Thanks a lot Peggy .. I'll try that with Jewel. On Saturday, July 13, 2013, Peggy & The Girls <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >
</mail/u/0/s/?view=att&th=13fda2e8f686c1fd&attid=0.1&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1> > > > > Congratulations on your new babies! Sounds like Jewel is just acting like a normal puppy. Chasing is quite normal for a puppy and just plain fun for them. Also consider that chi's have a prey drive, so again normal. Don't know where you live, but I would never have a chi off leash unless it is an enclosed area and even then that they are monitored. Depending upon where you live, if there is any type of traffic, a puppy's curiosity can get them into trouble especially when they are chasing something. Then you also have Birds of Prey, and other wild life that can snatch them up. So I am glad that you decided to leash them on your walks. > > When she stops to growl at a bike, a car or other dog, put her in a sit in front of you, but both of you have to have your back to the object that she is barking at. Give her a sharp NO! until she settles down, then continue your walk. She's a puppy and you will have to do this consistently for the next couple of months, but she will learn to ignore things. Chis are puppy's until they are 18-24 months old. During this time, everything they learn will be instilled in them through out their lives, so thread carefully with the training and make sure you have the method down pat and are willing to see it through for many more months before you even start a new method. > > Peggy > > > > > -------Original Message------- > > From: leakaweah > Date: 7/13/2013 5:27:23 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Chihuahuas] Agressive Sister > > > > Hi everyone, > > I'm new to this group. > > We adopted two chi mixes a few months ago when they were around 9 weeks old. They are from the same litter. Nugget was the runt of the 6 puppy litter, and Jewel was one of the bigger ones. > > I live part time on a farm at an intentional community. I frequently walk through the community with Jewel and Nugget, and for the first few weeks it worked beautifully. The two would follow me everywhere and were friendly with everyone they came upon. However, for the last few weeks (they are now ~4 months old), Jewel, the larger sister, has started chasing people & bicycles, usually barking and growling, so I had to start keeping her on a leash. > > I'd very much like to go back to the beautiful times of walking with the two of them off-leash. Has anyone gone through this and figured out how to stop the chasing/barking/growling behavior, or can anyone recommend a particular training method? > > I've trained them both to sit, stay and come, but all that is out the window for Jewel when she is in "attack mode". Jewel still follows me, and eventually will return after a chase scene (but I don't allow this to happen anymore because I always put her on a leash when we're out on the farm. > > Jewel remains an extremely sweet and obedient puppy when she is not after someone, and never acts agressively towards me or my husband. > > I read "The Dog Listener" and have tried to incorporate the behaviors that signify myself as the alpha. > > We have mostly kept them together, though they sleep in separate crates and eat from separate bowls. We've heard it's important to keep them separate a lot as puppies to avoid them becoming a bonded pair, but we haven't followed through with that intention very well. We are just beginning, however to have them separated during the day for 2-3 days a week. > > We may try taking one or both of them to an obedience class at some point. > > Any advice anyone has would be most appreciated. > > I've posted a couple of photos under a new folder "Nugget & Jewel" > > Thanks! > > Brenda > > > >
