Basics of Chihuahua Training
For Chihuahua parents, or for that matter, all dog owners, it is essential you know certain basic factors that determine your relationship with your Chihuahua and can go a long way in training him effectively.
Before you begin training your Chihuahua, it is absolutely essential that you build a loving bond with him. This is important as it helps you to understand his needs and instincts and also allows your Chihuahua to have complete trust in you.
Let us see how.......
How To Bond With Your Chihuahua
Building a bond with your Chihuahua is the first and the most crucial step involved in training him successfully. As soon as you bring your Chihuahua home, you must first try to develop a caring and loving relationship with him in order to win his trust and confidence.
When Chihuahuas are secure in the knowledge that they belong to the family, they are more likely to respond better to their owners' training commands. Just like with any relationship, there must be mutual trust and respect between you and your Chihuahua.
Trust takes time to develop and respect comes from defining boundaries and treating any breach of those boundaries with firmness and fairness.
Without enforceable limitations, respect can’t be developed. And when there is no respect, building a bond with your Chihuahua is almost impossible.
4 Golden Rules To Building A Relationship With Your Chihuahua :
- Spend quality time together;
- Take him out in the world and experience life together;
- Establish and promote a level of mutual respect; and
- Develop a way of communicating to understand each other's needs.
Love Your Chihuahua and He Will Love You back
Once you're succesful in building a bond with your Chihuahua, you can rest assured that training him and teaching him new and clever tricks will be a cakewalk.
How Your Chihuahua Learns...
Your Chihuahua's learning period can be divided into five phases:
The Teaching Phase - This is the phase where you must physically demonstrate to your Chihuahua exactly what you want him to do.
The Practicing Phase - Practice makes Perfect. Once a lesson is learnt, practice with your Chihuahua what you have just taught him.
The Generalizing Phase - Here you must continue practicing with your Chihuahua in different locations and in an environment with a few distractions. You can take your Chihuahua out for a walk, or to a nearby park and command him to practice whatever you've taught him.
Practicing the learned lessons in multiple locations and in the presence of small distractions will help him learn and retain lessons better .
The Testing Phase - Once you're sure that your Chihuahua has achieved almost 90% success....he responds correctly almost every time you give a command, you must start testing his accuracy in newer locations with a lot of distractions.
Example: Take him to the local shopping mall and ask him to obey your command. He may not come up with the correct response the very first time you do this, but you must not lose hope.
The idea is to test your Chihuahua to see how he responds in an environment which is new to him. Set-up a situation where you are in control of the environment and your Chihuahua.
There are only 2 possibilities:
- Your Chihuahua succeeds!!! (Trumpets please!)
- In case your Chihuahua fails, re-examine the situation. Review and/or change your training. Then try testing again.
Keep on testing until he succeeds. Follow the rule of the 3 Ps – patience, persistence, praise.
Internalizing Phase - Finally, comes the extremely rewarding phase where your Chihuahua does everything he is taught to do even without your commands.
Remember:
- Never scold your Chihuahua if he fails. It's not his fault. You have failed as a trainer!
- You must be patient and persistent for your efforts to show rewards.
- Appreciate and love your Chihuahua when he does it right! A little encouragement will work wonders for your Chihuahua.
- Chihuahua Training is easy when you do it right.
Chihuahuas for Dummies
Many new owners ask me if I could recommend one book for them to learn about chihuahuas, I always recommend Chihuahuas for Dummies by Jacqueline O'Neil.
I have read almost every chihuahua book on the market. Chihuahuas for Dummies is the best. Jacqueline O'Neil knows a lot about this breed and it shows throughout her book. It was such an enjoyable read without becoming generic or boring in certain chapters. I have found more information in this one book than all the others combined. This is why I recommend this book to anyone interested in Chihuahuas.
