sounds as if she is confused. She thinks she is being taught to stay away from the treat, which explains why she doesn't take it when offered...she thinks that should please you. If you want her to have the treat, then address the behavior with something else that she may become protective over. If you have to, put on gloves to protect your hands, but don't back down from the attempt at aggression because that tells her that her growling works. If you can, hold her head firmly but gently between your hands, look her in the eye and give a stern "NO". If she is too wiggly for holding her head, place her on her back, but in any case, maintain physical control. Make sure you do this in a loving way watching your tone of voice ect to make sure it is stern but not hateful. She doesn't need to fear you, she just needs to know that you are alpha.
If the treat is the only thing that she is possessive over like that, take the treats away for a while a couple of weeks, till she forgets that she thinks she is not suppose to bother it. Then bring it back again and start new. Don't lay it down for her, make her come to you and take it from you nicely and praise her when she does so nicely. If you later need to take it from her for any reason, don't make a deal of it, just take it without warning. Don't talk to her about it or try to inch up to her...just walk over and take it like it is a normal part of the routine. Marsha ----- Original Message ----- From: Mary Jensen To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 2:45 PM Subject: [Chihuahuas] Help, my Chihuahua is confusing me.... Hi Group, Pixil, my little 16 month old female Chihuahua has a bit of an issue. A few months back, after given a treat, she would crouch her back and lower her head and look at us as if to say, "Don't come near me". So, I thought that behavior was not good, so I called her to come to me with the treat, and she would not. So, I went to her and spoke calmly to her as I was going to take the treat from her. She growled at me! That was enough out of her so I grabbed the treat from her and she snapped at me, but I successfully got the treat away from her. Anyway, this behavior has repeated itself a few times since then. Now, when I give her a treat and she hunches over and gets that "Panther" type look, I have demanded that she return the treat to me. She now drops the treat and comes and sits on my lap, but will not touch the treat, even when I try to give it to her. So, I sat down on the couch with her in my lap and placed the treat on a blanket on the couch for her to eat, she did not move, and she growled at me while in my lap!!! Then, my husband came to see what was up and she growled at him, no snapping or anything, just a little soft "growling". I cannot figure what is up with that behavior? We have never teased her with treats, nor does she have any competition over treats (she is our only furbaby). It is only with the types of treats that require a bit more than a bite and a swallow! It is not with treats that she can swallow down quickly, so I am thinking it has something to do with how big the treat is. Anyone have any suggestions for us? She is not an aggressive Chi, she is very sweet, but she does bark at strangers and other dogs, but her tail is wagging while she does that. She has never bitten anyone. We have had her since she was 12 weeks old. Thank you for any help, Mary
