No, she shouldn't be put down. It isn't her fault that she was not properly trained. Now that she is with you, you have the chance to try to undo some of the previous damage. Food aggression is one of the biggest reasons for dogs being put down in shelters. I would personally work on all other issues first, using some of the strategies mentioned in previous post by many members. Then after she has made progress in other areas, begin focusing on the food aggression...this is one of the hardest parts to deal with, but also one of the most easily avoided issues. In other words, while the food aggression definitely needs to be broke, for the time being, just leave her alone while she is eating. After you have made progress on other issues, you can start the food aggression breaking.
However, after it is all said and done and you have gone as far as you can, if you still do not feel you can deal with her issues, there are many people out there who are experienced with Chihuahuas and their mind sets and know how to work with their breed temperaments....she would be better off given a chance with one of those, than to be put to sleep. Marsha Do not tell God how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your God is. ----- Original Message ----- From: boogersbg To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 4:11 PM Subject: [Chihuahuas] Help again. This time it's a chihuahua we rescued. We've had her a few months now. She HATES people, she WILL NOT come up to anyone for anything, even food. She has tried to bite my boyfriend because he went up to her while she was eating and tried to pet her. She was raised in a kennel (someone had 30+ chihuahua's for breeding and kept them all in kennels). So, she didn't have much human contact if any. Everyone I talked to said we should have her put down as she will never become a good loving dog. She is also 2, just as my Buttons is. I was wondering if that's REALLY the right thing to do or if we should keep trying?
