There are things humans do that actually block bunnies from bonding. Just when you thought bonding couldn't get any more difficult, you learn that you might be contributing to bonding blocks. Bunnies are intuitive and sentient beings, meaning they both perceive and feel. Perception comes from their ability to assign mental definitions to every scent they experience. Their sentient nature has been long established within the scientific community. They experience a range of emotions similar to people: happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, depression, grief, loneliness, etc. There is evidence that bucks have a measure of paternal instincts as well as does maternal ones. Kits learn by use of olfactory sense, from birth on what feelings their parents experience and assign a value to each one. Humans lack the ability to smell emotions so we rely on our senses of sight and hearing to let us know what others feel. If we could smell feelings, we could anticipate bunny movements and understand them better. Bunnies have the upper hand on us. They can determine what we feel like because of the endocrine system glandular releases. Our glands release scents based on our feelings just like a bunny's endocrine system does. So, if you are nervous, frustrated, or sad going in to a bonding session, your bunnies know. They will not respond well to those hormones. Hostility between bunnies can sometimes be a direct reflection of the feelings of anger or frustration by the human. 
          Approaching each session with a positive outlook and confidence will promote happy vibes and elevate the mood of the bunnies. Making sure you go to a calm and quiet headspace before sessions will promote bonding happiness. 

     To say bunnies are misunderstood is an understatement. In the 300 years since they were 'domesticated', they have been used as product testers in the cosmetic and toiletry industries, skinned for pelts by the fashion industries,  had feet cut off by the novelty industry ('lucky rabbit's foot' key rings and such), used as bait by hunters, bred and sold by the rabbit breed associations, used as food, and forced to accept one another under cramped stressful conditions to prompt unity bonds. None of these practices have undertaken to appreciate and understand them. Few documentaries film them. Limited books explain them beyond the simple care 101 starter manuals in which they are presented as needed just basic fulfillment; food, water, shelter. Their complex language, intellect, and abilities are overlooked and understudied. Being prey animals, observing the scope of their lifestyle in the wild is difficult. Being reclusive, hiding most of the time, makes it almost impossible to study them. Hares and wild cottontails are two species from which house rabbits behavior emulates. Although able to live in houses with plush amenities, their primal behavior is still the driving force. 
        Unlike dogs and cats who have long tails, wide broad mouths, and extended legs to express feelings, rabbits have eyes that pin, short scuts, and a variety of body positions. Breaking the code of their language is pivotal to learning what makes them tick. Beyond the binkies, zoomies, licking, and frolicking which most know to convey happiness, lies subtle nuances like eye pinning, licking, neck positioning, body displacement, nosing, and chinning; to name a few. Nosing, otherwise known as booping in the bunny community, is fascinating. What does it mean when a bunny places the underneath side of their mouth onto something while making a quick rubbing motion? The answer lies in the science, physiology to be accurate, Bunnies, like people are reliant on their endocrine system to regulate moods including hunger, fatigue, happiness, anger, water ratios, blood pressure and sugar, reproduction, growth, and responses to physical injuries and mental stressors. The endocrine is the internal regulatory system made up of organs and glands that allow hormones to enter bloodstreams which transfers information to different parts of the body, including brain and organs, tissues, muscles, etc. Each time a bunny rubs their chin against a person or object, they transfer scents which they can smell each time they come in contact again. The scents left by bunnies convey possession, territory markers, friendliness, hostility, indications of health and happiness, invitations to mate, fondness and aversion, and much more. How does a person know what each chinning means? Only through context clues can that be determined. If a bunny chins and quickly hops away, chins something else and hops away, repeating this a few times, they are marking boundary for others as well as giving them a road map. If a bun chins a person and stays close by, chances are they are affirming your relationship and requesting attention. If chinning an object occurs, the way the bunny acts before and after indicates the meaning. Of all the intricate behaviors, chinning is most similar to what cats do, releasing hormones found in cheeks. They often do this as often and for the same reasons as bunnies which is interesting given cats are predators and rabbits are prey. 

