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hihuahua puppies are perhaps some of the cutest puppies to set pawon this earth. But don’t let those big brown eyes and tiny woofs fool you;a Chihuahua puppy is able to wreak havoc in the house. Many puppybehaviors that owners find troublesome can be curbed or even avoided ifyou know what to do and when to do it.
Would You Let a 100-Pound Dog Do That?
Toy-breed owners are notorious for letting their little dogs get away withabsolute canine murder. Perhaps it is because Chihuahua puppies are sosmall that people mistakenly assume their antics won’t amount to muchtrouble.
Wrong. This misconception of how to rear a toy-breed puppy is largelythe reason that a portion of the general public views the Chihuahua as ayappy, ill-mannered dog. In reality, the Chihuahua is a great breed, butindividuals will behave only as well as they’ve been raised. If you don’tlet your dog know how you expect her to behave from the get-go, she’llbehave the only way she knows how—as a dog with dog behaviors.
Here’s another way of looking at the situation. Why, if you wouldnever allow a child to bite you, shred a pillow, or scramble past you toget out the front door (and run away), would you allow your caninecompanion to do these same things? You shouldn’t. To succeed in raisinga puppy, you have to consider that what might look cute right now willdevelop into a nasty habit later.
Jumping Up
What harm can an excited, jumping Chihuahua cause that would makeyou wish you’d worked on training her not to jump up on you or otherpeople? Let’s consider a couple of scenarios.
Scenario One: You’ve just dressed for work, you’re in a hurry, andyour Chi comes barreling into your room and starts jumping up on you,succeeding in: a) tearing your hose or scratching your legs, b) snaggingyour slacks, c) dirtying your clothing, or d) tripping you.
Scenario Two: Your friend comes over to visit and brings her youngniece. Your Chi is very excited and starts jumping up on the little girl,succeeding in: a) scratching the little girl, b) toppling her over, c) tearingor otherwise messing up her clothes, or d) biting her on the hands,which she is flapping around because the dog is jumping up.
There are three solutions to getting pups (and dogs) to stop jumpingup. First, ignore the jumping and the Chihuahua until the dog is calm. Ifjumping up doesn’t get your Chi the attention she wants, she won’t do it.Second, exercise her more. If your puppy gets enough exercise, she’llhave less energy bottled up and will be calmer. Third, provide analternate behavior. When your Chihuahua is most likely to jump up, giveher the “Sit” command or put her in a sit-stay. Reward this behavior. Itwon’t be long before you’ll find that your Chihuahua will automaticallygive you the good behavior in instances in which she normally wouldhave jumped up on you. Reward her!
Begging
Oh, who can resist those beautiful brown eyes? You can—unless youwant your three-pound Chihuahua to become a small nine pound table,as broad as she is tall. She may look as if she is starving every time youare eating something; however, if you are feeding her correctly, she isgetting all the nutrition and calories she needs. Breaking down andgiving in to those soulful eyes will only serve to escalate your Chi’sbegging. (Next it will be pawing, and then it will be whining, crying, andbarking.)
The solution? You can do one of several things, and all will involveignoring your Chihuahua. First, don’t give in, and don’t reward your Chiwith attention of any kind for begging. Second, you can put your Chi inher crate with an activity toy or favorite chew to keep her busy. Third, ifyour Chi is good with her commands, you can put her in a down-stay forthe duration of your meal.
Needle Teeth
Ouch! It doesn’t matter that the Chi pup’s mouth is small—she’s gotteeth. Before her milk teeth fall out and her adult teeth grow in, yourChihuahua’s teeth are quite sharp. Adding to your problem is the verynature of a puppy. These guys are very oral creatures and like to exploretheir environments with their mouths.
Sometimes they can go too far. They bite a little too hard—enough toeven draw blood. The best way to stop this hard play is to do what oneof your Chi’s littermates would have done. Yelp. Loudly. And then turnyour back on the puppy and ignore her. There is absolutely nothingworse for a sociable Chi than not to be able to play with someone sheloves.
