When training monster to sit and lay down we did not push down on his back or mess with his front legs. We guided him with the treat. For sit, you would just hold the treat over his head and slowly move it back and that usually makes them sit. If he goes for the treat or does something else we would tell him no or eh eh in a stern voice and when he did it right we would give him the treat and praise him a lot. For lay down, we would put him in a sit and then hold the treat in front of his mouth and move it to the floor and most dogs will lay down when you do that but it didn't work with monster so we just held the treat on the floor and eventually he got it, again saying no or eh eh if he did anything else. It took a long time and a lot of patience to teach Monster some things and others he would learn right away. Lay down was one of the things that took a while. We also have a problem with aggression. He used to bite at peoples heels when I took him out and he would bite anyone that tries to touch me when I'm holding him. The only one he won't bite when I'm holding him now is my fiance and the thing that worked best was not letting him lay on me or get on the couch with me when my fiance was close to me and we are still doing that and now he won't bite him when I am holding monster. As for chasing after people, after he was trained to come when called and he knew to stop when we said no or eh eh, he doesn't do it as much and we can stop him if he tries to. And when we have visitors, we put him in another room for a little while and when we let him out he is calm but only certain people can pet him that he won't growl at or nip at. He doesn't bite hard anymore and usually he'll just growl. We also used a squirt bottle but it stopped working after a while. But we saw a huge improvement in his aggression issues after he was trained. We went to petsmart for training and the trainer said that monster was the first chi that she had trained and she did a wonderful job and just trained him like any other dog and when things didn't work she tried something else. So they don't have to be an expert on chis cause they are just like other dogs and the trainer just needs to know multiple ways to train because different things work for different dogs, big or small. And Monster was 3 when we started the training. He's now 5 and the only problem we have is a little aggression that we are working on but its not as big a problem anymore and he's a much better dog now then before the training and he loves to do his tricks. Well, hope this helps and good luck!
Lorena and Monster Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Kavi <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2010 08:44:29 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Ricky Needs A New Home, He Is To Aggressive With Family :( Hi Peggy I so appreciate your post. The problem I have is no one else wants to try to train / work with him. they are afraid of him. If Ricky does not like something, he will bite you. That includes trying to train him to sit and lay down. If you push on his backend (easy) he will swirl around and try to bite you. the lay down is the same way.. if you try to get his front legs down, he will try to bite you. This is with a yummy treat too that he loves!. I believe I saw that "dog whisper" program on the Chi. I could never see Ricky being nice to anyone strange that came near him. If I remember correctly, the chi in the program was back in a corner at one point. Ricky would never be in a corner. He will just come at you and attack. He is not afraid, and that is the problem. Also, ricky will not allow you to put him on his back! He never rolls on his back. I have tried to hold him on his back but he will get upset. He needs to be trained by someone who knows Chi's. There is no use in the other members to try to train him if we do not know the correct way to train. We could make it worse. My husband who has been able to pet him, suddenly the other day, he went to pet him and Ricky tried to bite him! I was shocked. I will try to find a qualified chi trainer in my area. Shanna --- On Sat, 10/23/10, Peggy <[email protected]> wrote: From: Peggy <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Ricky Needs A New Home, He Is To Aggressive With Family :( To: [email protected] Date: Saturday, October 23, 2010, 8:30 PM Hi Shanna, I am so sorry to hear that you have to make this choice. First, beware that the ASPCA will put him down because he will be deemed unadoptable. Some times, depending on what state that you live in they may have volunteers who will re train Ricky once you give him up, but not all ASPCA's will do that. I know a lot of people think that the ASPCA doesn't destroy dogs, but that is totally untrue, they do it if they feel it is necessay and or if they are already overloaded with dogs. Some times a dog can act aggressive if something is bothering them and it may seem like anger to the inexperienced eye. The first step is to make sure to give Ricky a complete medical check up, especially blood work. Since you have only had him for three months you may have not done that. If he has diabetes, or a heart problem, or pain in his knees etc, etc., any type of pain or just feeling not themselves can and will make a dog irritable, especially in a new environment. If everything is okay physically, then you can work on the training. Bear in mind, that three months is not a lot of time for a dog to feel secure