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Ted & Rosie rebond - U/D 27 Feb - any experienced bonders thoughts please?

martlou

martlou

Warren Veteran
Took Teddy up to the bathroom and let him have a sniff round for a couple of minutes. The Martyn brought Rosie in. Rosie seemed scared of the floor or the fact it was a new place and kept climbing up Martyn, he kept putting her back on the floor. For the first 11 or 12 minutes they pretty much ignored each other, then Rosie lunged at Ted and tried to bite him:cry: There was no contact so no fur flying. We 'separated' them (Ted had moved away anyway) but he looked a bit scared so we brought them back downstairs. Ted is in the pen again and ate his treat straight away, Rosie is lying under the bureau which is the other side of the room, she hasn't eaten her treat yet but that's not unusual.

We've no experience of this - what does anyone think please? We've no idea if the attempted bite is a bad sign or not :?
 
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Second 'date' uneventful really. No aggression from either bunny. Rosie still trying to climb up daddy but that was a bit better this time. Poor mummy (that's me :lol:) scared stiff each time Rosie went near Ted but though there was some 'watching' there was no aggression. Ted presented his head for grooming to Rosie a few times but she ignored him. We'd like him to try and dominate her a bit but that would be out of character for him so unlikely to happen we think. Roll on the next one...
 
Sounds really good to me. I think it's good he's not trying to dominate her, as that would make the bonding process much slower as they'd be sorting the hierarchy out.

Lots of bonding vibes :wave:
 
Gemmapookie said:
Sounds really good to me. I think it's good he's not trying to dominate her, as that would make the bonding process much slower as they'd be sorting the hierarchy out.

Lots of bonding vibes :wave:
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Thanks for that, we've had lots of good advice but obviously we still have lots of questions as we go along. We thought that if Ted was the dominant male it might calm Rosie a bit but sounds like that's not the case. Obviously I am an old fashioned girl as I'm expecting the man to be the boss :oops::oops::oops:

Thank you everyone for your good wishes. The next date will be around tea time, then we'll try and fit in another I think before bed if it goes well. I'll report back after the next one :)
 
martlou said:
Thanks for that, we've had lots of good advice but obviously we still have lots of questions as we go along. We thought that if Ted was the dominant male it might calm Rosie a bit but sounds like that's not the case. Obviously I am an old fashioned girl as I'm expecting the man to be the boss :oops::oops::oops:

Thank you everyone for your good wishes. The next date will be around tea time, then we'll try and fit in another I think before bed if it goes well. I'll report back after the next one :)
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2 dominant bunnies are much harder to bond than a dominant and a submissive. Hopefully Rosie will soon realise that shes definatly the boss and Ted isnt contesting that, so things will settle down :D
 
Gemmapookie said:
2 dominant bunnies are much harder to bond than a dominant and a submissive. Hopefully Rosie will soon realise that shes definatly the boss and Ted isnt contesting that, so things will settle down :D
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It's just because it feels like it's the wrong way round :lol: don't know why because I'm the bossy one in our house as well, though I've never bitten Martyn's ear :lol:. Rosie would have always demanded grooming from Ted (and he would usually have responded) but there hasn't been any of that yet, does that sound 'normal' or to be expected?
 
martlou said:
It's just because it feels like it's the wrong way round :lol: don't know why because I'm the bossy one in our house as well, though I've never bitten Martyn's ear :lol:. Rosie would have always demanded grooming from Ted (and he would usually have responded) but there hasn't been any of that yet, does that sound 'normal' or to be expected?
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I hope you dry hump him on a regular basis though. Gotta keep those boys in line ;)

As they've only had 2 dates I wouldnt worry about the grooming yet. It will come with time when they're more comfortable around eachother :wave:
 
Gemmapookie said:
I hope you dry hump him on a regular basis though. Gotta keep those boys in line ;)

As they've only had 2 dates I wouldnt worry about the grooming yet. It will come with time when they're more comfortable around eachother :wave:
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:shock::shock::shock: :lol::lol::lol:
 
The other thingthat occurred to me was don't think that it's a waste of time or nothing is happening because they are ignoring each other. They will most certainly not be ignoring each other even though that's what it looks like to us. They are just working out what they make of each other.
 
We're now 3 dates in. Bit more interaction between them, they pressed their faces together for a couple of seconds at one point (my heart was in my mouth :oops: ). Teddy thumped on 5 separate occasions, Rosie tried to nip his bum at one point but didn't even catch any fur. There was quite a bit of sitting wtih their backs to each other and quite a bit of just watching each other.

One thing we were wondering - is it ok for us to touch the bunnies whilst we're in these sessions (we've been stroking them for reassurance and also Rosie is climbing all over Martyn) or should we just leave them to it unless we need to intervene?

Yaretzi - thanks for your point about not having different levels in the pen when they eventually go in together. We have removed the carry box to get them used to it not being there, which gives them a bit more hopping space as well.
 
:wave: I'm no expert but think it is better to only interact with them if you need to, ie. If one is showing aggression to the other. It's best to have them in a pen and you be outside of it, but still able to reach in if necessary :) sending tons of bonding vibes and loads of luck! X

martlou said:
We're now 3 dates in. Bit more interaction between them, they pressed their faces together for a couple of seconds at one point (my heart was in my mouth :oops: ). Teddy thumped on 5 separate occasions, Rosie tried to nip his bum at one point but didn't even catch any fur. There was quite a bit of sitting wtih their backs to each other and quite a bit of just watching each other.

One thing we were wondering - is it ok for us to touch the bunnies whilst we're in these sessions (we've been stroking them for reassurance and also Rosie is climbing all over Martyn) or should we just leave them to it unless we need to intervene?

Yaretzi - thanks for your point about not having different levels in the pen when they eventually go in together. We have removed the carry box to get them used to it not being there, which gives them a bit more hopping space as well.
Click to expand...
 
4th date - Rosie tried to nip Ted's face twice. Ted thumped and moved away. He's obviously wary of her, he jumps away when she comes too near. Will this improve? Presumably if she keeps trying to bite him it won't :cry: He keeps putting his head down to her but she's never groomed him so I can't see her starting now. If Rosie puts her head down (which she's done a couple of times, Ted just keeps his down as well and he doesn't groom her which he would have done before.

We're also thinking maybe the bond wasn't that strong in the first place - she's often defended things against him (litter tray, food dish) and has nipped him in the past to protect them. She also bit him on his neck this time last year which needed antibiotic and steroid cream treatment. Would those things mean the bond was weak anyway? Or is it just one of those things? We've never had bonded bunnies before so nothing to compare what's happening now to.

Thoughts much appreciated.
 
aw im sorry I cant really give advice but just wanted to say I feel for you, my bonded 4 fell out and it was awful - so upsetting to see 4 buns who loved each other to then turn on each other. I tried and tried to rebond myself but it just wouldnt work (I know what the heart in the mouth feels like!!).
In the end I sent them away to be rebonded (last try before giving up) and it worked a treat - they are still all bonded now - fingers and paws crossed.

Could you send them somewhere unfamiliar with someone experienced?
 
Hello :wave:

I was wondering how it was going with you was going to ask you

I don't know about bonding either but I am thinking of you and hope it all goes well for you so much

Ruthie xxx
 
The latest update doesn't sound so good, but from what I've heard some bonds and re-bonds take longer than others. I wonder if they are picking up on your anxiety?

I am often thinking of you and them - such special well-loved bunnies, and you are doing eveything possible to make them happy with each other again. :thumb:
 
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