If after yelping and ignoring your puppy she still is attempting to biteyou, calmly lift her up and put her in time out, which is her crate. Manytimes a puppy will bite when she is particularly excited, so placing herin her crate will help to calm her down. If she knows a few commands,you can say, “Aah!” when she bites (distracting her temporarily) andthen give her the “Sit” or “Down” command (to initiate new behavior)and reward her for this good behavior.
Another option is to give her something to hold in her mouth. Forexample, it’s not uncommon for a puppy to go wildly happy when youcome home. Often times these wild greetings include puppy bites to theankles, toes, and outstretched hands. You don’t want to discourage yourpuppy’s enthusiasm; however, this is not the type of greeting you wantto encourage. If the puppy has something in her mouth, she can stillwriggle around and show you how much she loves you, but she can’tbite. The easiest way to occupy your pup’s mouth in a constructivemanner is to keep a few small latex dog toys by the front door—orwherever else you might receive an overexuberant greeting. Make surethe toys are something that the Chi enjoys playing with and will want tohave in her mouth. Before she can take a nip at you, offer her the toyand say the command, “Take It!” when she has the toy in her mouth.
Praise her and give her lots of pats.
It is important to interrupt the act before giving your puppy a goodbehavior command. If you don’t have this time pause between whenthe pup has stopped mounting and the moment you give thecommand, your puppy may actually think she’s being rewarded forthe mounting behavior.
Humping
Another behavior that is often seen in puppies and even adult dogs thatis viewed as inappropriate behavior is mounting. In actuality, mountinganother dog in mock mating (or in actual mating) is quite normal fordogs. Puppies of both sexes will practice this maneuver as a part of theirplay and aren’t picky as to which sex the recipient is. Usually, mountingbehavior fades as the puppy reaches maturity and is altered. Sometimes,however, a puppy will mount a child, a pillow, or your leg, causing avery embarrassing situation for the owner. In these cases, it may not bepossible to ignore the behavior and hope it fades over time. If immediateaction is necessary, there are several ways you can proceed.
If the puppy has chosen an object to mount, such as a couch pillow,simply take the pillow and put it in a place where the puppy can’t get toit. If a puppy is using a person as her practice object, say “Aaah!” loudlyto distract her, which should stop her humping momentarily. Then, giveher a command that she knows how to do (such as sit) and reward herfor the sit.
What you don’t want to do when trying to discourage a behavior, suchas mounting, is to yell or holler at your dog. Though it would seem thatharsh verbal corrections would lessen the dog’s desire to perform thebehavior, precisely the opposite is true. With dogs, any attention—whether good or bad—can be rewarding. If a dog finds she is rewardedfor a behavior, this will reinforce the behavior, making it that muchharder for you to extinguish later.
Barking
Chihuahuas are excellent watchdogs. It is the breed’s nature to sound thealert to anyone or anything approaching what the dog considers herterritory—whether that’s the Chi’s home, yard, patio, or favorite person.You will never have a postal worker, delivery person, or stranger ringyour doorbell without your Chi enthusiastically alerting you to theindividual’s approach.
Sounding the alarm is a good thing. But barking at every little thing orat nothing at all can become annoying. Chihuahuas are not beyondbecoming yappy if given the opportunity. Some Chis just seem to havesomething to say about everything. And, conversely to what you wouldnaturally assume, the more you react to your Chi’s barking, the moreyour Chi will bark. What to do?
If your Chi is barking to get your attention or to engage you in playingwith her, the best way to extinguish this behavior is to ignore her. Ifyour Chi does not receive a reward for her incessant barking, herbarking will lessen or cease almost all together. Engaging in play orturning your attention to your barking Chi (whether in a positive ornegative way) will be seen as a reward.
