Japanese Chin?

[pinto]

I'm considering adopting a 2 year old Chin. Local dog rescue has housed one in a private home for ~ 2 weeks. Vaccinated, chipped, house trained, cleared by vet.

I live in a small bungalow - single floor, about the size of a large apartment actually. Small front yard, city park a block away. I'm retired and am home a lot. But not 24/7 - I have things to do outside the house. The main issue I see is separation anxiety. ??

Any input about the breed would be appreciated. Thanks ~ pinto

[TorchTheWitch]

1. any dog can get separation anxiety and express it in different ways

Some will just cry when alone while others may become so frantic that they eat the door trying to get out to find you. My first dog had separation anxiety. He'd howl when I left him alone, but it made no difference if he was alone for two minutes or 12 hours. Seeing as dogs aren't really aware of the passage of time that's likely why.

I have no idea why he was that way yet my next two weren't/aren't like that. I think it helped my first dog a lot to feel better about being alone once he discovered the bathtub as a nice comfort place for him that he used when we had thunder or fireworks as they both terrified him. If a dog has a place like a crate or under a table or something like that where they feel snug and safe they're less likely to be bothered by being alone, but every dog can have different levels of anxiety when left alone.

I really wouldn't worry about it. There's a lot more to why some dogs have separation anxiety than how much time they spend alone. For instance, my first dog that had it when I was on unemployment for two years in the recession of the early '90's I barely left the house, but he'd still howl even if I just left for two minutes to go put some mail in the box on the corner.... it never mattered how much time I spent with him, he still didn't want to be left alone whether it was for two minutes or 12 hours.

A lot of separation anxiety is just boredom rather than any actual fear of being alone or unsafe. Leaving a radio or a tv on where the dog can hear it as well as providing them with interesting toys like a Buster Cube that you fill with treats and a treat only pops out intermittently to keep the dog intrigued can be a huge help and may also be a cure for the problem.

I don't know much at all about the Japanese Chin, and don't remember even seeing one up close and personal. All I really know is that they're a toy breed that is apparently less active and more quiet than most other toy breeds. That's about it.

I wouldn't worry about separation anxiety. It's relatively rare, doesn't really have anything to do with how long they're left alone, and any breed of dog can have it. It's just luck of the draw, but there are also things that can be done to deal with it if it turns out to be the case. Dogs are normally fine with being alone even most of the day since they tend to just nap most of the time anyway.

[Coyote_Bandit]

2. I have had 2 chins

I absolutely adored them.

You should be aware that:

(1) shedding can be a major issue even though they do not require a lot of grooming.

(2) they tend to be temperature sensitive and can easily overheat,

(3) they can be very hyper energetic little dogs and they LOVE to climb and jump,

(4) because they are so small they can become expert little escape artists and they do not generally do well around large dogs.

Both of my chins had significant health problems at an early age. One was born with mis-shaped kidneys the other had congestive heart failure and went on to devlop Cushings disease. My vet tells me that she sees a lot of serious health problms in chins.

That said, I would really like to have another chin. But next time I take one in I think I will first seek out my own independent veterinary exam with the adoption conditioned on that.