         It's common knowledge that bunnies do best in pairs and groups. Their natural colony existence can include a large number of bunnies with a mixture of genders, ages, personalities, and abilities. In the wild, with enough resources and space, bunnies coexist famously. In house settings, the dynamics are different. House bunnies don't have vast amounts of territory, unlimited foraging ability, or ample amount of activities which challenge their bodies and minds. Designed to dig, root around, jump, climb, run, tunnel, and burrow, their physiology demands ingenuity. Ducking into a bush and tunneling under fallen leaves at a moments notice may mean the difference between life and death. Scurrying into a hollowed tree trunk, digging into the rotted cavern develops muscle skills that will serve them well throughout their life. Running through a meadow, dodging and weaving around boulders, bushes, and other animals is a necessary tool for survival. These skills can only be minimally replicated inside homes. 
          When a bunny lives independently, they are always in a small state of uncertainty, having to be aware of potential threats at all times. The main resources of food and water, safety and protection, stimulation and enrichment, and affection are primary thoughts of a solo bunny. When bunnies live in pairs and multiples, they share the roles of safety monitor and resource allocator. They provide mutual affection and reassurance, thereby reducing stress and anxiety. Seeking comfort and almost continuous affirmations from each other, they thrive. 
           In bonding, a transitive jump from single to double indicates a transfer from one form of existence to another. Having a human coach their bodies towards mutual acceptance requires that person to be keenly aware of little nuances in their behavior that indicate intention. Allowing two buns to approach each other in a rapid full on mode will surely evoke strong emotions, potentially leading to a violent meeting. Slowing down their approaches with soothing verbal reassurances will increase the probability of better meetings. Body positions for thumping, springing up, lunging, boxing, circling, and chasing need to be discouraged. Body positions for melting, floor puddles, relaxed ears, soft eyes, and slow movements should be encouraged. The transformation from single to multiple involves biologic chemistry: determinations of instant or prolonged. Until bunnies have gained one another's trust, prolonged reactions must be rewarded as well as self-soothing, impulse control, and fluidity. 

       Bonding bunnies brings many challenges. It's a disruption to the daily activities within  a household, a logistical nightmare, upsets schedules, produces anxiety with familial relationships, disrupts sleep patterns, stress inducer, requires copious patience, and demands an extraordinary amount of time. Possibly the most difficult aspect for humans to adjust to is the last one mentioned: time. Although a free resource, humans struggle to battle the ongoing clock ticking in the background, a constant reminder of what we failed to accomplish daily, weekly, yearly. The time constraints we place on bonding usually pair with unrealistic goals. Why unrealistic? Bunnies don't perceive time the way we do. To use, each day that passes without bonding progress or the completion of it glares failure and disappointment. 
           Bunnies are seasonal creatures, regulated mostly by large time intervals determined by climate and weather cycles. Unlike humans who judge time in hours and days and keep vigilant track of how many hours bonding sessions last and the number of days/weeks/months the overall bonding process takes, bunnies perceive a much bigger picture. Adapting to environments in the wild, certain seasons trigger certain behaviors. Typically, seasons come four times yearly and last around three months each. Winter, marked by cold temperatures and storms, indicates hiding in vast underground burrows, storing food during times of limited supply, adding dense fur growth to retain body heat, carefully navigating around the lack of vegetation covers, etc. Spring brings about ample water supplies and foods to forage which helps build muscles and bulk and the physical health necessary for reproduction, vegetation growth for hiding, and the assurance of nesting patterns by predatory animals. Each seasonal timeframe marks milestones bunnies use to their advantage for survival. 
              Bonding is adding new members to the colony. The process requires bunnies to consider restructuring hierarchy, allotment of resources, territorial expansion, etc. Bunnies are inquisitive and intelligent creatures who thrive on challenges of learning and adapting. They work at their own pace; a pace that humans should respect. Instead of judging bonding progress by human time keeping, counting every minute or hour of the inconvenience and the drains on patience, start thinking in terms of seasonal frameworks. Keep calm and rabbit on!
         

       Bunnies, like people, develop bad habits and then find it difficult to break them. Bad habits can be impulsive behavior, aggression, chewing inappropriate items, chasing, biting, boxing, poor toileting, marking, excessive mounting, finicky eating, limited grooming and hygiene, etc. Once a bad behavior elicits a desired response, it is repeated and becomes habitual quickly. Primal instincts kick in at the slightest provocation. Bunnies being bonded may be friendly with one another one minute and chasing and grunting at each other the next. 
          How can bad habits be changed? There needs to be a shift in attitude toward stimuli. This requires tremendous focus. I am asked often why bunnies stare at one another so much instead of becoming friends straightway. The answer lies in the lack of bravery in prey animals. It takes courage to push past a standard habitual reaction and choose a new way of reacting to the same stimuli. Bunnies are not generally brave. It may appear as though a bunny who lunges and chases is brave, but it is a faux bravery based on their natural defensive reaction to a perceived threat to resources.
        By offering gentle but consistent redirection guidance, they slowly begin to associate new reactions when confronted with the same situations. So, the end result is controlling their instinctual impulses, taking risks to confront new behaviors, and adapt them into conditioned responses. In time, patterns of events lead to new habits that bring happiness and satisfaction. The amount of time it takes for this to happen directly correlates with the amount of commitment the human coach is willing to give toward guiding them to change. Change is often scary for people. Imagine being a bunny who is hard wired to fear for safety from predators every minute of every day. Bunnies do not understand the end goal of shared companionship, but human coaches do. Keep the goal in mind the next time you are tempted to lose hope in bonding. 

