I guess one of the complicating issues is that I’m only ever back for a few days maybe 3-4 times a year, so there’s not very much time to habituate Remi to Peppy’s scent…and even if he did, I don’t know if I’d have to start over again every time. A towel might be good though, I’ll try to work that out next time.

I keep telling my mom that it’s a bad idea for them to meet, but she doesn’t understand! I found out that last time I was back home, when I was out for the afternoon she put Peppy in the carrier and brought Peppy downstairs to meet Remi without telling me, because she knew I’d disapprove. Nothing bad happened…my sister told me that they just sniffed at each other (and Remi kept chinning the carrier) but I can’t say I was very happy about that.

[jerseygirl]

Yes, if you don’t have intention of bonding, I would keep them seperate for duration of your visit. I have 2 that act like Remi. Jersey and Tim.

Maybe you can schedule some one on one Remi time after showering and wearing non bunny scented clothes? Scrubs even!
With fostered rabbits here throughout the year, I took to wearing a robe over my clothes while handling them so smells didn’t transfer onto my clothes.

OR you could try accustomise Remi by giving him something with Peppy’s smell on it, like a small blanket.

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