I have found that teaching them the ''drop-it'' and ''leave-it command'' to be invaluable. It also teaches them not to be possessive when they have something special in their mouth. Just teaching them 'drop-it' and then remove the object puts you in charge and if they should immediately go to pick it up again before you can retrieve it say ''leave-it'', sharply, and they learn that again you are the alpha and growling is unacceptable.
My Gigi is a garbage truck when it comes to food, and more then once on walks she went to pick up something, but just before she got it in her mouth I would say ''leave-it'' and she does. If you don't know the correct way to teach these commands, I will gladly post it. Both my girls learned them in one session, within minutes, and it works every time. I sincerely doubt your reprimanding him caused him to poop. The truth is, he was marking territory and again trying to show dominance. Chi's can have a very forceful and pushy personality and aren't afraid of anything. They are known for confronting huge dogs, just to display there courage, and authority. Since yours is a puppy, it is best to get him out of any bad behaviors before he gets any older. I would dedicate 15-20 minutes per day twice a day, to the basic commands of sit, down, stay, come, off, drop-it, leave-it, and keep up with the schedule until he has it down pat. I would do the training after he does he business, but before he eats. Puppies catch on really fast, if you use the reward and ignore method. Reward him with a treat and lots of ''good doggie'', when he does what you want, and ignore his negative behavior during training. Never use the word 'No' when he doesn t do exactly what you want, but ignore it for a minute or two and then give the command again. It is a very stressless method for both the dog and the owner, and the dogs really get the hang of it quite fast. -------Original Message------- From: Megan Date: 1/12/2012 12:00:18 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Chihuahuas] our new puppy Hi group! My husband and I just got a 6 month old black&white long coated male named Valkan. He is just adorable. This is really the first chi (or even small dog) we've ever had - aside from the year we had our daughters 5 yr. old chi living with us. I feel like I am totally clueless as to training him. We have a herd of alpacas and 4 big livestock guard dogs (who are also hard to train) so I'm used to being the alpha but I'm very happy to find this group! We got Valkan from a wonderful breeder who believed that even show dogs are pets first, so he has been crate and ex-pen trained but I feel so clueless in some respects with this little guy that I'm feeling guilty about calling her so much! So - thank you all for being here! Here's my situation for today...any input as to the best way to deal with this would be really appreciated. Today, while sitting on the couch next to me, chewing on his rawhide stick, he growled and tried to bite me when I got too close to the chew. He'd done this once before so I was testing him. Obviously, this is totally unacceptable behaviour so I put him on the floor without the chew. Worked on this for awhile until he was behaving better. After this he pooped on his puppy pad and started to eat it...which he hasn't ever done. He's demolished the chewstick in a very short period of time this morning and the poop thing makes me wonder if I went a little too far timewise and stressed him out.. or is he teething? or what? He is just adorable and I love him and want him to be well behaved but I really don't know what works best for chihuahuas. Thanks. Megan Burleson
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