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1

Q & A / Re: Playtime Troubles

« on: March 14, 2019, 08:45:29 PM »

Thank you for your reply, but could you be more specific? Bilbo does live mainly in his cage, which is well sized and stocked with toys. And I come through several times a day and interact with him through the cage. I have been trying to train him to be handled, but playtime sparked a sudden attitude change and I don’t know how to proceed. Also, what do you mean about him getting away with aggressive behavior? Are you suggesting I force him to allow me to handle him when he retreats? That seems like a good way to lose his trust and get bitten.

2

Q & A / Playtime Troubles

« on: March 08, 2019, 04:05:24 PM »

Hey everybody! I’ve been having some difficulty with my chin Bilbo. I guess the best way to start is with a little of his history. About a year and a half ago, I bought Bilbo at our county fair from a young 4-H member. I’d always wanted a Chin but didn’t want to go through petsmart which was the only option in my area. I was thrilled. I thought this was a great opportunity to get a chin that was well cared for and well socialized, since 4-H is pretty good about that stuff around here. The owner wasn’t around when I bought him, but I was told I’d be able to meet them after the fair when I picked him up. I went to pick him up and learned a few unfortunate things. The worst being that they’d aways taken him out of the cage by grabbing his tail and yanking. So he’s super shy and not friendly at all but no refunds, of course.

I figured, oh well, I got him out of a bad situation and I’ve worked with rescue dogs and ponies before. We can figure this out!! And he and I have come a long way. So much so that we were finally comfortable enough with each other for me to let him out for his first playtime a few nights ago. His old owners never did that with him, so I wanted to build trust before we did that and it was a long road. Anyway, he had so much fun. He made happy noises the whole time!! He kept coming back over to me for pets too. We both enjoyed ourselves. I couldn’t wait to try it again.

But, here’s the trouble, he’s been sullen and grumpy ever since. I have to carry him to my room for playtime, as he lives in the open area of the house which is impossible to chinchilla proof. And whenever I open the cage he retreats to his house and barks at me. I always back off when he does that, as I figure he has a right to say no. He came out last night but didn’t want to play. Just hid from me the whole time. And he’s back to telling me to go away again today.

Does anyone have advice for how to move forward? Should I just keep backing off when he tells me to and wait him out? It actually feels like we lost progress here.