DazyDaizee
Well-Known Member
I've been trying to bond my dutch bunny, Toot with my "foster" bunny, Wally, who we've decided to keep. Toot is terrible with new bunnies and I don't even remember the point that her and my last bunny, Pete, started to get along. They had a few scuffles between them, but after several months they were great friends.
-So the situation is that Wally has a head tilt and though he started off very comfortable with Toot when they first met face to face, she went after him and he totally freaked out since he couldn't really see her coming at him due to the position his head is in. There was no real damage, just a scratch on him and a tuft of hair missing from her. We separated them very quickly.
-I kept a gate separating them, Wally in the bedroom, Toot in the living room. Toot repeatedly would "attack" the gate when he came over. So I blocked it off with a solid gate and put her in a cage with his blanket for a day or so.
-Next we went outside "neutral territory" for both. I kept Toot at a reasonable distance. She did get within a foot and a half of Wally several times without incident, though I could tell from her body language that she WOULD fight again if she got the chance. We ended this on good terms, no incidents.
-I have swapped out bedding between them since, and I bring Toot into the bedroom, put her on the floor and pet her while she's close to Wally. I do not let her get close enough to hurt him. This seems to work out just fine. He can sniff her without being aggressive, but she will try to bite him if she has the chance.
We've now had Wally for a week and a half.
-Today. My boyfriend got home before me, moved the gate to come into the bedroom and closed it when he went back out, not realizing Toot had slipped in. So I get home about 10 minutes later, look in the bedroom to check on Wally and see tufts of hair everywhere. Wally had a gash under his nose and a scrape on his ear. Toot has a gash on her side. Fortunately it didn't look like it lasted too long and they were separate when I came in. Walter didn't seem too stressed and let me pet him and clean his wounds out. Toot did the same. I put Toot in a cage.
I guess I'm just not sure where to go from here. Wally has to have surgery on Friday because he has an abscess from PenG injections that he received before I got him. I just feel terrible as he gets so stressed if she gets aggressive with him. I don't want him to get hurt, and I'm scared to try the car ride technique since she's gotten aggressive even on neutral territory with Wally. I don't want there to be a fight in the car and I feel that I can't risk that until he's completely healed from surgery. I've tried the bathtub with her in the past (with the other bun) and it doesn't help, she gets aggressive there, too. Also Toot has had GI stasis twice and I don't want her to get sick from stressing her too much.
What is a reasonable next step for them? I know this will take time, but I'm not sure what the best way to pursue would be, especially considering the complications from the upcoming surgery and Wally's head tilt making it more difficult for him to interpret Toot's intentions.
-So the situation is that Wally has a head tilt and though he started off very comfortable with Toot when they first met face to face, she went after him and he totally freaked out since he couldn't really see her coming at him due to the position his head is in. There was no real damage, just a scratch on him and a tuft of hair missing from her. We separated them very quickly.
-I kept a gate separating them, Wally in the bedroom, Toot in the living room. Toot repeatedly would "attack" the gate when he came over. So I blocked it off with a solid gate and put her in a cage with his blanket for a day or so.
-Next we went outside "neutral territory" for both. I kept Toot at a reasonable distance. She did get within a foot and a half of Wally several times without incident, though I could tell from her body language that she WOULD fight again if she got the chance. We ended this on good terms, no incidents.
-I have swapped out bedding between them since, and I bring Toot into the bedroom, put her on the floor and pet her while she's close to Wally. I do not let her get close enough to hurt him. This seems to work out just fine. He can sniff her without being aggressive, but she will try to bite him if she has the chance.
We've now had Wally for a week and a half.
-Today. My boyfriend got home before me, moved the gate to come into the bedroom and closed it when he went back out, not realizing Toot had slipped in. So I get home about 10 minutes later, look in the bedroom to check on Wally and see tufts of hair everywhere. Wally had a gash under his nose and a scrape on his ear. Toot has a gash on her side. Fortunately it didn't look like it lasted too long and they were separate when I came in. Walter didn't seem too stressed and let me pet him and clean his wounds out. Toot did the same. I put Toot in a cage.
I guess I'm just not sure where to go from here. Wally has to have surgery on Friday because he has an abscess from PenG injections that he received before I got him. I just feel terrible as he gets so stressed if she gets aggressive with him. I don't want him to get hurt, and I'm scared to try the car ride technique since she's gotten aggressive even on neutral territory with Wally. I don't want there to be a fight in the car and I feel that I can't risk that until he's completely healed from surgery. I've tried the bathtub with her in the past (with the other bun) and it doesn't help, she gets aggressive there, too. Also Toot has had GI stasis twice and I don't want her to get sick from stressing her too much.
What is a reasonable next step for them? I know this will take time, but I'm not sure what the best way to pursue would be, especially considering the complications from the upcoming surgery and Wally's head tilt making it more difficult for him to interpret Toot's intentions.