      If you have attempted bonding and experienced progress for a while but, all of a sudden, reached a plateau, you are not alone. Bonding is a like a road trip where the interstate driving is smooth but the side streets are filled with traffic, random speed limit changes, pedestrians, and congested hot spots. The forward progression between bonding bunnies gives hope about the efficacy of the friendship while the stops and starts dash confidence leading to doubt. Why does bonding involve speed bumps?
      The answer lies in bunny brain activity. Just like people, rabbits enter the world and then begin to learn about it. They learn to eat, drink, touch, listen, and see while holding tightly to their relationships with mom, siblings, and, sometimes, dad. Once reproductive maturity onsets, their bodies rely heavily on endocrine system regulation of hormones. Their innate urges to acquire resources necessary to support their lives, including reproduction becomes their driving force. Competition over food, safety, territory, and mating rights causes fighting and hostility among previously loving siblings and other members of the colony. This aspect of nature is quite brutal. 
        During this formative time, if a bunny's resources are threatened, they will become aggressive toward the others in defense of perceived well-being. Case in point: if a young bunny finds a good food source and another bun attempts to share it, that resource will be guarded, resulting in fights. Enough times of this happening leads to a conditioned response: food equals defense! This can be said of safe areas. If one bunny locates a safe spot and others come to utilize it, the first bunny will react violently to claim it as their own. For each occurrence of threat-to-defense activity, the bun's brain is programmed to the hostile response. While each bunny is individual with their own individual experiences that shape their view of the world, their brains can be reconditioned to modify the violent tendencies during bonding. 
        It is integral to evaluate each bunny as an individual having a unique personality which behavior evidences. Bunnies experience a similar regression phenomenon to humans. Regression in psychology is a behavioral response that stems from an earlier or previous development usually associated with conditions of stress and conflict. This defense mechanism is different for each bunny. Through observational evaluation during bonding, assessments can be made about triggers from early maturity that are the causes of aggression. Once triggers, otherwise known as the hiccups in bonding, are identified, they can be discouraged and, through the gentle positive reinforcing of good behavior, eliminated altogether. 
        Steady forward progression that flows over speed bumps is possible. Don't lose hope when you have what appears to be set backs during bonding. The bumpy road your bunny navigates means he/she is reconditioning his/her brain. 

      The term 'alpha' is thrown around often within the bunny community but it can be an ambiguous term. What does it mean? Alpha refers to the top position within an animal group that shares living space and resources. Any pact or colony of animals whether domestic or wild, from mammals to birds, fish, and even insects have ranking positions. The top rank is called Alpha and is defined by that beings status, having the best and first access to resources including food, territory, water, look-out and hiding points, protection, mating, etc. Subsuming below the top rank of alpha is beta. There is typically only one alpha whereas many can be betas. Position is closely linked to roles and responsibilities. Within rabbit colonies, roles include those that watch for predators and warn others of danger, those that search out foods, those that mate, birth, and raise the young, those that dig burrows and maintain the tunnels, those that teach adolescents, and those that challenge for alpha status. With complex protected underground and above ground burrows, each rabbit must perform their tasks daily to keep the burrow safe and optimally functional. 
      How does ranking order transfer to house rabbits?  People can observe the alpha bunny by their behavior. The top bun usually sets the tone of activities and what activities are to be done. They are the first one to decide the litterbox which is a high value item, belongs to them. They determine grooming rituals, who eats first, who receives attention from both humans and the other bunny first, who offers protection, which one explores new territory and makes determinations as to safety, who yields the right of way, and who ultimately submits to the other. The beta buns submit on almost every turn, excluding tiffs where they offer differing opinions or challenge roles. There can be role changes, negotiating, give and takes in any bunny relationship. 
​        Watching bunnies emerge in their roles is fascinating. During bonding, roles are blurred until the bond is solidified. 