If your Chi is barking as people pass your fence or walk by on thesidewalk, teaching your Chi to keep quiet can be a little morechallenging. From the dog’s perspective, if the offending person or dogmoves away from your yard or home, the Chi thinks her bark chased theindividual away. Therefore, if the dog is left unattended and is allowedto bark at will, this pastime becomes a self-rewarding activity. The bestsolution to a situation such as this is to crate your Chi while you aregone or confine her to an area in which she can’t see people or dogspassing by.
It is very important that your Chi knows what is right and what iswrong, so do not back down on discipline.
If your Chi barks at passersby while you are home, you need torecognize the good behavior (alerting you) and reward your puppy whenshe hushes. This involves teaching the command “Hush.” As withteaching many other behaviors, the best way to teach “Hush” is to beginby saying the command any time you catch your dog being silent. Next,give the command “Hush” when your Chi is quiet after barking, andreward. Keep reinforcing the “Hush” everyday, gradually moving to say“Hush” when you know your dog is about to be silent, and finally, whileyour Chi is actively barking. Within a few weeks, if you are consistent,your Chi will hush on command.
Digging
Chis do enjoy hunting and chasing after little critters, such as thefavored lizard. If a critter goes down a hole, the Chi may attempt to goafter it by digging. Not having buckets for paws (as some breeds do), theChihuahua is not very efficient at moving large amounts of earth in shortperiods of time. Beware, however, the determined Chi that’s found avole underground or suspects a lizard lair. Given time, she can dig. Chismay also dig to unearth cool ground to lie in on a hot day or bury afavorite chew or toy for later. Still other Chis will dig out of sheerboredom.
In working with problem diggers, it is important to determine why theChi is digging. If there’s no reason you can see for the digging, exerciseyour Chihuahua more. Play more games, and get her active. She is likelydigging because she’s looking for something to do.
If your Chi is running after critters and is digging in an area of youryard where you don’t want holes, make this area inaccessible to yourChi. You can use temporary or permanent fencing to keep your Chi out.
If it’s burying and digging things back up that your Chi likes, considerblocking off part of your yard and only giving your Chi access to a smallarea that has a digging pit in it. Dig out a two-by three-foot areaapproximately eight to twelve inches deep, and fill it with sand. Put acouple of your Chi’s favorite toys partially into the pit and reward yourdog with praise and a treat when she digs the toys out. It doesn’t takelong for a dog to figure out that this digging pit can be a lot of fun.
Chewing and Shredding
Puppies are notorious chewers. When a puppy is losing her milk teeth(at around five to six months of age) and her adult, permanent teeth arebreaking through the gum line, the sensation is itchy, painful, andannoying. It is at this time that your puppy really needs something tochew on. Good chew items include puppy toys made of dense or solidrubber, hard chew bones (either synthetic or baked) such as those madeby Nylabone, and dog toys made of twisted, knotted, multistrand ropes.These items do not break down into small pieces that could beswallowed or choke the pup accidentally.
Just as with a teething baby, teething puppies can find icy-colditems to be quite soothing to chew on. For the teething Chi puppy,you can place any of her toys or chews in the freezer and pull themout as needed.
To discourage a puppy from chewing on chair legs and carpet fringesor to discourage idle gnawing on baseboards, cabinet doors, and theoccasional low windowsill, consider using a pet product designedspecifically for this purpose. Nontoxic products such as Bitter Applecome in gels and sprays that are extremely distasteful to most puppies.Applying a product such as this to an endangered surface will often wardoff the chewiest of puppies with just one taste. There are, of course,those pups with no taste. In these instances, keeping the pup away fromher favorite inappropriate chewing items is the only way to ensure thatthese items remain safe.
Escape Artists
Chihuahuas aren’t the worst breed when it comes to escaping everymeans of containment possible. They simply can’t scale fences, jump ashigh, or bite and pull as hard as many of the larger breeds. Chis are,however, very athletic, and they often exceed their owner’s estimations.
