Hi!

tanyaa · Jan 30, 2016

Hello everyone! I'm Tanya

I am excited to be part of a group with other chinnie parents! We got our babies,Gizmo and Willow, from someone who couldn't keep them where they were moving to. She got them from a pet store and didn't know exactly how old they are but guessed about 2 years old. I love them so much! I really never thought I would but from the very minute I held my baby Gizmo, I was in love! Gizmo is very sweet and well mannered. He loves to be petted and scratched under his chin. He will let me hold him, but get spooked easily. Willow on the other hand, is not so pleasantly behaved. He "barks" at anyone who comes near him and unless I have a pinch of oats in my hand, he just runs around like crazy trying to get away. I have stopped trying to pet him because i don't want to scare him to death, and because he's got a heck of a defense bite. Any advice about him is greatly appreciated! Again, I'm so happy to be here! Thanks for having me!

HermesMama · Jan 31, 2016

Welcome to the forum! I am certainly no expert, but I do know that developing trust can take time.. And since Chins are each so unique, you never know how long it will take! I would say let him come to you, and never force it. Be patient.

A_E_Mags · Jan 31, 2016

Hello! I'm also new. I've had chin for a few weeks now, and I got him from a similar situation. Rue seems like a combination of both of yours. He likes to be pet and he'll climb all over me when he's out, but he won't let me pick him up yet. I'm expecting that to take months, and I'm considering myself lucky that he seems as happy as (I think) he does. Rue loves when I talk to him, so maybe just getting your little guy comfortable with your voice and presence would be a good start? Good luck! I know the waits will be worth it for us all

hmccoll13 · Jan 31, 2016

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

For Willow, many chins are like that when they are new to a family! My boy Eli was super skittish for the first couple weeks I had him. To help reduce his stress and get him more comfortable with me I would read to him and open the cage door and just leave my hand in there. Eventually he would come over and sniff me, climb on me, etc. Over time I was able to use one finger and pet him on his side. To help speed up him getting accustomed to my touch (because unlike my other chin Mojo, Eli was not as big on being pet) I started hand feeding him and stroking his back while I did. At first he was a bit jumpy but he soon realized that I wasn't going to do anything but pet him and he started to just sit and let me love on him while he ate. That process is great too because you're actually training your chin to enjoy being pet, as they will begin to associate your hand and petting as a positive thing since you paired it with food. Over time you can fade out the food and they will be more than happy to just be loved on! This process can take awhile but it's definitely one that is effective if you take the time to do it right

Definitely the one thing to remember too is patience and understanding. Don't try to force your chin to do anything it's not comfortable with and just keep everything slow and as stress free as possible!