Chihuahuas For Dummies, 2nd Edition provides owners with the latest advice, tips and information they need to raise a healthy, happy pet, including:
I have read almost every chihuahua book on the market. Chihuahuas for Dummies is the best. Jacqueline O'Neil knows a lot about this breed and it shows throughout her book. It was such an enjoyable read without becoming generic or boring in certain chapters. I have found more information in this one book than all the others combined. This is why I recommend this book to anyone interested in Chihuahuas.
Chihuahuas For Dummies, 2nd Edition provides owners with the latest advice, tips and information they need to raise a healthy, happy pet, including:
- Choosing a healthy puppy or adult dog
- Feeding and grooming, Housing and supplies
- Health care and first aid
- Basic training and Chihuahua-Proofing a home
- Caring for your senior Chihuahua
- Showing your Chihuahua
- Having fun with your dog
Chihuahua Names Redux
I was reviewing some older posts and ran across my original Chihuahua Names article. In my evaluation, I found it kind boring, so I am going to try and give more information on coming up with names for chihuahuas.
The breed itself is very unique. Chihuahuas are small dogs, with a very stubborn and saucy disposition. Like all dogs, each is an individual and has his/her own personality. When trying to come up with chihuahua names, you might want to base that name on the personality of your dog.
Other people base their chihuahua names on the physical appearance of the dog. We used this approach for both of our dogs. We have a black chihuahua and a smaller white chihuahua. We chose unconventional chihuahua names for them both, based on their physical appearance. It took us about a week or two to come up with the right chihuahua names, but, the names fit both dogs.
Having been around this breed for a long time, I find it funny that people go nuts trying to find the perfect chihuahua dog names. It seems like the easy part is finding the dog, the hard part is naming it. I have to admit, people have found some wonderful chihuahua names. Some dogs are named after Mexico or Mexican dishes. Some chihuahua names are for "big dogs", other are "little dogs".
Below is a small sampling of chihuahua names that I have run across either in person or on the Internet.
Girl Chihuahua Names:
The breed itself is very unique. Chihuahuas are small dogs, with a very stubborn and saucy disposition. Like all dogs, each is an individual and has his/her own personality. When trying to come up with chihuahua names, you might want to base that name on the personality of your dog.
Other people base their chihuahua names on the physical appearance of the dog. We used this approach for both of our dogs. We have a black chihuahua and a smaller white chihuahua. We chose unconventional chihuahua names for them both, based on their physical appearance. It took us about a week or two to come up with the right chihuahua names, but, the names fit both dogs.
Having been around this breed for a long time, I find it funny that people go nuts trying to find the perfect chihuahua dog names. It seems like the easy part is finding the dog, the hard part is naming it. I have to admit, people have found some wonderful chihuahua names. Some dogs are named after Mexico or Mexican dishes. Some chihuahua names are for "big dogs", other are "little dogs".
Below is a small sampling of chihuahua names that I have run across either in person or on the Internet.
Girl Chihuahua Names:
- Scout
- Genesis
- Beverley
- Aysha
- Hobbard
- Hobson
- Hunter
- Richie
- Gabe
- Chichi
- Pablo
- Pedro
- Taco
- Chalupa
- Peri
- Eva
- Alfonso
- Nacho
- Groucho
- Chico
- Harpo
- Zeppo
- Bobo
- Bo
- Sparky
- Buster
- Buddy
Stop Excessive Chihuahua Licking
Receiving cute kisses from your chihuahua is fine and adorable, but how do you stop excessive chihuahua licking? You know what I am talking about, your chihuahua licks you constantly, or the sheets or the rug, and just doesn't seem to ever stop or want to stop. Both of our chihuahuas used to have licking problems. Our older chihuahua used to lick both my wife and I constantly on the face, arms, and legs. The younger chihuahua licked us, along with the bed, couch, carpet, etc. It seemed that I was always trying to make them stop this awful behavior.The constant chihuahua licking was driving my wife and I insane. I tried yelling at them when they licked, but it didn't seem to work. They would resume their licking a few seconds after I yelled at them.
