3rd Fight :(

As some of you may know, my buns had a big fight 2 weeks ago after Pipkins dental.

I have been trying to rebond again by doing cage swaps, litter tray swaps and giving them time side by side.

The first attempt at re-bonding the day after the dental was a disaster and I had to split up another fight. I tried again last week with no luck and again tonight. It all seemed to be going well tonight and Blackberry was even cleaning Pipkins ears but then she walked away and he got annoyed that she had stopped and tried to bite her to get her attention which she took the wrong way and this then lead to full on lunging and boxing

I just don't know what to do anymore Keep introducing them? I just can't ever see them being back together and it makes me sad because they were much happier in the company of each other and I know they can be friends. Plus I have had to split their living area and give them turns each in the run which isn't ideal either.

I wouldn't give up just yet. Sounds as if they're having problems readjusting post-dental, but they're still exhibiting bonded behaviour. Have you tried taking them for a med-long car drive together? Or getting a rescue to re-bond them in a totally neutral space? Do hope it works out for them :wave:

Thanks for your reply How long would you recommend I take them in the car for? Im a bit nervous that they have a fight in their carrier box and would be difficult to seperate...Im sure I find this more stressful than the buns!

How are you attempting to bond?

I see the cage swapping etc which is good but what kind of area are they in when they are together (approx size). When we were bonding there was a couple of huge fights but we just seperated them, sprayed them with water and left them together. Whilst wet they just sat and groomed themselves so they were still in same space but had other things on their mind.

The best bit if advice we got was to put them in a small dog crate/carrier and take them on a 30-40 min car ride. There's too much going on for them to fight and even got them snuggling in the car to support each other. I beleive if you don't drive you can also put them onto of a spinning washing machine for the same effect.

We also made the mistake of giving them too much space. When we restarted we put them in a 3x2 piece of space, this meant they had to interact and get used to each other. We also left them in it, without removal or seperation, for 3 days. Only after that did we expand it very very slowly.

We never thought we would bind our two after the fights but I am sure if we can than most can.

Sorry if you've heard all this before