Dog training advice/thoughts for a nuts Chihuahua

In My Humble Opinion
1

Some of you may know that my beagle pal Marge died a few months ago at the ripe ol’ age of ten. Soon after we adopted Mr. Todd, a chihuahua mixed with…apparently a set of satellite dishes, who was erroneously reported to be 2 years old.

Don’t get me wrong. He’s fantastic, but he is a puppy, only just turned one year old a month ago. He’s learning very basic things from us like sit/stay and he uses wee wee mats for his business, but there are two issues we can’t seem to “cure” for lack of a better term:

THEIVERY. We can’t have ONE thing on the floor, on low shelves on coffee tables, on the bed, on the furniture, or he takes it in a NANO SECOND and hides it in one of his many ‘stash’ areas. Someone told us to lure him out with treats and then he’ll learn to ‘give it back’ in exchange for a reward. But i don’t think that’s right. He leaves the item behind and comes to get the treat, so the lesson isn’t learned. We’ve had him for six months now and we can’t let him out of our sight for a MINUTE for fear he’s taking something. He pulled a whole scrabble game off the shelf and tried to hide it under the couch.

PROTECTION This guy weighs a grand total of 11 pounds and he protects me as if every single human or animal is coming at me with a pistol. Most people laugh because he’s so tiny, but little kids and such are scared. He growls and jumps and barks and shows his teeth. I do the tug correction with a “no” on his collar, but I’m not sure how much further to go with that.

I asked for book suggestions in the craigslist forums and it turned into a screaming match amongst different book advocates. I thought Cesar Milan was ok, and now I hear he abuses animals? What? What about “The Other End of the Leash”?

I feel bad. Marge was such a pliable, easy going pup. She barely needed a touch of training. Todd…he’s…eating a shoe as we speak. Time to go.

2

Well, chihuahuas can be a little…difficult. I have not owned one myself, but when I was working as a vet tech I dealt with them a lot. I just got done reading a book called *The Dog Listener * by Jan Fennell. I think it could help you with your second problem. Her approach is completely non-violent, and seems like it would be especially good for little dogs with big attitudes.
I don’t know if you will ever be able to completely cure the first problem. I think I would try is leaving something tempting where he can reach it (say “leave it”), and if he leaves it there for even a second, reward him lavishly. Gradually extend the time he has to “leave it” to get the reward. Good luck, and be glad he isn’t tall enough to reach the countertops.

3

I love “The Other End of the Leash”, I especially like the way it gives you the dog’s perspective on things. I found it very useful.

I think you might just have to accept that your puppy is just that, a puppy, and probably won’t be trustworthy for another year or so, if then.

I know that for about the first six months with one of my dogs, I seemed to spend all my time taking things off her, it got very wearing. But she’s improved a lot, unless she spends a lot of time alone without supervision. She had any number of toys but always preferred things I didn’t want her to have.

In the meantime, it’s probably just easier if you clear things away from his height so there’s nothing for him to steal. I know some breeders who use a leash around their waists to keep puppies tethered to them, so that they are easier to supervise.

I don’t know where you stand on crate training, but I’m a convert to it as a way of protecting dogs and possesions when you can’t be around to supervise.

Exercise is always a good thing, a tired puppy is a good puppy!

For the aggression you might find this article by Suzanne Clothier interesting: http://www.flyingdogpress.com/casehis.html

I don’t know that I’d necessarily want to categorise aggressive behaviour as protective. The kind of behaviour you describe could as easily be fear (get them before they get you), or resource guarding, with you as the big, juicy resource. How you handle this kind of aggression will depend very much on where it’s coming from, and I’d strongly suggest some expert help with curbing it.

Even little dogs can do a fair bit of harm with their teeth, and I always think it’s unfair that little dogs get away with behaviour that in a big dog would be a death sentence.

The good news is that sooner or later your puppy will grow a brain and you’ll forget the annoying puppy years (until the next one).

If it’s any consolation, my biggest dog was the ideal puppy, he seemed to be naturally good. His puppy transgressions were so minor as to be unoticable. But Princess Pandora? She’s hell on wheels. Just different temperaments, but she came as a considerable shock to me.