in a new home, especially when he has to adjust to so many new masters all at the same time. Each member of the family has to establish their own rank as an alpha leader, not just you. The best way to start is to put him on a leash and collar, not a harness. Train him to do the basic commands, sit, stay, lie down. Each time he listens and does them, give him a reward. If he doesn't listen and do it each time you tell him to, then hold the leash and walk back and forth with him a couple of times and then stop and tell him to sit again. It doesn't matter if he sits to your left or in front of you at this point, you just want him to be tuned into and do as you ask. If he doesn't listen, do not reprimand him, but rather ignore him and start all over again...first walking back and forth (this teaches him that he has to follow you and not do his own thing or ignore you) and then the sit command again. Once he listens the first time with the sit command, reward him, then walk back and forth again, say sit, reward, and now give the down command. The down command is very important, because most dogs feel more submissive in this position, which is what you want. Once you have him listening to you, then each member of the family should also do a one on one training session with him. I advise that no else is in the room for each session. You want him to understand that he has to obey each member and he is at the bottom of the totem pole in the pack. The lesson should only be for 15 minutes twice a day by each family member. Most dogs respond within two to three weeks and learn that they are not the alpha member of the pack. Even if Ricky knows these commands already, it is still important to do the training. Also their is a great video with the Dog Whisperer called "Killer Chi" within an hour he had this very bad biting dog submit and love the owners son. He did it with pretty much the same method of reward good behavior and ignore bad behavior. I used this method on my Eskie, who can also be one person dogs, and she was originally deemed to be out down because of her aggression. Today she loves people and you wouldn't know that she is the same dog. It doesn't matter what breed a dog is, all dogs can be trained to understand their place in a family pack, even Chi's. It also helps during the training period that you do not over mommy Ricky. (I know that this can be difficult because they are so done cute and you want to cuddle them all the time) but you want to establish that Ricky is a dog first, then the xtra cuddles and pampering can come later. Also, I wouldn't give him any treats except to use them for trining time only. Hope this helps, and keep us posted on whatever you decide to do. Peggy & The Girls From: Kavi <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sat, October 23, 2010 8:41:09 PM Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Ricky Needs A New Home, He Is To Aggressive With Family :( Hi when we went to the ASAP to get a dog, we wanted a family dog. Ricky was not aggressive to us in any way at the shelter. only when we got him home and since then. I read up on the Alfa dog right away... and I became the alfa to Ricky. He knows not to mess with me. I have never and will never hit or harm Ricky. Just using voice / noise controls Ricky with me. This is very very hard for me. My husband keeps saying just work / train with him more. We are not talking little nips here, we are talking full bloom unpredictable biting & breaking skin! If I had to find him a home, it will kill me, cause I love Ricky he is my baby... but I love my family too. I have to give this some thought... maybe talk to a dog trainer about it to see if they have ideas as to how to stop his aggressive biting. thanks Shanna --- On Sat, 10/23/10, Darcy Jacobs <[email protected]> wrote: From: Darcy Jacobs <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Ricky Needs A New Home, He Is To Aggressive With Family :( To: [email protected] Date: Saturday, October 23, 2010, 5:22 PM cant the family just leave him be and only you be his master? darcy --- On Sat, 10/23/10, Kavi <[email protected]> wrote: From: Kavi <[email protected]> Subject: [Chihuahuas] Ricky Needs A New Home, He Is To Aggressive With Family :( To: "Chihuahuas" <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, October 23, 2010, 8:17 PM Hi Everyone Well, I have tried to work with Ricky for his aggressive behavior towards family members, but its gone to far today. My 19 year old daughter was putting his t-shirt on, then went to pick him up and he totally became angry and grabbed her hand between the thumb and finger and would not let go. He broke the skin on her hand. The other day he tried to bite my husband when he went to pet him. I am the ONLY one Ricky will not be angry with. But my family can not live in fear of a dog. I have never had a chihuahua before, or a dog that was aggressive in any way. I will be looking for a qualified home for him where its just one adult that does not have much company. That is about the only place he could live. He is just unpredictable as to what will set him off. I will not take him back to the ASPCA... I am not sure if I can find the right home for him even. As much as I love him, my family must come first. If anyone has any ideas or places I can call, please let me know. He is 4 years old and I guess just set in his ways. I have had him not even 3 months yet. I might see about a chihuahua rescue. :):) Shanna
