Chin is MAD at me

[nuvola09]

My new-ish 6-year-old female had an eye problem and was taken to the vet. Long story short, she's fine and she needs eye drops twice a day.

However, she was an aggressively bred female who came from, in my own humble opinion, a very neglectful/abusive environment. She was not raised with regular human contact and generally finds people threatening and awful. She has a history of spraying when being handled, and being extremely difficult to get a hold of.

Ergo, this eye thing has taken a toll on her and she is VERY angry with me since I've had to wrangle her twice a day to shove drops in her eyes. To the point that when I walk in the room or near the cage, she starts "yelling" at me with chirps, barks, etc... even when I'm not attempting to handle her or approaching the cage.

Her behavior/demeanor had vastly improved since I took her in about 9 months ago, and now we've regressed and she's worse than how she was before. Does anyone have any experience with this or tips on how I start to win back her trust? Just looking for some general input on how I could possibly improve the situation.

Thank you in advance.

 

[obcsed]

I'm having a similar problem with one of mine right now. I have found in the past that once I can stop handling her for feedings and meds, she gets over it. It is very difficult for me to see her this upset but I have to do what is best for her and make it up to her when things can get back to normal.

 

[lightningturtle]

Yeah, Dessy hates me when I have to put ointment in her eye. The only thing that seems to help is giving her an extra special treat after I let her back into her cage. She gets a tiiiiny piece of raisin followed by about .2 ml of simethicone to make sure she doesn't get gassy from the sugar. She loves both so she comes back to me when I let her go, albeit cautiously. I still have to catch her in her cage, which she hates, I get an occasional kek and of course she struggles against being turned into a burrito, but she tolerates me before and after.

It has definitely slowed down the bonding process, but I'd rather her be cranky than sick.

But yeah, maybe a special treat before and after to make it a slightly more positive experience?

 

[nuvola09]

Thank you! Just hearing other people weigh in on this makes me feel better about it. I've extended "treats" to her after most encounters, but she's so wary that she sometimes won't even take it. Or she takes it angrily and then just yells at me some more. I'm glad to hear that she's likely to get over it with time. Her eye is improving and I probably won't have to administer the drops beyond Friday (thank god)!

 

[Godofgods]

Time. It will take time.
When i took in my first chin, he came from not the best environment either. If i so much as walked near his cage he would freak out and start barking. Not happy at all.

Today he is the most loving and personable of all 5 of my chins
He wasn't to happy a few months back when i had to get him to give him his antibiotics (pathological fear of being picked up.) But he got over it in time.

(smart chin to. He hated being picked up for the antibiotic feeding, so he learned to stick his head out the hut and let me syringe feed him that way. He actually stayed still and didn't run away while i gave it to him. I was amazed at that. He rly just doesn't like being picked up')