New Chihuahua

[RustHeart]

We just found an abandoned Chihuahua. The owner was in my mom's apartment she owns. She moved out a left the dog. My mom didn't even know she had a dog. The dog is now part of the Buddy Rescue and we are fostering her. She doesn't have a name yet but we are trying out Jenna. Jenna is all tan with a small white stripe on her nose. She isn't fixed yet. She isn't potty trained, but she is a young adult. If any one has name ideas or tips for potty training please tell me. She also sometimes growls at people and hides behind me. If you got tips on fixing this too pease share. I will post pics of her soon. Tell me about your Chihuahua too!



Too big?
http://i47.tinypic.com/34s3tw3.jpg

[Cardinal]

Tips for potty training: Ignore all accidents, never punish for an accident once is already happened. That shows that you're unpredictable and not to be trusted. Never punish a dog mid-accident, instead make a starling noise to interrupt the dog then scoop them up and rush outside. When the dog does go outside throw a freaking party with tons of praise and loads of treats. Going outside has to equal THE BEST THING EVAR.

Hiding behind you and growling needs to be addressed in a positive way. NEVER take away a dogs growl, never ever punish a dog for growling. It can create a dog that gives no warning before biting and that is extremely dangerous. The growl is their first line of defense, it means "Hey, back off, whatever you're doing is making me uncomfy and if you continue I will bite you" Instead, reward her when she's being outgoing. What makes her hide behind you and growl?

[RustHeart]

She follows me everywhere and is a bit shy so I think she thinks ill protect her.
She'll do it to anyone she doesn't know. If someone goes "oh what cute little doggie" and all that she will get scared and growl.

[Cardinal]

She follows me everywhere and is a bit shy so I think she thinks ill protect her.
She'll do it to anyone she doesn't know. If someone goes "oh what cute little doggie" and all that weirdness she will get scared and growl.

She probably just wasn't socialized a lot as a pup or it may just be her personality.

One technique a friend of mine used was a 'go say hi' command. Basically it started out with her, the dog, and someone the dog knew in the house on a leash. The person the dog knows will hold out a treat for the dog and once the dog goes to get the treat pair the act with "Say hi!". Do it several times until you can remove the treat being held out. When she 'goes to say hi' with just to word cue, offer her the treat once she 'goes to say hi'. Next move on to someone she knows, but isn't 110% comfy with just let. Start off the exact same way. "Say hi!" and have the person hold out a treat for her. If she takes it then give her loads of praise and affection. Rinse and repeate until you can take away the treat being held out and instead hold out an empty hand for her to sniff then treat. Move on to someone she has seen, but may not really like. Do the above steps. Move on to a complete strange. So on and so forth until she relises that strangers are good and have good things. =) Its a long process, so be prepared to do it in small steps several times throughout the day.

[RustHeart]

That is a good idea. She loves food. Once my mom gave some to her she started to like her a little more. I think that will work. Thank you for the help!
She also tries to chase our kittens. Do you know how to fix that?

[Jetti]

That is a good idea. She loves food. Once my mom gave some to her she started to like her a little more. I think that will work. Thank you for the help!
She also tries to chase our kittens. Do you know how to fix that?

Try keeping them in separate rooms with a glass door. So that way they can see each other but no chase/fight.

[Pistol Annie #1 NPC]

That is adorable, congratulations on getting your dog! <3
Sadly, I don't have any tips, but good luck. ^-^

[HeartOfCoal]

Well, first, it's spelled Chihuahua.

Second, I have to disagree with the previous comment of do not scold for an accident. What I've always done is after finding an accident, I took my dogs over to it and told them no sternly. That always seemed to work because my German Shepherd only had two accidents in the house ever, and my Chihuahua (though she was much harder to potty train) was potty-trained shortly after we got her.

However, despite the way you choose to reinforce potty-training, do not let her see you clean up the accidents. Make sure you put her in another room while cleaning up an accident so she won't see you. Most likely, she will go back and potty in the same spot just to spite you. It seems to be a habit of the Chihuahua breed.

With the kittens, I can only suggest that you use the phrase "leave it" with her. This is actually my favorite command, because it can be used for just about anything. I can set my guinea pig down in the back yard with both of my dogs, and tell them to "leave it" and they won't go near the guinea pig. My Chi is so trained to this command that I can leave a plate of food in front of her and she won't touch it. However, we've been stressing this command for five months with treats as rewards when first starting out. I'm not sure if this is helpful at all, but I hope it is.

[Saracirce]

Scolding minutes after a dog does something is not going to help any. They will not make the connection. And scolding while they're peeing can make the dog think it's not okay to go in front of you. Also, dogs don't do things to spite people. They just don't. Likely, your chihuahua just chose that spot to make her 'potty spot' and whatever you used to clean it up did not completely get rid of the smell (just because it didn't smell to you doesn't mean it didn't smell to her).

And leave it with live animals/moving things only works for dogs who don't have high prey drives. Clemmy (our dog) knows she's not supposed to chase after our cats (or the squirrels and birds outside) yet she still does it because they trigger her predator instincts when they run. She would never hurt them but she still gives 'em a good run for the money.

I would suggest keeping the dog on a leash for a short while. Everytime she starts chasing the cats, make a sharp, loud sound to try to snap her brain out of it. Btw, is the dog trying to hurt the cats or is she just chasing them around without nipping/biting?

[RustHeart]

Scolding minutes after a dog does something is not going to help any. They will not make the connection. And scolding while they're peeing can make the dog think it's not okay to go in front of you. Also, dogs don't do things to spite people. They just don't. Likely, your chihuahua just chose that spot to make her 'potty spot' and whatever you used to clean it up did not completely get rid of the smell (just because it didn't smell to you doesn't mean it didn't smell to her).

And leave it with live animals/moving things only works for dogs who don't have high prey drives. Clemmy (our dog) knows she's not supposed to chase after our cats (or the squirrels and birds outside) yet she still does it because they trigger her predator instincts when they run. She would never hurt them but she still gives 'em a good run for the money.

I would suggest keeping the dog on a leash for a short while. Everytime she starts chasing the cats, make a sharp, loud sound to try to snap her brain out of it. Btw, is the dog trying to hurt the cats or is she just chasing them around without nipping/biting?

She is trying to play with them, but they hiss at her. Only one of the kittens likes her.