He has been a most unusual Chihuahua Puppy

by Penni
(Texas)

I got Pico when he was only 6 weeks old. He was the only one in his litter. From the day he was brought to me, he has been a most unusual puppy. He is a chihuahua.

I have numerous problems with Pico. Rather than tell the story, I think it is easiest to list them.

1. I tried to crate train him in a soft crate but he tore it up. I had to get a hard crate. If i entice him in a crate, he will begin to whine, cry, bark and even howl to get out. this can go on for hours.

Because I am disabled and can't take him out for walks. I set up a system in my room for potty training. it went well enough, but he still thinks it is ok to pee in the living room near the cat box. I should mention that I live with my sister, who rescues cats and has about 10 of them.

2. he barks and whines almost constantly. I tried squirting him with water, but he loves water and thinks it is a game.

3. He barely tolerates a bath. He wants out before I can rinse the soap off him. He will turn aggressive. I don't even wipe him off. I put a towel on the floor and he dries himself.

4. he thinks that if it drops on the floor, it is his to eat. if you try to take it away you will get bit. Like when i drop something on the floor he is instantly coming after it. if i manage to pick it up before he does, he gets really mad. he will growl and bite to protect what he sees as his.

5. He won't let me sleep. if i am sitting on my computer he is happy to sleep - on the recliner or the bed - wherever he can get to. but if i go to bed, that's when his real nature comes out.

When i lay down to sleep, he whines to get on the bed and if that doesn't work, he goes grab his puppy pads, takes them under the bed and proceeds to eat them. if i try to get them away he puts up a major fight.

Also if he gets on the bed, he thinks it is time to play. and he wants to play rough. if i ignore him and lay down, he tries to eat and pull my hair.

He wants to be scratched, not petted, and if i stop he tries to bite my hands. he is determined that you will play with him or else when he decides it is playtime.

6. sometimes he can be so loving and want to be held and i know if i give him up i will miss him terribly.

7. He has a major separation anxiety. he loves my sister and wants to play with her, but if i go to the hospital or anything then they are kept up all night with his relentless whining. He is totally inconsolable and nothing they can do can make him happy.

8 When Pico ain't happy, nobody is happy. he can get extremely vocal and very aggressive.

9. I can't get a collar on him. I finally found a halter with velcro closures to put on him. we went through several options before he allowed this one. he only allows it if we are going outside.

10. he often sleeps on my recliner. if i want to sit in it, that's ok for a short while. then he wants me out and will do whatever it takes to get me out.

i know i should see a behavioral specialist, but there are none within an hour's drive of me. I am at my wits end. he has bitten me hard enough to get deep cuts at times. he doesn't bite quite that hard anymore because now he hardly ever breaks skin- but it still hurts and bruises.

Oh and he is extremely scared of people when they come over and anyone wearing a hat.

Any ideas on what to do about him? i don't want to have to put him down and i don't think i trust anyone enough to try to give him away.

Right now, he stole a piece of chocolate candy from the floor when it dropped (yeah i have often had to feed him something to make him throw up because he ate something dangerous for him like socks) we got into a major disagreement over it and he tried to get up and steal the box off my desk. he also got mad because i made sure none was left on the floor. he tried to get behind my boxes that keep the wires beneath my desk hidden from him and got mad again when i stopped him.

Now he has managed to jump on my bed (he has a bad knee so i am not sure how he manages to jump up) where he is sleeping. I tried to lay down because it is time for me to rest and he attacked me - growling and snapping.

Not sure how much longer i can handle him and not sure if he will survive much longer if i don't get some sleep soon.

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Dec 27, 2014
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Nothing In Life Is Free
by: Adam G. Katz

"You're going to want to give him a motivational correction-- but not one that's too motivational, otherwise there is a the possibility of him becoming defensive. I detail how to do this more explicitly in my "Secrets" book that you can download at "DogProblems.com" right now for $1 during the holidays."

Employ the "Nothing In Life Is Free" approach, so that your dog starts to view you as the "pack leader." If your dog doesn't see you as the leader, then your corrections will be meaningless. So, if you're doing subtle things (inadvertently) to undermine your leadership role around the house-- it will be counter-productive.



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Adam G. Katz is the author of, "Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!" -- which you can find at DogProblems.com.

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