Jumping
If your puppy is a virtual jumping bean, she will be able to escapepuppy playpens, baby gates, and low fences. If you find this is the case,you may need to get a little creative. Use a puppy playpen that has a topor wire roof. For those pups escaping a lower baby gate, considerdouble-gating a doorway (putting one pressure gate above the other) orusing a dog gate that is taller and meant for jumping, scaling puppies. Ifyour outdoor fence is too low to contain your Chi, you’ll need to add toyour present fence. (Some fences allow the addition of a foot of lattice tothe top.) You might also consider replacing the fence with a taller one oralways supervising your Chi when she is in the backyard.
Have Head, Will Follow
Chihuahua puppies can be very, very little. The spaces through whichthey can scramble through to escape their containment or barrier oftenappear impossibly small. The basic rule of thumb is that if a puppy canwriggle her head through a space, she can wriggle her entire bodythrough. Spacing in your outdoor fence (between slats or the chainlinks), a window that’s cracked open, a crate door that can be pushedopen when it is latched on top but not on the bottom, a small tear in aporch screen, or a gap between a door and the floor could all be escapehatches for a little puppy.
Be cognizant of just how small your puppy is, and look for ways inwhich she could escape, should he set his mind to it. The answer toescape problems is exercise, exercise, exercise! If your Chihuahua is
pooped out, chances are she won’t be looking for something do—she’lljust want to snooze. If your well-exercised puppy possesses a brilliant yetdevious mind and is bent on breaking out of all barriers, keep her safelycrated when you cannot supervise her every move.
Separation Anxiety
A puppy or an adult has separation anxiety if she becomes distressed—and remains distressed—whenever you leave her. Separation anxietycomes in varying levels, from mild distress to distress so severe that theChi is in danger of harming herself.
Preventing separation anxiety from occurring in the first place iseasiest with a puppy. It is natural for a pup to cry, whine, bark, scratch,and gnash her teeth on her playpen bars or crate. Simply put her in hercrate with a favorite activity toy (a toy that she needs to chew on or rollto release little bits of treats) or a chew in her crate to keep her busywhile you are gone—and leave. Don’t make a big deal out of leaving. Bematter-of-fact about it.
If you are concerned that your puppy is crying the entire time thatyou are gone, record her activities. Set up a recorder and turn it onbefore you leave. Most pups will stop crying within minutes of theirowner’s leaving.
If your puppy or adult is having great difficulties when you leave andis terribly stressed any time you are gone, you can take steps to helpyour Chi overcome her separation anxiety. Many of the techniques arethe same that can be used to prevent separation anxiety fromdeveloping. Try any of these:
When leaving, act as if nothing is happening; don’t give her aspecial farewell hug or tell her it’s going to be okay when shestarts crying.
Provide an activity toy or good chew to help occupy your Chi.Desensitize your Chi to the sounds that she recognizes as
indications that you are leaving. Pick up your keys randomlythroughout the day. Put your jacket on and take it off. Openand close the front door. Turn the television on and off.
Leave your Chi for short periods of time, and gradually extendthese times.
Tape what your Chi does when you are gone to monitor herprogress.
Don’t punish her for wetting or soiling her crate; she is mostlikely voiding due to stress.
Give her Rescue Remedy, a holistic flower essence that can berubbed on your Chi’s gums or given by dispensing a few dropsin her drinking water.
Spray your Chi’s bedding with dog-appeasing pheromone(DAP), a synthetic replication of the hormone that is emitted bylactating female dogs and that all pups and adult dogsrecognize and find relaxing and comforting.
Consult with your veterinarian for additional help. In extremecases in which your Chi is in danger of harming herself, yourveterinarian may recommend medical intervention.
Don’t give up on your stressed Chi. Separation anxiety can be an issuewith adopted adult Chis, but with time, patience, and a lot ofconsistency in how you approach your dog’s anxiety, you’ll be able tomake a big difference in your Chi’s life. It is often the case with a rescuethat the dog simply needs the time to trust that you are always cominghome.
