Is this normal Chihuaua behavior?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’ve never been a fan of the Chihuaua in general, too small, too yappy, too annoying, always underfoot, and typically owned by annoying self-centered idiots that want a living fashion accessory.

For a while, that dislike was reinforced by my sister’s dog, Lazarus, a long-haired tricolor chihuaua, he looks closer to a tribble than a dog, and for the longest time, he was utterly terrified of me, any time I visited my sister’s place, Laz was on Super-Hyper-Red-Alert-Extreme!!…

I had never done anything bad/mean to the dog, indeed, I tried to be as nice to him as possible, even though I found his stereotypical neuroses annoying…

a few years ago, my sister got fed up with him, as he was still intact and had the annoying habit of marking everything, instead of taking him to the vet, they kept the poor thing in a dog carrier and ignored him, even though I didn’t like Laz, I found her mistreatment of him infuriating

thankfully, Mom adopted him, and he’s been living with her for the last decade or so, she takes him for walks, pays attention to him, and generally gives him a good life, he’s still intact though and she needs to keep an eye on him to prevent him from marking, she’s planning on getting him fixed soon anyway

so, here’s the thing…

a few years ago, Laz suddenly decided I was no longer the “Big Bad Scary Mans”, but was “Good Mans, Friend”, and became utterly obsessed with spending time with me…

…and y’know, he’s a good little dog, he’s level-headed, relatively sane, and extremely affectionate, he even listens to commands for the most part, something Cooper, my Portie, only does when it’ll benefit him (normal behavior for Porties, they’re very intelligent, strong willed, and obstinate, before deciding to obey, they think “what’s in this for ME?” )

As i’m typing this right now, he’s laying right next to me, lying on his back, tummy exposed and dozing, in utter happiness, occasionally he’ll go to the foot of the bed, and try to tunnel under the heirloom knit blanket on the bed, he loves burrowing into blankets/comforters

he’s also rather fond of freshly fallen snow, he’ll run out and roll around in it in sheer bliss (good thing he has that long fur), never thought i’d see a dog so utterly enamored with snow, and it’s utterly hilarious seeing this tiny canine, who’s ancestors hailed from a subtropical region, acting like a tiny Husky/Malamute or other arctic dog…

Since I have no real world experience with any other chihuauas, is this normal behavior, or are they generally as neurotic as they’ve been portrayed as?

2

That sounds about right. Absolutely loving and loyal to whom they bond with. Everyone else is TERRIBLE MURDEREROUS INTUDERS FROM SPACE!!! EVERYONE COME SEE THEM!! SHOULD I KILL THEM BECAUSE I WILL JUST GIVE THE WORD!!
I miss my poor Fawn dog so so much :frowning:

3

Well, they’re dogs and very small in a world where basically everything could kill them if it wanted to so yeah, they get neurotic a lot. I’ve found, though, that if you treat them pretty much like any other dog and require them to behave properly and learn obedience commands and give them the same relative level of exercise you’d expect from a big dog they turn out to be relatively sane and bearable tinydogs. The thing I really can’t excuse though is that people have intentionally bred the poor things to be neurologically unstable and tending toward hypoglycemia–hence the constant shivering even when it’s warm out. This was not normal for chihuahuas back when I first owned one, in the 70s, and excessive shivering was considered to be a fault whereas now it’s more common than those who don’t do it. I think that’s really wrong and sad.

4

My Mid-daughters Chihuahuas are insane. Incessantly barking, shivery and mean. She’s recently started the squirt bottle routine. She claims it’s working. I’m not sure I agree. If her recent visit was any indication.

5

MacTech what you’re describing is normal for a well-adjusted, happy Chihuahua. They love to snuggle, and they’re pretty happy to go check things out and bop around.
I am shocked by the snow though. My Chihuahua has to be physically chucked from the house if it’s raining.

6

OP’s description of Chihuahuas more-or-less agrees with my observations. Most that I’ve met, with a few exceptions, seem hostile to strangers.

That’s not necessarily just because they are small dogs. On the contrary, I’ve also met several Pomeranians, and they have invariably been very gregarious and friendly.

ETA: And, OTOH, I’ve met a few Great Danes and Dalmations, and they seem to be rather timid with strangers.

7

They can be sweet, yet they’re the second most aggressive breed of dog. Aggressive in this sense doesn’t mean 100% shitty, just unpredictable.

8

Last year I went to the shelter with my brother - he was getting a cat and I was there only to help him with the transport home.
I walked into the shelter and there was this little, white, furry ball of fury, barking its head of like mad.
I fell in love instantly. :slight_smile:

I asked about her and the shelter lady told me that it wasn’t just the one chihuahua - she came with two friends, another chihuahua and a Minpin. They had always been together and the shelter wouldn’t separate them.
I had never had a dog before, and initially said I just couldn’t adopt three dogs… but in the end, of course I did.

Tell you what: it’s been the best decision of my life! :slight_smile:
They are the bestest dogs ever! (Of course they are! Every dog is the bestest dog ever. :wink: ) They are strongly bonded to me, but they are usually friendly with strangers, even children. At home they are relaxed, very cuddly and calm.

But if they see any other dog, they go completely spare. It’s like having Cerberus on the leash. :smiley:

I’ll second Sunny Daze though - my dogs are good weather dogs! Cold? Rain?? SNOW??? They’ll do what they need to to about five meters out if the door and then refuse to take another step. :smiley:

9

Yeah, sounds like both of my departed chihuahuas. They are only terrors to those they haven’t bonded with or don’t trust. And it lasts, too–the old owner came back for a visit to one of them, and he was just as happy to see her as he was when they were together.

They actually seem to have taught the same thing to my dachshund.

The only exception I know of was the older one’s mother and sister, who seemed to like us from the get go. But I wonder if it’s because they smelled their son/brother on us and knew we were safe.

I actually congratulate you on getting him to see you as safe. It means you’ve been doing a lot of things right. Especially when they’ve been mistreated, it can be hard for them to trust again.

10

Never had a Chihuahua and most of the one’s I’ve been near have been terrors.

I remember an episode of Dog Whisperer where Cesar was working with one and he mentioned that they are often misbehaving because the owners don’t expect much from a little dog. But they can be good companions with the proper training and encouragement.

I’m happy that it’s working out well for you. A good dog is a joy to be around.

11

That’s a common behavior pattern for many dog breeds. Chihuahuas are much better at it though. Among the little yappy dog breeds they are the most high strung and dramatic. If you’ve never seen one in the throes of defensive rage you might suspect that his head was normally proportional to his body but was now swelling up and about to explode.

12

I can definitely see how defensive the little buggers can be, right now Laz is laying on the bed near my lap, and Cooper (Portie) is at the foot of the bed, Laz is fixing him with a cold stare basically saying “He’s MINE NOW!!!”

Quite amusing in that Cooper outmasses him by easily 30 lbs, and could easily knock Laz aside if he chose to.

And Coop is MY dog, Laz is just a bit desperate for attention is all …