Okay so Baby is so sweet and snuggly we feel that she still needs a friend. But maybe since her and Gracie can't get along, maybe a male would work as a husband. So we ask around and get introduced to staff members from the Red Door Animal Shelter on the far north side of Chicago. After talking and emailing back and forth we want to take Baby there for some bunny speed dating.  They come highly recommended and are experts in bunny bonding. Now this shelter specializes in bunny bonding. They know how to do it and could not believe all we went through trying to bond Baby and Gracie.

 

So on Baby's first trip down, she is put in a secure wire pen and a series of other rabbits - big and small - male and female are put in with her to get her reaction. Now a professional bunny bonder is also in the pen with a grease spatter screen that has a long handle on it. She uses this to separate the bunnies at first and then utilizes it in case a fight breaks out. She also wears heavy duty, thick cotton work gloves.

 

So Baby is not too receptive to any bunnies but she really dislikes any females that they tried.  She just keeps looking at me with a "what the heck is this crap" look on her face -  she is not happy. First the hour long ride in the carrier and now this. Poor Baby. So we leave with no mate but it also didn't go so badly either. Baby never attacked another rabbit - well okay she didn't like the females but maybe a male.

 

So two weeks later we go down again with Baby to the Red Door Shelter.  This time she sees a few others and Dino for the second time. He is an adorable tan dwarf lop. He is just precious. He came in with his brother but Frankie got adopted and lucky for us Dino is still there. Well Baby is tolerant of Dino. He just loves any other bunny and hops right over to her (he is only about 8 months old and Baby is a little over 3). Now Dino has been through this before. He had gone home with another female but she hated him in her house and would attack this sweet little boy so he was back at the shelter.  He wants Baby to groom her and she won't. She wants him to groom her and he won't. A standstill but good enough to take Dino home for a trial run (I became a foster home to Dino to see if the bond will work out or not). So once home, moved Gracie out of her room and into Baby's old room. Scoured the room down for the happy or should I say not so happy couple. Room divided down the middle again -- they each have their own sides with cages and toys and everything.  So now we start the bonding process all over again. Are we nuts we wonder?

 

So start with 5 minute sessions, move up to an hour. Change rooms, change spaces, change everything we can and nothing. Take them on a car ride multiple times. Still nothing. Baby would groom Dino - he'd be happy and then she would turn around and nip him and look straight at me -as if to say "this is for you mama".  Dino would not take kindly to this but he was always a gentleman only nipping her back on a few occasions. She was nipping him almost every night. This was really hard on me since I didn't want either one to get nipped or hurt.  This bond was also documented on Baby & Dino on BinkyBunny  I used a water bottle to try and deter Baby from nipping but she just didn't care about getting soaking wet on most nights. The spray of the water bottle had no affect on her anymore since the Gracie days.

 

We created a makeshift tent of sorts out of towels that was covering half on each of theirs sides of the room. They laid under the tent together but just sorta tolerated each other or perhaps Baby was just tolerating little Dino.

 

After 3 or 4 weeks we wanted to give up on this bond. But we still have Dino and no bedroom to move him into. As soon as he came home with us we started to love him and had to find a way to fit him in our family.  Now during all this bonding time with Baby and Dino we would still let each of the 3 bunnies have run time in the living room.  All 3 would use a common poop dish. In retrospect Dino knew Gracie was here and Gracie knew Dino was here. I was the only one not picking up on this. Gracie became very destructive and began chewing up towels and rugs which she had never done before. I didn't really understand why at the time.

 

So we thought we had nothing to loose by trying to bond Gracie and Dino. Oh if only it would work it would be perfect. So we took them down to the Red Door Shelter in separate carriers without them really seeing each other. Once introduced (in neutral territory which is very important) it was like love at first site. I mean these two bunnies sat next to each other for long periods. They sniffed a little and then Gracie groomed Dino. Okay I'm crying and telling her she is a good girl - this could not be any more perfect.  So home they went together in the same carrier (which the shelter had never done before). They were snuggling all the way home in the car for the hour and a half the trip took.

 

Once home into the new cleaned and re-arranged room they went. Divider down the middle of the room again and bonding sessions went fabulous. I mean these two love each other - no doubt. No doubt Dino is dominant because Gracie lets him be. She will mount him from time to time (and still does every once in awhile) but she knows how to handle him. The dominant bunny will mount the other. It has nothing to do with their sex, just who will be top bun.  She kisses and grooms him multiple times per day every day. I still find tufts of fur in both colors from time to time when they've had to work something out. But for the most part, these two just love each other and are always together or not very far apart where they can watch each other easily.  When a bond is right - it should not be that hard for the bunnies or the humans. 

 

In fact after the first few sessions, the buns were taking proactive stances with me when I would try to separate them. Eventually I realized what they were doing. Trying to stop me from separating them.  Little cutie pies in love they were and still are.

 

Here is link to the entire bonding experience as I documented on Binky Bunny.

Gracie & Dino bonding part 1 

Dino and Gracie bonding story on BinkyBunny.com

 If you have not clicked and read any of the bonding links to binkybunny.com where I have spent alot of time documenting my bond and attempted bonds you are really missing alot of valuable information on bonding. It is a must read for any bunny parent about to do or thinking about doing a bond.