How long did it take for your chin to trust you?

[ReneeM]

I have had my boys for a month now. My three month old Terrance greets me at the cage door every night and hops into my hands to be held. My six month old Phillip still does not trust me. He runs from me every time I try to get him out. Could this be because he was older when I got him from the breeder? Terrance may have been more used to being held because he was only eight weeks? How can I get him to trust me more? He takes sticks from my hand but then runs away with it. He wants nothing to do with me.

 

[Laurie]

Chins do not like to be held and pet or cuddled so just because he does not like to be held does not mean he does not trust you. I have a girl here who is over 2 years old and she runs frantically all around her cage whenever I open the door because she is terrified of being held and removed from the cage--it's not a matter of trust.

Chins are not social animals like dogs and cats--they don't long for human contact. They are an animal to be enjoyed watching them and not necessarily holding them. All you can do is to continue talking to him calmly and let him get used to your presence

 

[ArmyWife]

Like Laurie said, chins don't like to be held and cuddled. Their first instinct is to run away when you go to take them out of their cage. My one 7 month old boy goes absolutely crazy when I try to take him out but once he's in my hands he immediately calms down and wants to cuddle. I just took him out tonight to put into the pet carrier so I could clean his cage and he kept running around and slipped some of his fur out when I grabbed him so that he could try and get away.

 

[sheilaandroses]

Also, you have only had him for a month. Mine was like that too, and now he hops in my hands and is there every time I open the door, and just likes to sit and chill with me, even during playtime (he never would've done that a few months back!) Me and my chin just started being close about a month ago, and I've had him seven months. Just give him time. Oh, and you are lucky you have to other one that wants to be friendly! What if both your chins were sour pusses? Enjoy your new chins!

 

[liewwan]

My boys has been with me for well over a year since they were babies and still refuse to be picked up or held, but would come up to me. Girls had for 3 1/2 months, whom will turn 2 in november, will let me hold them and gives me kisses all the time.
As everyone said, it's not trust issue. It does take some time for them to warm up to you, but every chin will act different in their own way and show their affection towards you differently.

 

[AznTiger]

Every chin is different. I have been told by breeders such as the one I got mine from and many chin friends that chins do not like to bed. I think its general but it may not always be the case. I mean it wont be like a dog or cat really. Tum Tum is almost 2 years old and just started to jump onto my shoulder and then will play with me without treats. Play as in like run down to my arm and stay still for a while. But it takes time. Bam Bam whose 6 months will run around but has no issues with me touching him. picking up is more an issue but hes starting to get an idea from seeing Tum Tum that I mean no harm. Takes a lot of patience. wish ya lucky!!

 

[Chinnyluver]

I don't know if it's a matter of trust or not but I'm going to play devil's advocate here. Before I got the girls all I read was what everybody else on here is saying, chins don't like to cuddle. Lilly does, she climbs into my lap and rolls goes to sleep. I thought it might be because she's a solitary chin and humans are her only playmates. Out of the three she is the most social. Every time I come downstairs she won't stop talking until I get her out to be held. Annie is the same way, she doesn't really like to climb all over me like Shadow does (her favorite spot is on my shoulder) but Annabelle is my TV buddy. I've never forced her or Lil to stay put, they do it voluntarily (Annie loves to sleep with her head in the crook of my arm. Anyway, I guess my point is that like us and other animals, chins have different personalities that don't always stick to the exact text book definition of the species.

 

[kayzer209]

That sounds just like me. My one chin that I've had for nearly 8 years will come right out on my hands to be held, but she mostly uses it as a ploy to get out (the little stinker). My other chin that I just got in July just runs away from me everytime I open up the cage door. What I like to do is I'll just sit there with my hand at the door and wait for her to come to me. She climbs on my hands and nibbles my sleeves, but I have to stay still otherwise she darts away. I know the my older chin wasn't always the way she is now. It took some time, but it does matter if they were handled when they were little, just like other animals in my opinion.

 

[ChinnyMom]

my boys are quite different in their interactions with me.

Guss is my little lovey. he will let me hold him for quite a while, i snorgle my nose into the top of his head and he seems to lean into me when i do this. he tucks himself under my chin for a minute, and always is ready to come out of his cage onto my hands and up onto my shoulder (sometimes it's his escape ploy, lol, but sometimes i think he just likes to hang out with me). he takes his treats and sticks so gently from me all the time. i can usually pick Guss up out of his cage without any issue, but catching him during playtime is a bit of a chore. he always does the 'scritchy face' no matter what spot on his neck, shoulders, or side i scritch. Guss has been with me just over a month. he's my more vocal boy, doing the contact noise from his cage whenever i'm fussing over Rhino, and stopping as soon as i move towards his cage.

Rhino is more of a 'ok, i'll tolerate your presence because you feed me' chin, lol. he will let me scritch him for a bit, then moves away from my hand. he snatches treats and twigs from me like you wouldn't believe! he hates being picked up from his cage and will go to the farthest top shelf to avoid it. he constantly tries to get past me when the cage door is open. when i stick my head/arms/upper body into his cage and lean on one shelf, he will jump up onto my head and shoulders and groom me a little. if i'm on the floor during playtime, he'll come sit on me like a king of the castle, especially if i'm sitting on my shins with my elbows on the floor, my back horizontal. Rhino is a bit easier to catch during play time, but he still doesn't like being scooped up when out in the chin room. Rhino has been home for almost 8 months.

chins can be so different in their personalities!

 

[kendra]

Like others have said, each chin can be so different. It seems like the norm is that they don't like to be held and cuddled, it's not really a trust thing- more a prey animal thing. One of my chins absolutely loves to be held and seems like half the time I let him out to play he just sits on my lap. He has been like that pretty much the entire time I've had him. The other hates to be touched even, let alone held. That is slowly changing, a little over a year since I've had him- he still does not want to be held but will play with my hand when I change his food and water or give him a stick.

Their little personalities can be so funny and varied!

 

[Dewdrop]

it depends.....two of mine it really didn't take any time at all. The other two took probably 4-6 months..

 

[danilinn]

don't forget, moods are a factor, too. Jonesy has good mood days and hyper days and kacking days. with her, though, it's the picking up part, not being held, that she doesn't like. as long as she feels she has a stable surface on me or my husband, she'll cozy up for a minute or so if she's in a lovey mood. friday night she actually sat on my lap for almost 5 minutes because i'd been gone at my parents' overnight the night before.
(nonetheless, i got a mini-kack when i picked her up.)