My Pixy tends to express herself by her growling. If she is mad she will growl, if she wants to come up on the couch she growls, etc. She even barks at me sometimes. Is this normal? does this mean that she doesn't think I am the alpha?
Is it normal for your chi to growl at you?
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This is a habit you need to try to break - none of mine growl or bark for attention they usually just jump on top of you and start licking your face 
you need to let her know you are in charge and this sort of behaviour will not be rewarded it is very sinilar to teaching children.
you need to let her know that you are alpha dog try laying her on her back in your arms and if she squirms and squirms or growls this is because she thinks shes boss - so you just need to talk nice and hold her on her back until she stops squirming once she does this really praise her she will soon get it. :wave:
you need to let her know you are in charge and this sort of behaviour will not be rewarded it is very sinilar to teaching children.you need to let her know that you are alpha dog try laying her on her back in your arms and if she squirms and squirms or growls this is because she thinks shes boss - so you just need to talk nice and hold her on her back until she stops squirming once she does this really praise her she will soon get it. :wave:
That is exactly what that means...if she is growing and barking at you, its because she wants you to pay attention to her because she views herself as the alpha.
Though I agree that you need to show your the alpha and hold her on her back, I would suggest not speaking nicely to them while doing so. The correction is not suppose to be a pleasant experience, nor is it a negative experience. When other dogs correct eachother they dont do it in a nice sweet way or an overly agressive harsh way...they just correct eachother, basically you will do what I tell you because I am in charge...no if's, and's or but's about it. Once the dog is calm the reward is that you let it back up. Nothing more needs to be said. If you talk sweet to the dog all they will hear is that calming tone and think "hey this is pretty nice...if I bark and act all nasty she will flip me over and talk all nice and sweet to me". Again, a correction is just that, a correction....its not negative, its not positive, its just telling them that they will not act out and that you are the boss...period.
If your chi growls at you do NOT look at her, do not talk to her, dont touch her, just completely ignore her. The moment you give eye contact while she is misbehaving you have just rewarded that behavior because she has gotten your attention. If she becomes very pushy about getting your attention you just calmy but assertavly put her on her back and say either "no" or "enough", whatever you want your cue word to be to tell her to knock it off. Hold her there until she is completely relaxed...no biting, no barking, no growling, no moving, just total relaxation. Once that happens you can just let her up. She might not be happy with you, but thats because she is use to getting her way all the time and now she cannot.
Wow, I feel like I have been saying this a lot lately. I just had two private lessons with agressive dogs, only these dogs were much older and were known biters....much worse then your pup but this is what is ahead of you if you do not nip this in the butt now! Stop this pushy behavior before it becomes a serious problem. If you have other members in your family they need to do the same thing you are....consistancy is the key and if there is no consistancy then your dog will never learn how to behave.
Hope this helps!
-Jessica
Though I agree that you need to show your the alpha and hold her on her back, I would suggest not speaking nicely to them while doing so. The correction is not suppose to be a pleasant experience, nor is it a negative experience. When other dogs correct eachother they dont do it in a nice sweet way or an overly agressive harsh way...they just correct eachother, basically you will do what I tell you because I am in charge...no if's, and's or but's about it. Once the dog is calm the reward is that you let it back up. Nothing more needs to be said. If you talk sweet to the dog all they will hear is that calming tone and think "hey this is pretty nice...if I bark and act all nasty she will flip me over and talk all nice and sweet to me". Again, a correction is just that, a correction....its not negative, its not positive, its just telling them that they will not act out and that you are the boss...period.
If your chi growls at you do NOT look at her, do not talk to her, dont touch her, just completely ignore her. The moment you give eye contact while she is misbehaving you have just rewarded that behavior because she has gotten your attention. If she becomes very pushy about getting your attention you just calmy but assertavly put her on her back and say either "no" or "enough", whatever you want your cue word to be to tell her to knock it off. Hold her there until she is completely relaxed...no biting, no barking, no growling, no moving, just total relaxation. Once that happens you can just let her up. She might not be happy with you, but thats because she is use to getting her way all the time and now she cannot.
Wow, I feel like I have been saying this a lot lately. I just had two private lessons with agressive dogs, only these dogs were much older and were known biters....much worse then your pup but this is what is ahead of you if you do not nip this in the butt now! Stop this pushy behavior before it becomes a serious problem. If you have other members in your family they need to do the same thing you are....consistancy is the key and if there is no consistancy then your dog will never learn how to behave.
Hope this helps!
-Jessica
Jess , you just need to write that out somewhere so you can copy and paste it to us :lol:
Cute Pixy I am going through a time right now w/ Mikey. He can be very agressive. Well, today I put him on his back b/c he growled at me. It took a good while for him to give up. He would snap, growl try to bite then he would stop a minute then do it again. It took a few minutes for him to give up. Just if you think she's going to bite where a sweatshirt and keep it on your hand ,that's what I did b/c I knew he was going to try and bite me and he has sharp puppy teeth. He got very upset w/ me after but I think he is over it for the moment.
Cute Pixy I am going through a time right now w/ Mikey. He can be very agressive. Well, today I put him on his back b/c he growled at me. It took a good while for him to give up. He would snap, growl try to bite then he would stop a minute then do it again. It took a few minutes for him to give up. Just if you think she's going to bite where a sweatshirt and keep it on your hand ,that's what I did b/c I knew he was going to try and bite me and he has sharp puppy teeth. He got very upset w/ me after but I think he is over it for the moment.