I did a little research and spoke with our vet. He said sometimes chihuahua licking is caused by boredom. So we went out and bought the dogs new chew bones. This seemed to help the younger chihuahua a bit. Now he chews on his bone instead of licking. But this method didn't seem to help our older chihuahuas licking problem.
To stop the older chihuahua licking issue, I tried something different that seems to be working. Every time the chihuahua licks me on my arm, neck or leg, I yell "No!". This is not too loud, just loud enough to stop him from licking. I keep doing this until he stops. It is very annoying, but it eventually started to work.
A friend of ours tried a slightly different tactic to stop his chihuahua from licking. He went to a local store and bought a water bottle. He filled the bottle up with water and kept it near him at all times. When his chihuahuas lick, he would squirt the dog with water. The chihuahua did not like this and immediately stopped what he was doing. Our friend said that this method stopped his excessive chihuahua licking problem after a few weeks.
A friend of ours tried a slightly different tactic to stop his chihuahua from licking. He went to a local store and bought a water bottle. He filled the bottle up with water and kept it near him at all times. When his chihuahuas lick, he would squirt the dog with water. The chihuahua did not like this and immediately stopped what he was doing. Our friend said that this method stopped his excessive chihuahua licking problem after a few weeks.
These are only a few tips that I have found somewhat successful in the quest to stop excessive chihuahua licking. If you have a method that worked, please email us and we will post it on this site, so others can be helped.
What Makes a Chihuahua Aggressive?
What makes a chihuahua aggressive? They are the smallest breed of dog, but chihuahuas act tough as nails. Aggressive chihuahuas can be very annoying and sometimes dangerous. Aggressive chihuahuas have been known to growl at and bite people.
A physical problem could cause aggression in chihuahuas. If the dog has tooth pain, slipped disk, knee problem, or anything that would cause pain or discomfort, it could be the cause of the aggression. A chihuahua will bite and growl when other animals are in its “area”, like near its dog bed, eating area or resting area. When a chihuahua retreats to its “area”, it wants to rest and try to deal with the pain. Anyone who gets too close is perceived as a threat, which triggers the aggression. An aggressive chihuahua should always be thoroughly checked by a veterinarian, in order to dismiss physical pain as the root cause.
Sometime, the solution is the most obvious. The dog needs to be fixed. Male and female chihuahuas can get very aggressive toward people and other animals if they are not spayed or neutered. I always recommend getting your chihuahua fixed for this and many other reasons.
If the chihuahua is healthy and fixed, there are other factors that are leading to the chihuahua aggression. The good news is that there is training that can fix this chihuahua aggression. Click below for more information.
Chihuahua Training
A physical problem could cause aggression in chihuahuas. If the dog has tooth pain, slipped disk, knee problem, or anything that would cause pain or discomfort, it could be the cause of the aggression. A chihuahua will bite and growl when other animals are in its “area”, like near its dog bed, eating area or resting area. When a chihuahua retreats to its “area”, it wants to rest and try to deal with the pain. Anyone who gets too close is perceived as a threat, which triggers the aggression. An aggressive chihuahua should always be thoroughly checked by a veterinarian, in order to dismiss physical pain as the root cause.
Sometime, the solution is the most obvious. The dog needs to be fixed. Male and female chihuahuas can get very aggressive toward people and other animals if they are not spayed or neutered. I always recommend getting your chihuahua fixed for this and many other reasons.
If the chihuahua is healthy and fixed, there are other factors that are leading to the chihuahua aggression. The good news is that there is training that can fix this chihuahua aggression. Click below for more information.
Chihuahua Training
How to Stop Chihuahua Barking
The Chihuahua might be the smallest breed of dog, but they are one of the loudest. A Chihuahua bark is loud and annoying, and with some dogs, very constant. But how do you stop a chihuahua from barking?
