Bonded bunnies circle each other

[Teresa1996]

Hello,
I have two bonded buns - one older male and one younger female (both spayed/neutered).
My male has been having some medical problems recently so every evening I take him into another room behind closed doors to give him his medicine. I've noticed that whenever I return him back with the female, they usually do a few circles around each other (both at the same time) before settling down and finding a spot to lay down together.
Now, I've read that circling can be territorial/sign of dominance or trying to get someone's attention but they've never been aggressive towards each other. They both love each other, sleep together constantly, groom each other and follow each other everywhere.
I've always interpreted this as them greeting each other after being apart for a while. What do you think?

 

[Catlyn]

If their circling is that of greeting or embers of aggression, it is hard to tell when we haven't seen and don't know your rabbits.
I am left to wonder why you would need to take the older one behind closed doors somewhere else for medicating. I wouldn't do that. One possible issue for the circling is that if the medicine has a smell to it, even if we don't detect it. Rabbits can be put off by new smells, especially those of vets or medications.

 

[Teresa1996]

If their circling is that of greeting or embers of aggression, it is hard to tell when we haven't seen and don't know your rabbits.
I am left to wonder why you would need to take the older one behind closed doors somewhere else for medicating. I wouldn't do that. One possible issue for the circling is that if the medicine has a smell to it, even if we don't detect it. Rabbits can be put off by new smells, especially those of vets or medications.

The male rabbit has some shallow open abscesses on his jaw that need to be cleaned regularly (we've been dealing with the abscess problem for more than a year now, he has visited a bunny vet several times and even had a piece of his jawbone removed as it had been infected and causing the problems) ((this has been going on way before the younger female was even born)). To clean his jaw I need to have him on a table to do it properly. Unfortunately the only table I can use is in my living room, which the buns have no access to because as much as I've tried to prevent it they (mostly the female) keep eating the couch and peeing on the pillows.

 

[JBun]

There can be happy excited circling, or aggressive territorial circling with the tail usually raised and possibly accompanied with grunting(not to be confused with excited happy honking/buzzing). So based on your rabbits body language, you would need to determine which is going on. If it's aggressive circling, you'll need to be watchful that it doesn't escalate into a fight, before they settle back down and are ok with each other again.

http://language.rabbitspeak.com/
With the jaw abscess, what antibiotics has your vet tried so far? Any infected teeth that it's linked to that have needed removing?

 

[Teresa1996]

There can be happy excited circling, or aggressive territorial circling with the tail usually raised and possibly accompanied with grunting(not to be confused with excited happy honking/buzzing). So based on your rabbits body language, you would need to determine which is going on. If it's aggressive circling, you'll need to be watchful that it doesn't escalate into a fight, before they settle back down and are ok with each other again.

There has never been any sounds and no raised tails. They were never aggressive towards each other nor towards me, even when they were first introduced to each other or even when one of the needs to go to the vet and is gone for a whole day.

With the jaw abscess, what antibiotics has your vet tried so far? Any infected teeth that it's linked to that have needed removing?

He has had several vet visits over the past year or so. The initial abscess was massive compared to his tiny body so he had a large procedure back then.
He's also lost all the teeth on his right side because they were all infected (thankfully he has no problem eating on his own, he just needs a bit more time) and has had a small piece of his jawbone removed due to the infection.
Thankfully we currently no longer need antibiotics, he's only having some small residual surface level spots where some pus sometimes comes out and which need to be cleaned and desinfected.

(I actually managed to find his x-ray before the first surgery, just for curiosity)