I have been following your instructions and so far its gotten better. I ignore her when she growls and she eventually stops. She is starting to learn that it wont get her attention. Also, I put her on her back several time a day. She first moves a lot but then stops completely and sometimes falls asleep. Thanks for the help!!
My dogs know I'm the boss at this house, and I taught Chiquita from early on that what I say goes, and if I want to take away her food, I can, because I'm the boss. I can always reach down and take away her food bowl while she is eating and she will not growl or bite me. It is very important to teach them who the pack leader is, because there is always a leader, and if you don't establish yourself as being it, one of the dogs will!
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this post i found very helpful as honey had me by the nose the other day so i just said no in a different tone,but last night she was sitting near my hubby on the sofa when she come near me and nipped me on my arm which was sore so i gave her into trouble,so she went back over to my hubby for a cuddle,lol so i gave him into trouble for pampering her when id just given her into trouble.
i do think she has picked my hubby as the fav though,lol
i do think she has picked my hubby as the fav though,lol
What a great thread! I am a little embarrassed to tell you that Lola has been growling at me, and I really don't take it serious, we have been laughing at her cuz she is so tiny and it looks so funny cuz she is so not mean what so ever. But, Lola growls when I put her in the kennel at night. She cries and then she growls. Me and Hubby lay there and giggle. (she is right next to my bed) We ignore her. I just started the laying at the back thing too, and that really works when needed.
Yeah. Peanut has growled at me too. But very rare for her to actually do it to me. THe first time I heard her growl was when I was saying no and pointing my finger at her. She was biting me cuz she's teething, only 3 months old, and she bite hard, so I said no and pointed my finget at her.. I found out right away, she does not like it when I point my finger at her. I've been trying several techniques but saying no is the main thing. And bad girl. She doesn't bite hard anymore, just softly, to play. Although now she is whining. She did this once when we went over my mother-in laws house, for the first time. She wanted to be held for the most part. BUt I did put her in her carrier when we were eating and she was a very good girl. BUt when I let her out, she would not whine but more like cry cuz it seemed like she was scared. Then we took her to the park for the first time, she cried again. She didn't want to be walking. She wanted me to hold her. Although I have heard she shouldn't be out until she gets all her shots. That was the first and last time, until she gets all her shots. BUt my point is, does she cry cuz she's scared and just need to get used to it? Or have I totally spoiled her? She hardlyt ever whines or cries at home and I never put her on my lap unless she wants to be there. Most of the time she's playing on her own.
Hi, I just got that book, the Chihuahua handbook and it says there that there are two types of growling. One is play growling, when the tail is wagging and the dog is excited (perhaps because you are playing a game with her .) The agressive type growl is not accompanied by tail wagging and involves an agressive pose.
Poppy growls when we play a game of tag with her, or chase. We get tired before she does and then she asks for us to play more by bending down on her front legs and sticking her butt in the air and growling, whilst wagging her tail! This is playful growling and is called the play-bow position.
She doesnt growl other than that!
Poppy growls when we play a game of tag with her, or chase. We get tired before she does and then she asks for us to play more by bending down on her front legs and sticking her butt in the air and growling, whilst wagging her tail! This is playful growling and is called the play-bow position.
She doesnt growl other than that!
Recently Baby has growled a couple of times at me. Mostly though I think it was because she was tired and I was keeping her up (we were getting ready for her to go somewhere) and she might of been hot in her sweater, and I think I was bugging her by kissing her too much. :lol: But it was funny anyway. But the holding her on her back thing works pretty well and settles her down when she is acting up. Although she always looks mad when I do it. :wink:
Although she always looks mad when I do it. :wink:
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Auggie has never growled at me but he does the whine thing. I even take things right out of his mouth when he is outside and picks up something he shouldn't.
My 10 week old chi growls, snarls and bites me, quite ferociously, when I put clothes on her. It's not too bad now, but I don't want her to be like this when she is adult. She particulaly dislikes putting her head through the neckhole.
I have tried giving her one piece of her dry puppy food to keep her occupied, and then slipping on the T-shirt. This works Ok, and I'm hoping she will associate getting clothes on with the food.
Is this the right thing to do, or does anyone have any other suggestions?
I really want to be able to put clothes on her, as when we have the air conditioing on, it is too cold for her. So, it's not just that I want her to look cute (though that is part of it!)
I have tried giving her one piece of her dry puppy food to keep her occupied, and then slipping on the T-shirt. This works Ok, and I'm hoping she will associate getting clothes on with the food.
Is this the right thing to do, or does anyone have any other suggestions?
I really want to be able to put clothes on her, as when we have the air conditioing on, it is too cold for her. So, it's not just that I want her to look cute (though that is part of it!)
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From my personal experience Scooby snaps at anyone who tries to wake him or pick him up. He is only 9 weeks, so this is just him trying to become the pack leader and it ain't gonna happen! :lol: LOL Break them now before its to late, then you have a aggressive dogs on your hands fighting for the Alpha roll.
Marcus definitely thought he was suppose to be alpha and would seriously growl and bite. I tried the sharp no, laying him on his back, etc. Nothing worked very well so I finally gave him one swat with an empty christmas card envelope. Now "no" and a pointed finger are all it takes. He still likes to play growl but since it's harmless and done in fun when he's trying to get you to play I don't try to stop that one.
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