Bonding with damaged goods

[AaronJ]

Well. Rocket has a sister, yay!
Hera. unspayed, year old dwarf. some history and facts
previous owner (I am the 3rd..) found her on a lawn on a hot day with a free bunny sign. (I’m not kidding) and took her in until I came into the picture. medically she’s fine, I’m not sure about her socialization honestly. she has some attitude given her experience.
slight charging, rough nose bumps and hates being picked up. it’s almost impossible. now, rocket will tolerate it but we’ve had him since he was able to come home to us. but she extra hates it. first bonding session with myself was tonight, couple bumps and she jumped on my back but is still extra timid. Rockets a scaredy cat but she makes him look fearless! previous owner had a yappy dog that was friendly, our dog is scared of Rocket so the bunnies room (Rec room) is no man/dogs land and barks occasionally. now, aside from patience what other tips would the BB community advise relating to what I know so far given the poor things history?
Cheers!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Number one, she needs to be spayed. For health big time, but it’s going to impact your bonding for sure. Females are the aggressive territorial ones-they need to make nests and raise kits and defend them, so an unspayed female is not a good bonding item.

How long have you had her? I would let her get settled, spay and then do your bonding. First steps should be swapping stuffed animals or towels so they get used to each other scents, then sights, then direct contact in a neutral area (bathtub, bathroom, basement, anywhere they don’t already own) -then stress bonding if things aren’t going well.

I’m sure you’ll do fine, but let her get comfortable and un-horomoned first

[Author]

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