New chin question. Confused.

[Jonn13]

Ok,
First off, sorry for the double post. I posted in news and questions before realizing this is the right place for this post.
I'm sure this has been asked a ton, but.......
We just got a chin 4 days ago. We have been doing research for a while now and know how to take care of them and all that. Our question is this,
He was born on 3/5/2013 so he is just a baby. He seems happy in his cage but sometimes runs, sometimes doesn't when we come up to the cage. He will hide behind his house if we try to pick him up. When we do pick him up he barks, etc as we are picking him up but is fine after that. He also will bite a little if we stick our finger in the cage if he is hiding behind his house. Here is the problem. We read to let him be, and have read to hold him as much as possible. Needless to say, we are confused. Should we go the talking softly by the cage, put our hand in and let him come to us, etc, etc method or hold him a lot and give him treats out of the cage method, etc? Or something totally different. We have talked to two breeders and they told us two completely different things. Help!

 

[Airyn]

You just need to give him time. They're prey animals, so trust is earned, not given freely. Just spend as much time in the room with him as possible. Talking softly or reading to him will allow him to learn your vocal inflections and come to realize that you're not a threat. Once he starts to come out of his box on his own and moves towards you, you can stick your arm in the cage and let him explore you.

Chins under 6 months old shouldn't have treats of any kind. Stick to chin-safe woods, a high quality pellet and hay. You can use the search feature at the top for recommendations on all three.

All chins are different, so he may come around in a week or a few months. I have two that absolutely, positively hate being held and it's been years. They will, however, use me as a human jungle gym and concede to me grabbing them when I need to. It just takes time.

Best of luck!

 

[Jonn13]

Thanks! Also, would he be better off with a buddy? Is there a real big deference in their behavior? I don't want to be shut out (not care for humans anymore) but also want him to be happy (they live in groups).

 

[landrk11]

Hi,

Congrats on your new addition.

I am a single chin owner and have read from many posts that there is a period of time that you need to keep a new chin separate from the chin you have and it takes time to make the introduction. Sometimes they bond and sometimes they don't. If they start to fight then you need to keep them separate....so you need to be ready to maintain multiple cages.

I have also read in quite a few posts that new chin owners that introduce another chin find that their lovable litte companion now perfers their new fuzzy friend over them.

I have a great bond with my little girl and she has plenty of interaction with us and I don't want to change that so I remain a single chin owner.

I'm sure owners of multiple chins can give you the pros and cons on having more than a single chin.

The choice to add a new addition to your home will be one that you will need to weigh the pros and cons and do what works for you and your situation.

Good luck.

 

[Newt]

Hi, I once had three chins, all girls, and they all hated each other!! They would attack each other at every opportunity. Anyways, my point is that my girls all lived alone, and they all did fine on their own, without a buddy.

Pairs are nice, trios are nice, but there's no guarantee they will get along forever. If you have more than one, you have to be prepared just in case they do need to be separated.

Singles do fine.... they just need a bit more love and attention from their owner!!

 

[Jonn13]

So far so good. I have been putting my hand in the cage and he is exploring it, etc. we do however have a new problem, he apparently is an escape artist. I will start a new thread