Hi everyone, new member here!
As some kind of introduction, I've adopted two rescue chins in mid-January. I'm quite experienced with pets, and quickly fell in love with these two. They are mother and daughter, respectively a 3-year-old standard grey and a 1-year-old beige. They get along quite well, but their history before their rescue involves a bit of trauma (which is also why I fell for them so easily).
Here's the thing : they have gotten accustomed to their new place for a few months now, but are giving me mixed signals about their trust. I come see them every morning so they know they are cared for, but they tend to get away from me when I try to interact with them. So I give them a treat, stay several feet away and tend to my stuff. I also often play the guitar and sing for them, which I'm not sure they enjoy or give a damn about
You might think they don't trust me at all yet, right? But that's the thing: at playtime, I'd lay down on the floor with them, and they'll spend most of their time gravitating around me, jumping on me, sniffing my clothes and staying there for a while, before roaming around and doing it all over again. More, I cannot for the life of me so much as touch them (they'd push my finger away), but they have no issue hopping in my hands to leave the cage for playtime. Granted, they don't stay there for more than a few seconds, even though my hands stay flat (I'm not even thinking about holding them), but still.
Their cage is big enough (160x90x60 cm) with plenty of toys to play with. They are located in a quiet room with stable temperature. No sign of injury, stress or illness, they eat properly, are active and gladly leave their cage for playtime every day or so.
With all of this context out of the way, I need your advice on something: I keep hearing that the best way to bond with your chins is to let them out in a small room, like a bathroom or something. But how am I supposed to do that if I can't hold them for more than 3 seconds? I don't really want to go against their will, as that would risk deteriorating the small bond I have with them...
What do you think? Do they trust me? Will they ever? What can I do?
Thanks a lot, and sorry for this long post.
As some kind of introduction, I've adopted two rescue chins in mid-January. I'm quite experienced with pets, and quickly fell in love with these two. They are mother and daughter, respectively a 3-year-old standard grey and a 1-year-old beige. They get along quite well, but their history before their rescue involves a bit of trauma (which is also why I fell for them so easily).
Here's the thing : they have gotten accustomed to their new place for a few months now, but are giving me mixed signals about their trust. I come see them every morning so they know they are cared for, but they tend to get away from me when I try to interact with them. So I give them a treat, stay several feet away and tend to my stuff. I also often play the guitar and sing for them, which I'm not sure they enjoy or give a damn about
You might think they don't trust me at all yet, right? But that's the thing: at playtime, I'd lay down on the floor with them, and they'll spend most of their time gravitating around me, jumping on me, sniffing my clothes and staying there for a while, before roaming around and doing it all over again. More, I cannot for the life of me so much as touch them (they'd push my finger away), but they have no issue hopping in my hands to leave the cage for playtime. Granted, they don't stay there for more than a few seconds, even though my hands stay flat (I'm not even thinking about holding them), but still.
Their cage is big enough (160x90x60 cm) with plenty of toys to play with. They are located in a quiet room with stable temperature. No sign of injury, stress or illness, they eat properly, are active and gladly leave their cage for playtime every day or so.
With all of this context out of the way, I need your advice on something: I keep hearing that the best way to bond with your chins is to let them out in a small room, like a bathroom or something. But how am I supposed to do that if I can't hold them for more than 3 seconds? I don't really want to go against their will, as that would risk deteriorating the small bond I have with them...
What do you think? Do they trust me? Will they ever? What can I do?
Thanks a lot, and sorry for this long post.