Chihuahua barking can't and shouldn't be stopped, it should only be contained. Chihuahuas are excellent watch dogs and have a keen sense of hearing. What you should concentrate on is to eliminate the excessive chihuahua bark. The first thing to do is to communicate what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior to your dog.
As the owner, you need to figure out what is causing your chihuahua barking. Once you figure out what triggers your chihuahua to bark, you can start your training. There can be many triggers. Some chihuahuas bark because they are lonely and miss the owner. Other chihuahuas bark because they are claiming their territory, or mate. My chihuahua barks because he wants attention from myself or my wife.
Another source of chihuahua barking is that the do wants to play. Your dog might go grab a toy and run up to you and start barking. He is telling you that he wants some attention and wants to play. If there are multiple dogs around, they might bark at each other to play.
It has been documented that some chihuahua barking can be attributed to just plain boredom. The dog has nothing to stimulate his or her mind so barking becomes a way to keep occupied. A quick and easy way to cure his type of barking is to keep your chihuahua occupied. Give him a chew toy or bone to play with.
Finally, another source of barking is the one that you probably do not want to stop. Chihuahua barking can be caused when your dog hears a strange noise outside, or something has surprised or startled it. The dog is barking to protect its home and loved ones.
If you really can't stand the constant barking from your dog, there are a lot of excellent tips on how to stop chihuahua barking at this website, check it out!
Chihuahua barking can't and shouldn't be stopped, it should only be contained. Chihuahuas are excellent watch dogs and have a keen sense of hearing. What you should concentrate on is to eliminate the excessive chihuahua bark. The first thing to do is to communicate what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior to your dog.
As the owner, you need to figure out what is causing your chihuahua barking. Once you figure out what triggers your chihuahua to bark, you can start your training. There can be many triggers. Some chihuahuas bark because they are lonely and miss the owner. Other chihuahuas bark because they are claiming their territory, or mate. My chihuahua barks because he wants attention from myself or my wife.
Another source of chihuahua barking is that the do wants to play. Your dog might go grab a toy and run up to you and start barking. He is telling you that he wants some attention and wants to play. If there are multiple dogs around, they might bark at each other to play.
It has been documented that some chihuahua barking can be attributed to just plain boredom. The dog has nothing to stimulate his or her mind so barking becomes a way to keep occupied. A quick and easy way to cure his type of barking is to keep your chihuahua occupied. Give him a chew toy or bone to play with.
Finally, another source of barking is the one that you probably do not want to stop. Chihuahua barking can be caused when your dog hears a strange noise outside, or something has surprised or startled it. The dog is barking to protect its home and loved ones.
If you really can't stand the constant barking from your dog, there are a lot of excellent tips on how to stop chihuahua barking at this website, check it out!
Chihuahua Dog Food for Adult Chihuahuas
Royal Canin K-9 Nutrition Mini Chihuahua is chihuahua dog food specifically for adult and mature Chihuahua dogs over 8 months of age.
Complete and balanced nutrition helps protect cardiac function, provide stool odor relief, and reduce tartar formation on the teeth. It has an excellent and pleasing taste!
Cardiac Function: Helps in keeping the heart functioning correctly. Heart disorders are more frequent in the chihuahua than in other breeds. This sensitivity increases with age--the average life expectancy of a chihuahua is 13 years and it is not uncommon for them to live to 15 years.
Stool Odor Relief: The chihuahua is the ideal indoor dog. It often lives in apartments and may use a litter box. Although it only produces a small amount of feces, it is important to limit the unpleasant smells caused by this type of lifestyle. This special formula will both optimize the quantity and the odor of the stools.
Tarter Control: This dry dog food has a tartar reducing formula that helps preserve buccodental hygiene and has texture designed to produce a brushing effect, reducing dental plaque formation.
Royal Canin K-9 Nutrition Mini Chihuahua is one of the best chihuahua dog foods out there on the market. We here at Chihuahua Information Online highly recommend it. Your chihuahuas will love it!
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