We rescued a 4-year old rat terrier 2 weeks ago.  MoJo is such a sweetheart but she is sooo attached to me, she will whine and howl when I'm not around.  I know this because my kids and my husband are complaining about it.  Nothing soothes her.  My son will lie with her in my bed and that helps a bit, but he can't get his homework done like that.

She will cuddle with me all day and sleeps between my husband and I at night.  She is very skittish around noises and other people.  She's even afraid of me sometimes.  She won't eat out of her food dish--she grabs a bite and goes someplace else to eat it.  A couple of pieces at a time.  I put her in a crate when I go to work and she seems okay with that (she will whine and scratch at the door, but I'm sure she falls asleep after awhile).

When I call her to come to me, she is so scared. She will crouch down and creep toward me like I'm going to beat the heck out of her or something.

And, she has no idea how to play.  No interest what so ever in the toys I picked up for her.

What can I do about her whining when I'm away?  How can we ease her fears?  Does she just need more time to adjust or are we doing something wrong?

Thanks for any advice you can give!!

Awww...sounds like the baby's had a rough time..

I think, if I'm not mistaken (someone correct me if I am) Ratties are very tempermental. They get upset when left alone. They hate being left alone. Thats one of the breed traits or so I have read. I know my Tink wines if she has to be in her kennel and can't be in the same room with the family. She'll tear up stuff sometimes when she gets mad at me for leaving her in her kennel all day while I am working or at school. We'll let her out and she looks for revenge. So...whining isn't so bad. After a while, they'll lay down and nap. The dog just needs some TLC until she gets used to the family. It will probably be skittish for a while. You can teach an old dog new tricks but once it has been beaten it will never forget that. It needs to know that none of your family will harm it and that will take time. I think playing with toys will come as it becomes more comfortable. Just give it time and love....lots and lots of love. Thats what Ratties like...constant one on one attention. Good luck and congratulations on the adoption...

Welcome to the site. You'll love it here. I think Kim is right, two weeks isn't long enough to have adjusted to a new home, new people, new food, new activities. Be patient and gentle with her. Do you know anything about her background? Was the shelter able to tell you anything about how she got there? Her past interactions with humans may not have all been "positive", shall we say, so she is still fearful of humans to a certain degree. She may have some psychological scars to try to overcome. She may have been handled roughly by humans in the past, which would explain why she cowers toward you sometimes. Animals remember for a long time.  But many here will testify these "issues" can be overcome with time and love from her new family.

Thank you all so much for the advice.  We'll give her some more time to settle in.  I had a talk with my son to try ignoring her whining instead of encouraging it.  I also saw a post about breathing on her face, so we're all doing that now to teach her we're alpha.

Last night, as I was walking up the stairs, MoJo was in front of me.  I playfully clapped her bootie with my hands.  She FLIPPED OUT!!  She yelped like I hit her with a baseball bat and ran off to hide.  OMG, I felt so bad.  I tried to soothe her, but that made her freak out even more and she tinkled on the couch.  Then she thought I was going to get mad at her for that.  So, she was basically a mess for an hour after that.  I have to remind myself that she doesn't know what play is and that she is still trying to get used to us.  Previous owners must have really let her have it a time or two.

The only thing the shelter knew about her was that her owner had Alzheimers.  The daughter didn't want to put him in a nursing home, so she took him up North with her and dumped off the 5 dogs at the shelter.  They knew she was around 4 years old, was potty trained, and a couch potato.  I suspect there is more to this story but it doesn't matter.  We'll get her to come around eventually.  She's getting lots of treats for good behavior and lots of belly rubs.

I'm looking forward to sharing our experiences with all of you! 

Poor sweet baby!  I'm no expert, but I bet with more time she will blossom...she will have the rest of her life in yyour wonderful home...I bet it just takes patience & time...(of course I'm certainly NOT discounting how this can drive your family crazy!!!