    Driven to spare other bunny lovers and bunnies from suffering as I had during my original bonding journeys, I developed a totally distinct approach; utterly and completely different from suggested techniques one reads/hears/watches about. After successfully sourcing the heart of non-bonds, I discovered the problems with other methods are usually three-fold: firstly, the use of stress or trauma bond techniques, secondly, lack of respect for a timeline compatible with bunny timing, and thirdly, and perhaps most important, the lack of understanding with rabbit-to-rabbit and rabbit-to-human communication. So, why is my method so different? The answer is simple: since bonding bunnies is about bunnies, I replicate their perspective. To bond humans to bunnies, I recommend synchronizing a person's thoughts to the bunny's through the integration of observations and taught material from my daily coaching. This success sculpting eliminates forced stress elements like the bathtub, laundry basket, car rides, and very small confinement and advocates confidence building, team activities, syncopating the buns to each other, and pacing using their timeframe. No being thrives under conditions that brew anxiety instead of vitality. 

      The stages of my bonding include pre, daily sessions, and post. During the pre stage, clients provide answers to questions about their bunnies covering topics of diet and nutrition, health, ages, temperaments, personalities, and backgrounds. Through daily videos and pictures, I evaluate bunnies in home living environments. Progressions is determined by behavior cues. The next phase involves interactions between humans and bunnies. The last phase begins after bonds form where I continue to assess the bond and suggest ways to nurture it into longevity. 

    While caring for and bonding bunnies, people often anthropomorphize them. This is an error in human judgement as bunnies are bunnies and people are people. Thinking of bunnies as pint-sized people parading around in fur coats, fluffy scuts, oversized ears, and heart noses projects human attitudes on to them. While rabbits are complex and capable of emotion, they do not possess the full range that humans do. Animals are incapable of logic, an attribute of mental cognition reserved for homo sapiens. They have intelligence similar to a four-year-old person. Their inability to process abstract concepts sets them apart from people. Rabbits value resources in different ways than people, often placing top priority on the continuation of life through reproduction and food intake, safety from predators, love from companions, and spatial arrangements that allow for movement necessary for the health of vital muscles and organs. Humans value life along with comfort and place an emphasis on environmental aesthetics, food, more or less for taste instead of optimizing health, possessions including wealth, travel, family, etc . 
     In order for bonding to be successful, it requires us to step outside of our tendency to evaluate them from our perspective, expecting them to act and think like we do and to appreciate the way they behave. We should stop projecting our own emotions onto the way their interactions because it will make it  impossible to understand reasons behind their behaviors as bunnies. Consider their different communication style which involves slight sounds, glandular releases, physical posturing, and ingestion of materials. Humans, on the other hand, rely to a small degree on body language and more on sight and sound. Changing the way we interpret bunny behavior will help with bringing bunnies together to become friends. 

    Diving into the deep end of the bonding pool is both terrifying and exciting. Fear of the unknown looms. Part of the reason people become anxious about it is uncertainty of what will happen. Consider the three most common scenarios: first, an instant positive reaction where two bunnies are content to become friends; second, after a few nudges in the right direction, bunnies join forces; and, third, serious fighting ensues upon meeting. How can scenario number three be avoided? Part of pre-bonding using my approach allows bunnies to use stealth sensory data collection using their top three senses :auditory, olfactory, and visual. Akin to rooming with a college dormmate, schedules, eating and sleeping habits, and other daily lifestyle preferences are encoded into each others' brains. To avoid conflict and maximize peaceful cohabitation, there are many compromises by both parties. The one making the most compromises takes a lower ranking position in the friendship whereas the leader becomes dominant, conceding in fewer ways. To make the situation work, both parties must feel a sense of fairness and receive mutual benefit. Bunnies must be encouraged to accept compromises without hostility. During pre-bonding where they can hear, smell, and see each other daily, they negotiate terms for their impending partnership. Bunnies constantly tell one another information by releasing scent markers, positioning their bodies, and uttering subtle sounds. Humans are only aware of a portion of those language signals. As we rely on sight most of all, learning to read the visual cues which indicate successful acceptances is key to unlocking the bonding mystery. 

