[BellaDonna]

Glad she is in a home that will love her for sure but you can't assume she was abused because she flinches. I have an 8 year old Chi that I have had since she was 11 weeks old. She is treated just like the other pets in the house. She is never spanked, hit or abused. We don't even really raise voices except for an occasional NO. Her name is Sweet Pea and she is just a more nervous nature than the other dogs. She flinches, hesitates, dodges and in generally most people would think she must have been abused at some point but she wasn't. She is also hesitant about anything new, like hardwood floors and stairs. Some dogs are just wired a little differently. It is a good thing that we ended up with Sweet Pea because if you don't have patience and understanding it is easy to get irritated with a dog that acts this way all the time. Over her 8 year life span she has improved a little bit but you really cannot reward her or pet her when she is acting timid or it makes her worse. You just have to pretend she is not flinching and pet her only when she is acting calm and balanced.