Bonding Blog of Drizzle and Latte

[lalena2148]

The buns seemed to be sniffing each otherthrough their cages (which we put near each other). Latte has settledin quite nicely so we thought we' d have a quick bonding session. Weput both of them in the bath tub and I put some hay for both of them toeat in the center. Latte, of course, wanted to munch on hay. Drizzlewas a little nervous. Latte hopped over to smell Driz, who was stillnervous. Latte binkied a few times and jumped away to eat some morehay. They pretty much ignored each other for 5 minutes. Then Latte andDriz both started to sniff eachother. Driz lowered his head and Lattestarted to groom him! Then Latte tried to lower his head tobe groomed back, but Driz pushed his head down first and pushed Latteaway a little. Driz then proceeded to try to sniff Latte's behind andLatte was sniffing Driz's and they were kinda going slowly in a circle.Finally, Drizzle mounted Latte from behind. He also seemed to be bitinghim a little (or just holding onto his fur w/ his teeth really). I lethim mount him a bit and then started to pet them both and bring themapart. Driz then mounted his face and pulled on his fur again. Lattemade a little noise, so I gently petted them and broke them apartagain. Unfortunately, poor Latte has a little bald spot from some furDriz must have pulled out. So, we ended the 15 minute session.

They both seem to not be sneezing, so I put their cages in the sameroom near each other so they can get used to each other's smell.

I'm not sure if that was a very successful session, but I'm sosurprised that Latte was so receptive! He was really wantingto getgroomed and Driz was just not having it. Iwas just glad that Drizzle didn't grunt or try to kick Latte. He wasn'ttrying to hurt Latte on purpose anyway.

Any thoughts on the session? Does all the behavior seem normal?

 

[Haley]

Sounds like a great first session! I cant believe you had grooming. Thats wonderful.

I dont really have any suggestions for you...sounds like you have itall under control. One thing I hated with Max and Basil was themounting, but you have to let them do it (unless one is really hurtingor stressing out the other). Thats their way of asserting dominance andfiguring out who will be top bun.

Good Luck!!

 

[lalena2148]

Haley wrote:

Sounds like a great first session! I cant believe you hadgrooming. Thats wonderful.

I dont really have any suggestions for you...sounds like you have itall under control. One thing I hated with Max and Basil was themounting, but you have to let them do it (unless one is really hurtingor stressing out the other). Thats their way of asserting dominance andfiguring out who will be top bun.

Good Luck!!

Yeah, I guess it went well.

So Haley, with Max and Basil; who won the top bun spot?

I'm thinking of still leaving their cages near each other. I thinkit should help with Drizzle being less nervous if he sees andsmells him more. I guess we'll see if it helps w/ the bondingsession tomorrow.

And I still feel bad about Latte's bald spot. :?After thesession, I took some bonding time (individual) with just me. Somesnuggling and nose pets to calm them down and make them feel better.Drizzle really seemed to need it and he gave me lots of kisses. Lattedidn't seem to mind missing some fur(poor buddy)andgave me kisses too.

 

[Haley]

Basil is top bun. Hes older and he was here first. Although thats not always how it works.

Basil doesnt really dominate Max though, theyre pretty much on equalfooting. I think its more likely to be like that when theyre the samesex and generally the same demeanor. At the beginning though (after thefighting, once they were on good terms) Basil would hump the crap outof Max (especially his head). I would always make sure Max had someplace to hide (like a cardboard box) if it got to be too much. Fromwhat Ive read, its up to the other bunny to let them know this is notan acceptable form of communication

 

[lalena2148]

Day 2:

Well, today, Drizzle didn't try humping Latte. I don't know if thatwasa good thing or a bad thing. They had asuccessful 35 minute session. Latte was once againgrooming Drizzle. I put a little banana on Latte's nose, hoping that itwould get Drizzle grooming Latte but it didn't work. Everytime Latteput his head down to get licked, Drizzle put his down lower...thusmaking Latte groom him. Latte did seem get a little bravertoday. He seemed like he was going to mount Drizzle but thenDriz moved and he didn't get to. But, they both laid down(even though they were across the tub from each other). Driz was tooamped up to do that yesterday, so I felt good that they even were thatclose. I also was petting them at the same time and they kinda snuggledand fell asleep briefly next to each other. When I stopped petting,they hung around by each other for a few minutes, then Latte seemed tochase Driz around a little. I think he was just excited and jumping (hewas doing binkies too) and Driz was just afraid again. I had some funnyvideo, but it's too dark to see anything. I did get some photos though.Don't mind the gross bath, I was going to clean it today but held offuntil after the buns were in there. Especially since they were sneezingall week, I didn't want them to be in cleaning fumes. It's clean now

The picture above is basically showing how Drizzle puts his head downlower than Latte's so he gets groomed and Latte doesn't. But, Drizdidn't bite him today:bunnydance:

After I took this photo, I was laughing because all I could think ofwas Haley's photo of Mr. Tummnus behind Basilw/ the caption"Oh so tempting"...and that Mr. Tummnus and Latte don't swing that way!:laugh:

 

[picklezon]

they're beautiful rabbits!