Good luck.

4

Boy, that was informative! I’m going to definitely get “the Other End Of The Leash” and read it. You’re right that he may be fearful. We adopted him from his second shelter and he had a big problem with submissive wetting, but that’s over now thankfully.

He is just a fired up puppy really. right now he’s trying to walk across the laptop. Like you said, he has about 50,000 toys but all he wants are my bras, my shoes and my hair scrunchies.

He’s a handful…for sure.

5

I wish I could get my mother-in-law onto the Dope - she had long kept chihuahuas, and they’ve all been remarkably calm little dogs.

I can give you my observations/opinions, for what they’re worth, and you can use them or not as you choose.

First, chihuahuas are tiny little dogs. They’re afraid a lot of the time, with good reason. Everything is bigger than them, and those big friendly humans can accidently cause harm. MiL always kept crates/cages/other dens for her dogs. They were the dog’s territory (which made cleaning the bedding an adventure, and occassionally required locking the dogs in the bathroom while replacing it) and were left open/available when the dogs were out. Thus, when the little darlings were feeling fearful/threatened they always had a very safe feeling place to retreat to. This seemed to cut down a lot on the agression and belligerence, as well as the trembling-leg-piss-on-the-floor fear episodes. If company was coming over, particularly company involving small children, the dogs were put away in advance and didn’t seem to mind a bit.

The item hoarding I’ve heard about in other chihuahuas and seems to be a feature of the breed to some degree. Make sure the sweetie has ample appropriate doggie toys and try to keep things out of his reach. At least you don’t have parrots - you can’t keep anything “out of reach” of flying pets! Be patient and consistent about removing things from Mr. Todd’s mouth, stashpiles, and so forth. When he’s cooperative, praise lavishly. Allow some items (like his dog toys, or a certain type of treat or chew toy) he can snatch to be available for “stashing” so he has an outlet for this activity.

Remember - patience and consistency are vital whenever you’re engaged in animal training.

6

The other end of the Leash, and The Dog Listener were both written by the same woman (Jan Fennell). The Dog Listener is her first, and you might want to get them both. Renee’s suggestion to teach “leave it” is a good one.

This is how my dog was taught: Put him on a leash, and put a couple of things on the floor that you don’t want him to have. Walk by them, and when the dog looks away from the thing on the floor, say yes, or good, or whatever word you want, then give a treat, and keep walking. After doing this a few times, my dog understood that we were leaving the object on the floor. Once he got that, then when we’d walk by and I’d say “leave it”. When he looked away from the object, then you say “good” and give a treat. Then, after he was comfortable with “leave it” we put down things that were his. When he showed interest in them, then he was allowed to take it.

We played this game a few times a day,for a couple of minutes at a time, using the same two or three objects at first, then switching others in. There’s lots of different ways to teach it, that can be found online.

7

I just checked this, and found out that it’s false, they’re not written by the same person. So never mind, but they are in the same basic genre (learning why the dog behaves the way it does, and using that to work with the animal, instead of trying to make it all about us…if that makes any sense.

8

This is really helpful. Todd does have a “cave” crate. he stays in the crate while we’re at work and he goes in there when we’re cleaning and such. He mostly likes to be right next to us at ALL times. He follows us to every room of the house, sits on our heads, he’s looking over my shoulder right now. I think the books are in order.

9

I would watch Cesar’s show (The Dog Whisperer) and try it out. He’s also non violent. (OK so one guy sues him. Let’s see how the court case ends up).

I have tried some of his methods on dogs, not my owm, and in a matter of minutes, they changed their behavior!

10

We got this book for our over-enthusiastic 60lb border collie-lab mix. It worked like a charm. My husband wants to buy a copy and leave it on the front porch of one of our neighbors who gets walked by her black lab every day. Poor lady.

11

I read this as a 601 lb border collie at first. DAMN

12

To be fair, while he’s named in the case because of his ownership of the site where the alleged abuse occured, they’ve made it quite clear that it was the employees of his center, not Cesar himself, who were actively engaged in working with the injured dog. Even the best employers can have screwed up employees.

