Hazel and Hugo: Bonding Session

May 5, 2025

Me, sitting with Hugo and Hazel… trying to keep the peace with a splatter screen.

I’m sad to report that the last few bonding sessions with these two have been… rough.

Liz sat and did a bonding session, and our assumption was that it was going to be all love and affection, given how much Hazel seemed to like Hugo. Despite her grooming him, Hugo immediately turned around a bit her. Which did not make for a good start.

A second session was the same – some grooming from Hazel, and some bites/aggression from Hugo.

For the third session (yesterday), we changed things up and I sat with them. Hazel ended up doing some light grooming, but Hugo got aggressive. And then Hazel was incredibly aggressive back.

It was almost as though Hazel was on the attack, to make up for what happened the days prior. For me, it was one of the worst bonding sessions I’ve had – lots of bites and nips, and a cavalcade of negative interactions that really just didn’t end well, overall.

Tonight, I was really wary. So I kept them apart as much as possible. Both bunnies seemed riled and amped up. So I had a screen between them for most of the night. I was able to calm them both down (eventually), but probably 45 minute passed before they were in a calm state.

I really focused on getting everyone relaxed. So much so that I ended up getting sleepy and nodded off a few times, while I was trying to pet everyone.

We ended up going with the baby food trick, and got Hazel to groom Hugo two times. And as soon as things slowed I made it a point to separate them immediately (for fear that one of them would take a swipe at the other).

For us, the goal is to make each bonding session positive, and to have it be a progression. Building on positive experiences.

Given how badly the last session went, I called tonight early – figuring that a few bits of (forced) grooming that didn’t end in a scuffle was a win.

Here’s hoping Hugo’s calmed down some, and that Hazel still retains her original shine for our guy. Hazel has been coming out of her shell more and more, to the point where she’s starting to show a rather sassy and independent/confident side that we hadn’t seen, in her early days with us.

It’s good for her, but we’ll see how it factors into the bonding sessions.