 

[Haley]

LOL. we know its just brotherly love, right?!

Looks like things are progressing nicely!

 

[lalena2148]

12/8/06
Day 3:
They spent another 35 minutes in the bath. Latte was a bit more curioustoday and was really trying to sniff Drizzle :ahem: down there. Drizzlewas not very enthused by his actions and would run, and Latte wouldchase him. Latte did groom him a lot but I think he's gettingfrustrated about not being groomed back at all.So, he waschasing Drizzle...who preceded to spray urine on the bathtub wall andLatte pooped as he ran around :disgust:. Drizzle has neversprayed urine...although it was just trickles of pee aroundso I'm not sure if that constitutes as a spray but never the less, hehasn't had an accident outside of his litterbox since he was 8 weeksold. At one point, Latte was grooming Drizzle and tried to DBF to lienext to him :inlove:. It was very sweet but Driz got nervousand ran away :foreheadsmack:. At the end of the session theyhad both calmed down. I picked Drizzle up and held him w/ my left arm.He was snuggly as usual and put his head under my chin while purring. Ithen picked up Latte w/ my right arm and snuggled w/ them at the sametime. Latte moved over so you could be closer to Driz and fell asleepsnuggling w/ him. Driz was nervous (still!) but calmed down and startedsnuggling a little. I think he felt more comfortable since he was on meand I could protect him from that other large eared creature:brownbunny. I think since Driz hasn't been around a rabbit alot since he was 6 weeks old, he's just anxious. He did meet my mom'srabbit, but it was at his house (foo-foo's) and he's not neuter, soDriz had to be the submissive bun. I'm hoping Driz will take charge andtell Latte this is my house so we can get this bonding really moving!

Oh, and when Driz rounded the corner of the bath while I waspeeing...he left a pee mark on Latte and I couldn't help but laughbecause he looked like had a yellow racing stripe across his side!:roflmao:

Also Driz is moulting like CRAZY! While he was running away from Lattefur was just flying off of him...and I brush him daily! That's why inthe photos above, he has all those weird fur patterns. They changeeveryday.

 

[lalena2148]

12/10/06
Day 4:

Well, today it was a little more aggressive during the session.Drizzle finally mounted Latte again, and Latte took it for a while, butthen grunted and tried biting him. There was more chasing today andLatte was going to bite Driz's genitals, so I sprayed him w/ the spraybottle a little. The session was less than the other days. I tried tostop the aggression by turning the faucet in the tub on a little (I hadthe drain open and they were on the other side of the tub). Well atleast this got them to calm down. Except my poor Drizzle is an idiot.Ever since he was a baby, he was afraid of the toliet flushing. So,what would he do? Run behind it. :foreheadsmack:So what did he do inthe tub? Run UNDER the faucet! And , of course, I'm the worst bunny momin the world because all I could do was laugh at my poor soaked,drowned looking bun. I towelled him off and snuggled with him afterwardto calm him down.

12/11/06
Day 5:

Tried another session today. I think Latte is getting frustrated with Drizzle.
Here's what Drizzle keeps doing:

Drizzle is the one who ALWAYS wants to be groomed. Latte FINALLY puthis head under Drizzle's to be groomed and Drizzle didn't. So, Lattestarted to chase him and bit him a little. I sprayed Latte w/ thebottle when he got too rough:

That's him cleaning up after being sprayed.
They were fighting a little again, and Driz didn't want to snuggle letalone groom w/ Latte. So I turned on the faucet in the sink (not in thetub). Everytime I turned it on, they jumped a little. But, at onepoint, they were laying next to eachother! :brownbunny
After a little while w/ the faucet on (and no fighting for 15minutes...as they were too scared to so they just really ignoredeachother) I stopped the session so they could relax.

I also am planning to snuggle with them at the same time today. We'llsee how well that goes. Here's some other photos and vids from thesession:

Latte getting his closeup :rollseyes


Drizzle nervous as usual

 

[lalena2148]

12/14/06
Day 6:

Yesterday, I was alone at home and not feeling great. So, I took thebuns out in the kitchen to play. They had a couple of good bondingtimes on the top of the coffee table over the past couple of days. Nofighting anyway. But I then realized, the kitchen is Drizzle'sterritory. Drizzle was REALLY trying to mount him from behind. Heeventually got Latte but Latte was not submitting. He turned around andbit Driz! It wasn't hard (more of a warning nip) but Latte was gruntingtoo (which he's never done before)! After Latte went to bite him again,I yelled "No Bite, Latte!" and slid them lightly away from each other(thank goodness for tile ). Latte was VERY upset and wasgrunting at me and I had to take a half hour to calm him down.

So, I guess they're not ready for that yet. My bad. I'll wait for moreprogress in the tubI guess. Also, I'm going to wait anothermonth to bring them into a more not neutral space , just to make sureall Latte's hormones are gone. I also might try to car thing sometime.