   Being complex creatures, we need to respect the way bunnies welcome other bunnies into companionship. After studying wild hares and rabbits in  their natural areas, I can attest to their social hierarchy and patterns for welcoming new comers into their packs. Highly dependent on olfactory and auditory senses, rabbits gather information and evaluate potential friends and enemies. The third most relied upon sense is visual. Bunnies being bonded in a house setting must be in  close proximity to potential mates in order to see them well and distinguish behaviors. Using lateral monocular vision rabbits will often position themselves so one eye is focused toward the other bunny. Observing habits around valuable resources including food, water, safe zones, and the potty area provides optimal information. Communication between bunnies consists of consistent reassurance of friendliness as demonstrated with submissive stances as well as exposing body sensitive parts within close proximity to one another and expressing vulnerability by eating and pottying in close range. Demonstrations of relaxation, weight shifting, deep sleep rotations, shape morphing, etc all indicate visual cues for other rabbits. The optimal sign of acceptance being lowered head facing forward. Placing the blind spot toward the other bunny communicates trust and willingness to befriend. Partnering rabbits means understanding the levels of their dependency on sensorial input. 

"Why can't bunnies just like each other from the start?" This is a question I am asked often. The answer lies in science: a fusion of several branches of science to be exact. Physiology (the branch of science dealing with the daily functions of a living being, Anatomy (the branch of science dealing with the body and its features, Kinesiology (the branch which deals with bodily movement, both biomechanical and anatomical), Endocrinology (focuses on hormones and glands), Cardiology which addresses the circulatory system), Pulmonology (respiration), Gastroenterology (digestion), Neurology (nervous system controlled by the brain), and the Psychology of Affective Science which emphasizes emotional connections with other beings. 
  Since bunnies are complex creatures, their behavior is a compilation of different sciences. As previously stated in the prior blog post, bunnies rely the most on their auditory sense. Next, in order of importance to them, is olfactory. Their sense of smell is highly developed and their dependence on it daily equates with survival. They rely on smells to detect danger, navigate their environments, identify other beings, search out food, and such. Bunnies twitch their noses, shifting the flaps up and down to absorb more information. The phenomenon known as 'nose blinking' is always engaged except during periods of deep sleep. 
    When bunnies meet, they evaluate the health and abilities of the other bunny while analyzing compatibility. Unlike humans who rely on body cues we see like facial expressions and posturing, bunnies need to smell one another to gather the degree of friendliness the other bunny indicates. This process takes time. They examine one another's scents over periods of time and in different circumstances in order to process the changing scent-based data. This explains why bonding is a process that bunnies determine the durati

    The distinction between different species is the key to unlocking the mystery of bonding. Bunnies are a totally different species from humans. Bonding deals mostly with behavioral issues, so, setting the obvious physical variances aside, consider how rabbits act around other rabbits, separate from how they act around people. How do bunnies behave differently than people? When you meet another person for the first time, your mind gathers information by use of your senses, namely eyesight and hearing. We evaluate the person's age, height, weight, gender, style of dressing immediately by using just our eyes. We observe the person's behavior to determine whether they will be receptive to interacting with us. Humans use senses in this order: eyesight, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting. Bunnies, by contrast, use hearing, smelling, and smelling first before moving to touching and tasting. So, imagine a bunny meeting another bunny for the first time. They listen intently to the heartbeat, digestion, and respiration and know what the other b un  is feeling, eats, health status, age, gender, and more. They split their upper lips to allow airborne scent particles to enter their nostrils. The first sense a baby rabbit (kit) can use is olfaction. Understanding that bunnies need to smell each other as part of meeting and evaluating is part of unlocking the key to bonding. 

      Beyond the individual bunny cuteness which everyone agrees tops the charts, is the blurry notion of bonding. In an idealistic buniverse, bonds bloom easily between bunnies while the sun shines, songbirds chirp applause, and proud bun parents radiate a euphoric glow of happiness. If bonding hasn't been bunderfully blissful, how do you leave pandemonium and buy your ticket to bunderland? Just like spun gold, I have your all-access ticket in my bond vault!

        "Bunny Bonding"...if that phrase sends shivers throughout your body, you are either a bunny parent who has gone through it, considering going through it, or are in the midst of it. Who knew adorable little bunny beings parading around in fur coats with fluffy scuts, pink heart noses, big ears, and expressive eyes could cause such ruckus when being partnered? Don't let their cute nickname fool you. Although bunnies have a predilection toward being social, getting them to accept one another requires bunovation ,(innovation for bunnies).