Hello everyone, my partner, Snoopy, and I would like to thank you in advance for your time and your answers!
We adopted Snoopy (a 4-month-old Chihuahua) a little over two weeks ago, and we are very happy to have welcomed this little ball of fur into our apartment.
We got him from a breeder who has very good reviews. From what we saw, the breeders take very good care of the dogs, who have several acres to run around and play with each other. Before we adopted him, the breeder warned us that Snoopy was a fearful and timid dog. In the videos he sent us when Snoopy was two and a half months old, we could see him trembling, but it didn't seem like a problem to us. We just thought he was a dog discovering life and that he would become more relaxed with time.
The “problems” began when he arrived at our apartment. We put him in the hallway, in a quiet little corner by the entrance, but later realized that this might not have been the best idea. For three days, he didn't leave his basket, only eating and drinking if we put the food and water in his basket, and he was shaking a lot. We started to get really worried when we saw that he was defecating and urinating in his basket. He was completely paralyzed.
At the end of those three days, we decided to move him to the living room, a brighter place where we could interact with him more, in the hope that he would become more sociable and take care of his basic needs himself. It's true that this change disturbed him quite a bit, but after a few days we noticed that he was eating on his own, relieving himself, and seemed a little less fearful.
Since then, we have seen a lot of progress:
– He meets his basic needs (drinks and eats)
– No longer trembles
– Comes to eat from our hands
– Seems very observant
– Has explored the living room a little
– Goes into his basket (for several days he preferred to stay on the floor)
– At times he relaxes (stretches, yawns, shakes himself and comes to sniff us)
Along with this positive aspect, there are some concerns:
– Since he has been in the living room, for about ten days now, he has not ventured beyond the living room; in fact, he has not even explored the entire living room yet, contenting himself with his corner and one end of the room.
– Very often when we are standing up or walking through the living room, he gets up and seems to hide while watching us.
– At times he is very calm, then starts to get agitated and paces back and forth.
– He seems to be afraid of his food bowl. He takes kibble from it, then suddenly backs away from the bowl and eats.
– Because of this supposed fear of the bowl, he eats very quickly, finishing his portion of kibble in less than 5 minutes.
– We have a living room that opens onto another room where our offices are located. When we are there, he regularly starts growling or barking, and he also comes to watch us at these times.
– Sometimes he sniffs the floor and then starts barking or growling.
– He keeps his tail between his legs all the time, except when he comes to take kibble or treats from our hands (and once he has taken them, he suddenly moves away from us and then comes back at full speed).
– He doesn't react to toys. When we try to get him to interact with them, he either ignores them or seems afraid.
Today, we need your advice so that Snoopy can thrive.
For example, we would like:
– For him to finally explore the apartment.
– To be able to approach him without him being afraid.
– To be able to pet him.
– To take him for walks, to get him out of the apartment.
– To start house training him.
– See him play with his toys.
But we are held back by his fear of everything in general, and especially of us.
This situation is quite frustrating and burdensome in the long run. Seeing this little ball of fur, fearful and withdrawn into himself and his small environment, is difficult to watch on a daily basis.
We are very open and interested in all your advice, tips, exercises, and questions.
Our little family thanks you in advance for your time and your answers <3.
submitted by /u/Meoooow420
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