Hi Marina, I can think of a couple of other possibilities....was she ever accidently kicked or had a toe or tail stepped on, even within the past couple of months? That could be making her feel a little insecure and the growl is a warning that human feet are getting to close to her. Have you also ruled out any physical discomfort such as legs, knees or back problems by having the Vet give her a real good check over? Even a bad tooth, or sore gums, or arthritis, unbalanced sugar level, change in diet, can make a dog grouchy.
-------Original Message------- From: Marina CB Date: 4/4/2011 8:44:02 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Chihuahuas] Temperment Hey everyone, I have a four year old chihuahua named Lizzy. She is a Service Dog, so she travels with me very often. In the last few weeks I've noticed a change in her temperment. Usually when she's sitting at my feet she will simply lay down on her mat. Lately I've noticed that she's watching and even growling, at the people who walk by. Luckily no one has seemed to notice. Once she even tried to snap, but her leash is very short when we're stopped and sitting so she couldn't get to them. The person was walking by and didn't notice. She's been very...grouchy for lack of a better word. She doesn't want to be petted or picked up, even by people she's always known. Her attitude towards me has not changed and she's just as loving as ever. And she grown very protective and possesive of me. These are all pretty recent changes in the last few weeks. Her trainer told me that the protective and possesiveness probably stem from her duties as a Service Dog and shouldn't cause any problems. Her aggression and...grouchiness are another story. According to her trainer, chihuahuas tend to get that way at a certain age. What are your experiences with this? Did your dogs become less friendly to others as they aged? If this is a permanent change that chihuahuas often go through I want to know so I can make some simple changes, like a mesh muzzle and tempermant training, to ensure that she and others are safe when we are out in public places. I know there are a lot of fake Service Dog teams out there that give SDs a bad name and I would for Lizzy and I to have an incident that makes other SD teams look bad!!
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