[PrincessTia]

Hiya, I'm new here so I'm terribly sorry if this is in the wrong section.

I adopted my yorkie, Tia, 5 weeks ago now. She is 1 yr 10 months old, and came from a very small apartment with an owner who gave her up as she worked night shifts and had no time for her.

When I first saw Tia, it was obvious that although she was well loved, she had not been taken for walks very often (her claws were very long) and was desperate for attention. She could not 'sit', her reaction to the command was grovelling. She had no access to a garden in her old home, so the first time she saw rain outside she was very confused haha.

However, I'm afraid that she still hasn't settled in as well as we had hoped. She shows numerous signs of being anxious. She is obsessed with licking my face/ears, compulsively. She licks her lips a lot, and yawns a lot which I've read is a sign of stress. I also read that if your dog just stares at you, it could be a sign of anxiety. I don't know how true that is, but I know that Tia does stare. It's kind of creepy haha. I'll be minding my own business watching TV, look down, and she'll just be sitting there looking right at me. She will roll over onto her back for a belly rub the second I stop paying attention to her, and either roll over when I get in from school, or jump about 3 feet into the air repeatedly. For the first couple of weeks, her poos were very runny, however this is fine now. When in the park, she won't leave my side to run around, even though I take her lead off. I can't take her anywhere where there's a lot of noise, as she gets absolutely terrified, but I'm sure that it can't be her picking up on my anxiety about taking her near roads, because I don't have any. She will jump up at me to be picked up when she feels nervous at the park, for instance when there are too many people or dogs around. I try to reassure her that there's nothing wrong and that she's safe, but do take her out of whatever situation makes her uncomfortable. She does seem to enjoy meeting other dogs, as long as they're not too excitable, or else she'll start getting defensive. Once something frightens her, she'll be in a low mood for the rest of the day.

I don't know what to do. I personally haven't owned a yorkie before, only west highland terriers, but my mother (the only other person living in the house) has. She says she's never had a yorkie as needy as Tia before. I don't know what it could be that she needs? I take her for a walk every day in the afternoon once I get home, mum is retired so she is at home all day with Tia. She sleeps in bed with me at night and makes herself comfortable at my expense haha, I try to make it clear that she doesn't have to submit to me so excessively like she does. She has a house that must feel like a mansion compared to her old home, a garden, an abundance of toys. I play with her for hours every day, but I still think she's incredibly nervous and stressed. How can I solve this? It's been 5 weeks but it feels like forever to me already, she certainly loves us just like she did her old owner. Will this go away by itself or can I do more to help her?

Thank you so much for reading all this, I know it was a lot of text. For reference (in case it matters?) I'm 17, so she probably thinks of me as "big sister" and my mum as leader of the pack I suppose. She acts the same with mum as she does with me, if not worse.