Bolting
Chihuahuas are small and lightning fast. If your Chi wants to make abreak through the front door when you are talking to someone, has atendency to scramble out over you when you’re letting her out of thecrate, or is impossible to catch when you’re opening the car door, youknow just how difficult it can be to handle a Chihuahua that has learnedthe art of bolting.
As with most unwanted behaviors, preventive training is the easiestway to avoid the problem entirely. With a pup, you’ll want to begintraining her to wait whenever you open the crate door. Begin this bygently restraining your puppy while saying, “Wait.” Pause and then givethe release command, “Okay!” and let your puppy come out and receivelots of patting, stroking and a little treat.
Continue this exercise until your puppy is no longer pushing againstyou and seems to have caught on to the “Wait” command. Open thecrate door and say “Wait” with your hand up (as if you’re a traffic guardsignaling “Stop”). Pause, and give the release command. Praise and treatsuch a smart puppy!
Your goal is to work up to being able to give your pup the “Wait”command before you’ve opened the crate door and have the pup knowto stay in his crate with the door wide open until you’ve given her therelease command.
When boarding your trained Chi at a kennel, or if you havesomeone come to your home to care for your Chi, be sure to tell thisperson your Chi’s release command. Owners who have trained theirdogs to wait when a crate or kennel door is opened have recountedstories of the dog refusing to budge when the boarding kennel staffdidn’t know the proper release command.
Car Door
First of all, your Chihuahua should always be riding in a secured cratein your car or be trained to wear a safety harness that is designedspecifically to attach to a seatbelt and restrains your Chi in this way.Bolting from a car should therefore not be too much of a problem.
However, bolting from an opened crate door can be a problem,particularly when the Chi squirms around and you can’t get a leashfastened to her collar. Use the same training principles as you would forthe “Wait” command; your goal will be for your dog to stay in her crate,allow you to fasten a leash to her collar, and then be released.
Begin training as you would with the simple “Wait” command. Makesure your Chi understands this and will sit with the crate door wide openwhen you are inside your home. Then, with your Chihuahua in hercrate, gently restrain her (in case she anticipates the leash as her releasecommand), and repeat the “Wait” command once again as you fasten theleash to her collar. Pause. Then release your Chihuahua.
When your Chihuahua is reliable at this level (gets it right at leastnine out of ten times), you can work on the same exercise with the cratein the car. If at any time your Chihuahua anticipates the release (andtries to bolt), take her training back a step until she’s solid once again onthe basics.
Front Door
It can be downright impossible to grab a scrambling Chihuahua that’sdetermined to slip out the front door and take a run about theneighborhood. With larger dogs, you can usually grab a collar beforethey burst through the door. But you’d have to be exceptionally fast (notto mention limber) to block a single-minded Mexican torpedo on legs.
If your Chi is solid on her “Wait” command when exiting the crate,you can transfer this training to the front door. A few feet from thedoor, attach a leash to your Chihuahua, give her the “Sit”
command, and then tell her “Wait.” Pause and give her the releasecommand. Praise and reward.
When she’s solid with this (nine out of ten repetitions), repeat theexercise. But this time, take a step toward the door and then back toyour Chi before you release her. Praise and reward. Only when she isreliable with this (again, nine out of ten times), move your Chi one stepcloser to the door. Tell her to “Sit,” “Wait,” pause and remain in place,praise and reward. Once she’s got this down, add taking a step to thedoor and step back. Then, add grabbing the doorknob and stepping back.This would be followed by stepping forward, opening the door slightly,closing it and stepping back. Your ultimate goal is to be able to open thedoor, step through the door, turn around and come back to yourChihuahua without his breaking the “Wait” command.
Though it sounds as if this training process of taking incrementallytiny steps would take forever, it doesn’t. It allows you to take yourChihuahua as fast as she is able to learn while minimizing heropportunities to fail at any step.