Hello all,

I adopted Skye 2 months ago and she has only just started to come out her shell to be petted, but she seems to spend more time than ever in her bed. She just stares out from underneath her covers so its not as if she is constantly sleeping either.

She is nearly 5, she will not play with any of the toys i have bought her. She normally only eats her food out of her bowl in the evening when i go to bed, however when i eat she will leave her bed and cry for me to feed her some of my food, i wish i got more interaction out of her than just this.

Help!!!

Has she had a thorough exam by your vet? Does she eat well?

If it were me, I'd call my vet if she has been seen since you got her and talk with them about what she is doing. If she was seen by perhaps a shelter vet before you got her, I'd take her to my own vet. Could be thyroid or she could be depressed, bored or it could just be that she has a calm, mellow nature.

Do you know about her past? Could she have lived with an elderly person who held her all day or they napped a lot (this was our boy, Mick's issue being with my retired mother-in-law)?

Once I knew that she was healthy and well, I'd do my best to get her out to meet people, perhaps get her therapy dog trained (since she may be calm by nature) and find a way to help others at retirement centers, schools or hospitals.

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photos-Jennifer Hague, fixyourimages.com

It has only been 2 months and you say she is starting to come out of her shell now. It can take 6 months or more for a rescue dog to learn to trust you and relax.
Hopefully now she is settling in she will want more and more interaction with you. Dont give up on having a cuddlebug just yet!

She sounds sweet and mellow. Perhaps since she comes out during your meals you could use that time to gently encourage her to be more social. I try to take things I think Barney enjoys and build on them. That way he increases his motivation to do more of what he already likes.

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Here are pictures of Barney: Flickr: Crochet Bouquet's Photostream

2 months really isn't that long for anyone to adjust to a total life change. Everything she had known before coming to be with you has totally changed (good or bad, but a change regardless). And at 5 she could have had multiple changes so maybe she is now just a bit cautious, or she rolls with it without much anxiety or she might just thoroughly enjoy hanging out in her spot.

Maybe because her most social activity is to come out when you are eating, maybe her person before only hand fed her and that's a habit she knows and is accustomed to, comfortable with. There is something to her doing that ~ what it is exactly I don't know, but if that is really the only time she leaves her area to interact she associates that with something. It's definitely something to build from because she is doing something different than staying in her area. I would try and make the most out of that time and hopefully as you guys get to know each other the time out of her area will become more and more frequent.

If she has never been played with or known the joy of toys, she hasn't learned about those fun kind of things yet ~ so a toy as we see it she doesn't understand the fun and if she hasn't been played she doesn't realize her person is really fun too. You'll have the joys of teaching her about that.

I have my newest one, Abby. I have had her for about 1 1/2 months now. All she wants to be is on someone's lap. Slowly I have been making sure she gets time down on a pillow by my feet (she doesn't get in the beds) or on the back of the couch. She still ignores the other dogs and doesn't play with toys. Yet. I'm just giving her time to adjust. It's taking longer than any of the other chis ever did, but it's what she needs, so I am letting her adjust as quickly or as slowly as she needs. She did just start play bitting and chasing my hand, which is a start. My pekingnese took a whole year to finally come out from under my bed. Yet her sister was bonded to me in less than a week and they both came from the same hording situation. Give her time, she will slowly begin to trust you and interact more with her surroundings. Best of luck.

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Thank you Jan for the wonderful siggy!

We have had Jaxx since the first part of December. When we first got him he either wanted to be on my lap or in his bed. Most of the time he did not play at all except chewing in his bed on toys occasionally. In the past week or two though he has really come out of his shell. My days are spent now with him bouncing off the walls and wanting to play fetch most of the day.
Sometimes they just take a while to adjust. My boyfriend was going nuts because he wanted Jaxx to play and be hyper when he was home and usually he just laid on our laps or in his bed. He is still not really hyper around my boyfriend but I figure with time he will adjust to playing with him as well.

If they are healthy then eventually they will adjust and more than likely that is what is going on. Some dogs are just more laid back then others as well.

Thanks for all the replies. I guess it will just take longer than I thought. Not even a lap dog just now but I will hang in there. Main thing is that she has been checked out and is healthy and has an appetite.