Aggressive chihuahua

by Sarah
(North Carolina)

We have a 7 year old male who clings to my mother’s heels. Whenever she leaves him at home however, even for just an hour to run to the store, he runs to the door and gets excited for her to come in, wagging his tail and dancing, yet he is very aggressive to her when she walks in the door and growls like he is going to attack her if she tries to pet him. He sleeps in the bed with her and growls ferociously if she shifts, he’s bitten my father several times at night if he leaves to go to the bathroom and comes back.

Neither of the other two do this, 11 year and a 3 month old, both females. If my mother tries to pet either one of them when she gets home after he growls at her, he has been known to try and attack them.

He did not used to be like this. He was bought and previously owned by my sister but when she got married her husband didn’t want him, so he was adopted by my mother. Now he acts like this for everyone, my sister included, but especially to my mother. While at the same time he clings to her and crawls in her lap whenever she sits down. We are at a loss as what to do, or the reason why he does this. My family has owned chihuahuas, usually several at a time, nearing 50 years. And while we’ve had some mean ones, the behavior has always been either easily corrected or the trigger for their aggression easily avoided. But we do not know what to do about this, and I’m worried this will get even worse or the 3 month puppy will pick up on this behavior. She’s already picking up things from the 11 year old and mimicking them.

He is the long haired brindle in the photo. The two black ones are the girls. Do you have any suggestions for why he does this and how to correct it?

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May 05, 2021
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Become The Pack Leader
by: Online Dog Trainer

Become The Pack Leader

Of all the questions that people ask "how to become the pack leader" is the big one! This is by far the most important question how to convince your dog that you are the person in charge. Think of the pack leader as the decision maker - where you should go on the walk, how to behave in different situations and how to respond to all the strange things that are out there.

When you understand how dogs packs work you soon realize the importance, that pack leader makes all the decisions. If you leave it up to your dog then there a big chance that your dog is going to get something’s very wrong and make a mistake!

In order to understand how to become the pack leader you must first recognize that the following means nothing to a dog….

What car you drive, the size of your house, the money you earn or the fact that you speak languages! Your dog would happily swap all of that for a nice snack!

Asking your dog to sit before her dinner falls a long way short of what you need to be achieving to become the pack leader and walking through doorways is only necessary when your dog is on the lead.

Lastly - dominating your dog is certainly not the way to become the pack leader in fact this can back fire badly on you later on if you teach your dog that physical strength is what it is all about. Whilst you may force your dog into submission it will not be convincing your dogs mind that you are worthy of the position and that you should become the pack leader only that you are a bit of a bully.

So how do you become the pack leader? All dogs worldwide, regardless of breed use the same ways to check to establish the pack leader. The best way to learn about how to put it into practice is to watch it being done on video as I have done through one of the video based web sites. The important areas to take control in are the following:

The pack leader will be in total calm control when your dog barks and alerts you to danger. This includes anything that your dog may perceive as dangerous and barks at in and around the propertyOn the walk your dog should not pull you at a single stage, even the beginning! Learning to walk your dog properly can only really be learnt through video as I have found out!

If you are the pack leader then your dog should be able to relax and switch off completely inside the house. If your dog is always switched on most of the time and can’t relax then that is your dog on pack leader duty!

Getting your dog to switch off is directly connected to how you meet and greet your dog after your return home. You need to watch it on video it is so subtle but it is the difference between being the pack leader or the follower.

Lastly, feeding your dog correctly will establish who is the pack leader and there is much more to it than asking your dog to sit! Also if you have a dog that is "not food motivated" then you may be in for a surprise!

There is one site that shows you – using video – exactly how to become the pack leader and how crucial it is to changing any behavioral issue.

If you want to understand more about this topic or see the videos that explain everything then simply take a look at:
The Online Dog Trainer here.

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