We got a new dog here at my place, and heās a puppy. Iāve never really dealt with a puppy long-term, and he was born in a shelter, and has got a few behavioral things. He was scared for a few weeks, then sweet for a few weeks, and then he started guarding his treats with growls and snarls. Then he started guarding OUR food during dinner. Then he started guarding the area where our food would go, or the couch, etc. He was just getting worse and worse. And he actually bit me, twice - once drew blood and the other was just scrapes, but I still have a big bruise there.
Anyway it was getting rough because biting is no good of course, but also it was causing disagreements between me and my partner because I felt like she thought it was my fault, and it partly was for having previously been too handsy with him in playtime and doing things that he might perceive as taking food, when I'm actually giving it to him. but I also didn't know what things I was doing wrong, etc. Also the relationship between me and the dog was worsening, because it's hard to know how to approach a dog that's bitten you twice!
So we had to make a fundamental shift, which was:
- keep his food bowl away from the door so he won't guard the doorway
- put him in his crate when we eat (he likes his crate, it's not a punishment, we give him treats in there)
- I started just being overly enthusiastic when I saw him and he was just sitting somewhere and doing nothing
- continue trying to train him to be cool with us being around while he has food (which means giving him treats while he's eating or has a "high value" toy, that is to say something he likes a lot, so he knows that us approaching means good times not stealing his toy times)
and basically just that has turned him back into sweet boy, and he comes back to me for pets again - there's lots more to do especially on that last point (it'll take weeks/months). It's interesting how reframing the whole situation inspired such a quick turnaround.
anyway dogs are complicated but also not complicated, it turns out.
here he is, you wouldn't expect him to be a vicious beast
I was poking around the forum tags and found this and wow I love him!!! Althoughā¦ I'm biased because I also have two dogs that are miscellaneous Chihuahua mixes lol.
The issues you were having are also very relatable!! One of my dogs is also from a shelter and we've also had issues with training and behavioral stuff! This post was a while ago but I hope things are still going well.
The way I think of it is that Chihuahuas in a lot of ways are too smart for their own good. They know you're trying to do _something_ when you're trying to do something, but they can also be a little more on the paranoid side, so it's almost like they read too into things and decide too quickly and before you know it they are scared or defensive of something innocuous. It's almost like they're skeptical of your efforts to get them to relax once they feel they've learned about something to be afraid of or defensive of, and they have little eagerness to please to begin with lol. They can form bad habits quickly without much warning and then you have to be really consistent to ease them out of it. But man... even my one dog who I have a Complex Relationship with, it's all worth it when I get half woken up in the middle of the night and feel her curl up next to me...
Oh my goodness what a cute little guy with his carrot!!
@Gaagaagiins#14485
And that freakin potato at the end there!!! I want to take it to bed with me and have it cuddle me to sleep.
We have a dog named Tesla who is a stinky little mutt but she is adorable and funny so we love her. She's kind of a mix between a dog and a horse because she likes to prance around and throw her head like a horse. She also makes monkey noises. We're pretty convinced she's an alien trying to figure out how to be a dog.
i remember seeing this thread after some snooping around back when i first started posting here and was like āi wonder why this didn't become the talk-about/post-pictures-of-your-dog thread???ā iām glad to see itās finally fulfilled its destiny after all these months.
(alas i don't have a dog myself, so no contributions from me)
When I was a kid and a teen, I had a dog, and he was absolutely my best friend.
When I'm old and have more free time (making huge assumptions there), I am definitely going to have at least one dog, but in the meantime, thank you to all the dog-havers who are sharing the love.
I didn't see everyone's dogs but they are all very good. the pokemon and cat photo are both excellent, shiba has a classic "I'm not doing anything" face, kinako is a good puddle, Jerome is an excellent name for one of those pointy dogs and that puppy is growing like heck!
I like chihuahuas because their faces always look like they're doing some sort of expression even though they aren't really.
We found out my dude is 75% chihuahua and 25% rat terrier and he loves trouble and hates rats. he's not guardy very much anymore and is being much more of a chill guy, he plays at the dog park with lots of buddies but still doesn't like too many people. his best friend is an 85 pound pitbull who lives around the corner and they love each other.
Here they are [URL=https://i.imgur.com/9H0jptu.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/9H0jptuh.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
They each have a size-appropriate bucket to drink from in the neighbor's yard [URL=https://i.imgur.com/9KEFK8x.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/9KEFK8xh.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Dog [URL=https://i.imgur.com/xqhGi5w.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/xqhGi5wh.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Here he is meeting a wizard [URL=https://i.imgur.com/XlyI0UU.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/XlyI0UUh.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
from time to time my job requires me to remove a pet from a senior citizens home when theyāre no longer able to care for them and need to move into assisted living (I make sure they go to no kill shelters, nobody gets put to sleep on my watch). Cats are such a pain in the ass to get into a crate. Itās stresses me out so much. Itās like nasa mission control level coordination to get the right kind of food, the right timing, etc. Plus cats are good at avoiding traps, and if the trap fails one time youāre fucked. Itās never getting near that thing again. Those claws hurt like hell. No offense to cats, you canāt blame them for being cautious but good lord
Dogs on the other hand, you wave some salami at them and they'll follow you to hell. Dogs rock