 

[lalena2148]

1/10/07

So we had a session yesterday in thebathtub.My vet told me not to bond them for awhilewhen Latte was sick and his tilt was worse.He's MUCH better now andhis tilt is almost gone (it's worseonly when he'sexcited or tired).Driz actuallygroomed Latte a little! :colors:Of course, as he got close to the butt,he tried to mount him. Then Latte tried to get Driz's butt, and theystarted to circle. There were a couple nips, but no one got hurt (Ichecked them thoroughly). However, they both sprayed urine in the tub.This has been a current trend w/ them. Driz decided it would be fun tojump in the air in a circle and spray Latte in the face.:disgust:They're both neutered, Driz has never sprayed untilI got Latte, EVER...even when he was unneutered. Latte sprayed too. Anyadvice on how to reduce this (if there is anyway to do that) would bevery much appreciated.

OH! The CUTEST thing was Driz was sitting still. Latte binkied over tohim and DBFed next to him with his paw over his neck and was groominghis side!:inlove:I WISH I had my camera out. And Drizzledidn't move! I think he liked it! It's a start I guess. I think I mightbring them downstairs in their crate the next time I do laundry and putthem on the dryer while it's on. Maybe that will make the bondingquicker.

Also, I left Latte in the tub when I put Driz away. When I came back,Latte had jumped up onto the side/corner of the tub (it's a ledgereally)! He used to love to do that when we was untilted and he can doit again! I was so happy he can still jump straight! :happydance

 

[jordiwes]

Sounds like a good session to me. I like theidea of putting the bunnies on top of the dryer, and I know naturesteehas been having some good results with forced snuggling.

 

[naturestee]

I'm so glad they're feeling better! Itsounds like a pretty good bonding session. I'd just stickwith what you're doing since it seems to be working well. Asfor spraying each other, that's what rabbits do to theirmates. There's more about it in the book Why Does MyRabbit..., if you're interested. Hopefully it will decreaseas they get more used to being around each other.

 

[Haley]

Glad to hear the boys are doing well!

I have no idea about the spraying. Hopefully that will stop as theybond. Sounds like all is going well though. Its great that Latte isfeeling better!

Keep us posted!

-Haley

PS. did I ever tell you how I did bonding with car rides? That worked well also

 

[lalena2148]

Haley wrote:

Glad to hear the boys are doing well!

I have no idea about the spraying. Hopefully that will stop as theybond. Sounds like all is going well though. Its great that Latte isfeeling better!

Keep us posted!

-Haley

PS. did I ever tell you how I did bonding with car rides? That worked well also

Well we did another session tonight and boy did the fur fly! They weregetting along so well but then they decided it would be a great time toassert their dominance. They nipped at each other a lot and pulled outa lot of hair. However, they did end with a slight snuggle (mostly Drizjust laying next to him and Latte grooming him). I checked them andthey're both ok. No bites, no blood. Just missing fur.:rollseyesI said if they keep it up like that, we're going tohave two bald bunnies running around!

As for the car rides, I might have to do that. Driz seems not too keenon bonding still. Doesn't seem interested in grooming Latte, but inLatte grooming him.

 

[lalena2148]

Ok...so just went to bring them down to thelaundry and driz and latte fought REALLY bad! I intervened...andDrizzle bit me pretty hard and drew blood. They've NEVER fought thisbad before. I took Driz, checked him over thoroughly since it wasmostly his fur lying around. There were no visible cuts or bleeding.So, I think he's ok. Same with Latte. But boy am I ****ed. My handhurts pretty bad now. :?Oh well, tis the life of a mom tryingto bond buns.

 

[Haley]

Awww Im sorry things arent going well

 

[lalena2148]

Besides checking over them (up, down and all around) what else should I be looking for if they got hurt?

Any suggestions on how to help them w/ out having to move them. Theyare scared of the blender and the vaccuum. Should I maybe sit in a roomwith them and the vaccuum/blender on (while they're in the bathtub).

 

[Haley]

Sorry I missed this before!

After a fight, I just check to make sure no one is bleeding or openwounds. One time Tumnus took a bite out of Basil and I didnt see anyblood, just hair, and I swear I checked both of them over thoroughly.The next day I was petting Basil and found a big scab where Tumnus hadtaken a chunk out. You just have to be careful bc if things like thatgo unnoticed they can develop abscesses easily.

For bonding, have you tried the dining room table? That always worksfor me. I know theres a link in the resource center with info bysomeone who does that (she has tips for bonding multiple bunnies). ButIve done this, where you put a sheet or blanket on the dining roomtable and then stand around them.

Hope that helps

 

[lalena2148]

Dining room table, eh? Hmm...that might justwork. I will try it after work today. I told my husband about it andhe's now calling it the 'bunny circle of death,' as my table iscurrently in a circle :laugh:But I will try it. Might as well. Thanksfor the idea!