I want to echo, a little louder, what was said earlier- DO NOT tolerate aggressive posturing from your dog, EVER. We’ve all heard the complaints about neurotic, crazed, vicious little dogs who are ruling the roost because their owners think their protectiveness is “cute” or harmless. As a result, these dogs are never taught their place in the pack, and will go after anything (which unfortunately sometimes results in the little dog being hurt by a bigger dog when the little dog doesn’t respond in the proper “doggy” manner), and they are indeed capable of doing damage. Your pup should be taught immediately that you will not tolerate any kind of posturing.

I’d also like to recommend the monks of New Skete books- “How to be your dog’s best friend” and “The art of raising a puppy.” The latter covers mostly the first few months, but it also goes over a lot of potential disciplinary issues and how to deal with them.

Good luck.

13

Uh, call me crazy, but have you considered obedience lessons?

14

“Tsst, tsst!”

15

He’s so cute!!! :slight_smile:

My 2 cents, which may not be worth even that.

When he’s aggressive, you may want to pick him up, turn him so he has to look at you, and give him a firm verbal correction (No!). Then hang on to him if you think he’s scared, or put him back down if you think he’s not. Picking up the dog is a quick way to establish both (1) you are in charge and (2) he is safe, but obviously only works with real little dogs. If he’s nervous but you want him to meet the other dog, you can crouch down and allow the dogs to get to know each other while you still have ahold of yours, and can verbally correct him if he gets growly again. But if you hang on to him, just hold him, don’t comfort him or snuggle him or praise him, and put him back down as soon as you feel comfortable doing so; you don’t want him to make the connection that if he behaves badly, you’ll pick him up and give him positive attention.

Also, a puppy is going to be more attracted to your personal items than to his toys because they belong to you and smell like you – scrunchies, shoes, socks. IME, the most irresistible item for puppy theivery/chewing is a nice pair of already-worn panties. I was a practitioner of the “Bedroom Floor Is The Hamper” school of laundry (I live alone), until I got the puppies and started finding chewed-up undies all over the house.

Congratulations on your new guy. :slight_smile:

16

I was planning on obedience classes but the scheduling was strikingly inconvenient for this time in my life, so I wanted to try some books and personal work first. Obviously if it doesn’t work, he’ll be going to school.

And I wanted to make it clear that I don’t condone his aggressive behavior. I don’t think it’s funny at all, but people walking by do. I do the leach correction and verbal no right now, but it’s going to take more. I also think he needs to be socialized with other dogs, as he is either scared or tough with every dog he meets.

17

[QUOTE=tiny ham]
…I do the leach correction …QUOTE]

A good size leach could probably take this little guy.

18

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thievery. I have a 50/50 rat terrier chihuahua and he does the same thing with protection. He also sits on things he thinks belongs to him and wont take his butt off. He also back kicks my shoes when he’s mad at me.

Okay I guess that doesn’t help at all but the thought of Mr. Todd trying to hide a scrabble game for whatever reason was in his little dog brain made me laugh…really hard.

19

You may be accidentally encouraging your dog to be aggressive toward people. If you get tense when people approach, the dog could take that as fear and react to the “threat” that the stranger poses. Dogs are incredible at reading body language. They can detect the slightest nuances. Next time you’re out, make a concerted effort to appear casual around people. Look away from them make sure your posture is very relaxed. Then, distract the dog by giving him a treat. When the stranger passes, praise him for not barking.

The “hush” command is invaluable in these situations. Start training it by having a patient friend ring the doorbell. When the dog starts to bark, say “hush!” loudly and suddenly. He should fall silent for at least a few seconds. Praise him immediately, and give a treat. Have your friend ring again and again, slowly lengthening the time that he must remain silent before he gets the treat. (Use something super-yummy like pieces of chicken-- something your dog will really value.)

Once he’s got the “hush” part down, start training him to sit at the same time. Put the treat over his head and move it back behind him. Most dogs will lose their balance when you do this, and will automatically sit. Praise, treat, repeat. After a while, don’t reward him unless he sits as well as being silent.

Once he knows this command, make him “hush” whenever a stranger comes near.

20

Boy, that would be great if he could learn that. Our house is a zoo when the pizza guy comes.