Bonding week two - Meetings in the car

I always new that a neutral territory is going to be an issue while bonding Honey, she's got the freedom in the house and she's been everywhere. Being a female she is extremely territorial. 

I washed the entire house to try and remove her scent, but that alone was going to get me nowhere. I rearranged all furniture before I set up the cages but she just loves the change. Since she was being a bit aggressive when Ollie was trying to say hello, and I didn't want them to be stuck in cages for many weeks, I come up with an idea to use only neutral space I had left - the back of the car.

I put the seats down and set some blankets to try and protect the interior. I put Honey in the car and brought Ollie in the box. I then armed myself with a heavy duty protective leather gloves, stuck a radio on and let Ollie out of the box. I was prepared for fights, but there were none. At least I managed to diffuse each potential fight with (almost obsessive) petting. On the first day, Honey growled at Ollie and tried to nip him, but he soon told her off and nipped back. 

Each bonding session lasted anything from 30 minutes to 3 hours. The first few days was just petting. Ollie groomed Honey a few times, but she just ignored him and wanted me to pet her more. I made sure that each session ended on a positive note, with loads of grooming and cuddles. Even tho there was some nipping I never found any signs on the skin, no missing fur and no bruises or broken skin. 

By the end of the week I felt like I wasn't making any progress because they were not interacting much. Ollie checked out the environment and then settled himself in the space next to the carrier and was just chilling. Honey stayed beside me and didn't really want to move. That's when I decided to stop my obsessive petting and let them get on. 

Soon Honey went over to Ollie to say hello, and from then on things were progressing with every session. I was relaxed enough that I managed to take one glove off and take some pictures. Progress was definitely happening and it felt great.