Bonding- am I interfering too much?

Hi there
My five year old male bun has been a bit mopey since I've had to get a job an hour away (was working from home before).
Our sanctury introduced him to a girly and did a week of bonding sessions together, but now we've brought them home to finish the bond.
My lovely boy is used to the run of the flat and garden, so is a bit miffed to be shut in half a room.
I'm letting them get together for short supervised bursts. They are generally really good- either ignoring one another and exploring the space, or competing to be groomed by the other. As I want them to enjoy the snuggles, I've been stroking them both. If I let up, she will sometimes groom him, but he will nip her on the head.:?
Should I be less involved and let them sort it out a bit more on their own?

Thanks for any advice- this is all a bit new to me and it's a little nervewracking. I'm impatient to let them have the run of the house again.

Can I ask why you are separating them? Did the rescue say to do that? Generally the best way to bond is to put them together and not to separate or you run the risk of confusing them and it also means between each session the area needs to be neutralised.

Also yes it does sound like you are getting a bit too involved, sadly it's something they need to sort themselves. Usually the best course of action is to only get involved if they start to circle and fight.

Completely agree with Schuzette, each time you seperate then put back together they are having to rebond slightly

Schuette said:

Can I ask why you are separating them? Did the rescue say to do that?

Click to expand...

I've got a puppy playpen to split the room when we're not around to keep an eye on them- so they are always within sight and can lick one another between the bars. I thought that was ok. It's what the sanctuary were doing with them last week and they suggested continuing with short bursts of time together, ending the session on a positive note.

They're on their own in the house for 10 hours each day this week, so I don't want to leave them together unsupervised until I know they're not going to do one another serious damage. I'm looking forward to the weekend when I can have two whole days to get them better aquainted.

Was very proud of my boy yesterday as he groomed his new girlfriend for the first time. (Although he's been trying to hump her a lot too :roll

Thanks for your help.