The Most Common Chihuahua Problem Behaviors

If Napoleon had never been born, than it would be called the Chihuahua complex instead of the Napoleonic complex. This complex is when a short or small member of a species overcompensates for their lack of height with an incredibly domineering, aggressive set of behaviors. Almost everything on the planet is bigger than a Chihuahua. Sooner or later, your Chihuahua will exhibit Chihuahua problem behaviors.

One of the most common is aggression. This is incredibly serious and should never be ignored. Your Chihuahua can be legally destroyed if he or she attacks livestock, other pets or people. Although a little dog, their bites are big. Chihuahuas were bred to be guard dogs, so they usually will approach strangers warily. You need to let them know they can relax and let you make the decisions of who to attack and who to leave alone. When your Chihuahua looks to you to make these decisions like puppies look to their mothers, then you have a more relaxed and calmer dog.

Chihuahuas will almost always act tough when strangers come calling, whether the strangers are animal or human. If you are not sure how your Chihuahua is going to behave, supervise the interaction, keep the Chihuahua on a leash or keep the Chihuahua in another room when visitors call. The goal of Chihuahua training is to teach the Chihuahua to let you make all the tough decisions. When you are boss dog, this actually relaxes the Chihuahua.

Don't hit your Chihuahua, don't scream for hours on end and don't make an incredibly big deal of each and every bark. You need to act calm, cool and collected. You need to reinforce good behavior. For aggression, you need the help of a professional dog trainer. You can practice what you learn with dog training books and videos. Patience, persistence and practice in short sessions will help make you and your dog get along better.
Make sure your Chihuahua has been checked over by a veterinarian to be sure there isn't a medical reason why you are experiencing Chihuahua problem behaviors. If a dog is hurting, it is only natural for them to growl, snap or bite when touched. Be sure you are not overfeeding your dog and that they are getting regular exercise to burn up excess energy. Spaying and neutering will also calm them down as well as prevent unwanted puppies and cancers of the reproductive organs.

Your vet should have some Chihuahua training tips for you. If not, ask him or her to recommend a good dog trainer in the area. You need to learn how to communicate your wishes to your dog more effectively. Some Chihuahua problem behaviors like barking can often be taken care of with the advice you can find in all-breed dog training books and videos. Only as a last resort should you "de-bark" your Chihuahua (where the vocal chords are snipped.)

Sandra Dean has written hundreds of articles on dog training, including training to correct Chihuahua problem behaviors. After interviewing many vets, breeders and owners about Chihuahua training it has been made obvious that it is the owners that need the most training. A lot of quality information can be found by watching Animal Planet and reading many dog training books.