[Vinniedoggy]

First, thank you, thank you, thank you for taking in a shelter dog!!

I have two Yorkies, one I adopted from the DC animal shelter about 7 years ago (Vinnie), and another that I adopted from a rescue this past summer (Alex). Vinnie is somewhat aggressive but has always been a kind of mellow dog. He does bark, but has always loved to just lay around or move from lap to lap. He's kind of a lazy dog. For example, it's almost 7:00 AM and he still has not woken up. And he's always been like this, so it's not because he's getting older.

At the time we brought Alex home, he had been through a lot. It took about 3-4 months for his feisty personality to come through.

Our family has adopted a lot of dogs from bad situations and we've always noticed that there is a sometimes fairly long adjustment period for these guys. I don't know if it's because they are insecure or just not certain if they are going to stay. For the first few months we had Alex, he was always scared when we got in the car. It took me awhile to realize it was because he thought he was being taken back somewhere. Once a few months passed, he loved riding in the car.

So, be patient with your little girl, give her lots of love and good food, and I am sure she will come around.

The only thing you might want to do (if you haven't done this already) is have her checked out by your vet. There are a few conditions that can cause lethargy that you should probably have ruled out.