[Jas12]

Hi everyone,

My 3 year 1/2 chihuahua just bit my hand outside and I am really upset😢. The issue has been for a long time that he LOVES to lick pee from other dogs (probably female pee as he is male.) I gave up on trying to stop him to do this as he will growl at me all the time if I try to make him stop (i.e. I pick him up) while he is in the midst of savouring and licking pee. During our walk today, I thought he was done licking pee and he just lifted up his paw up b/c I though he was just cold from snow. But he not only growled at me but BIT ME. Thank goodness I had a thick pair of gloves on but I was in shock. He did not break skin but there is a tiny spot of blood underneath sealed skin. Does anyone have any helpful tips on what to do? I would be so grateful, thanks. Perhaps wear a type of anti-bite glove for now during this pandemic?

 

[MikeyChi]

I just joined and this is the first post that caught my attention. I was surprised that a chi can even bite hard enough to make a blood blister. My chi is very defensive over things he thinks are his own when he thinks you are trying to take it from him (or take HIM from IT). He's never bitten but he's very vocal. When I walk my chi, I walk him on a retractable leash and when he gets into something he shouldn't, I gently hold the retract button and gently pull a little. That makes the leash "click" and he knows that means "stop doing that". My suggestion would be to use a technique like that to distract/pull him away gently and then once he gets his mind off that activity and it's not priority 1 in his mind, then you can pick him up.

Mike

 

[Jas12]

I just joined and this is the first post that caught my attention. I was surprised that a chi can even bite hard enough to make a blood blister. My chi is very defensive over things he thinks are his own when he thinks you are trying to take it from him (or take HIM from IT). He's never bitten but he's very vocal. When I walk my chi, I walk him on a retractable leash and when he gets into something he shouldn't, I gently hold the retract button and gently pull a little. That makes the leash "click" and he knows that means "stop doing that". My suggestion would be to use a technique like that to distract/pull him away gently and then once he gets his mind off that activity and it's not priority 1 in his mind, then you can pick him up.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks so much for your feedback. The only issue with the retractable leash is that he had a bad experience with it. When I first got him and tried it, he was scared of the leash. And then he started running and screaming because the noise of the handle on the ground when he ran freaked him out because he thought something was attacking him. I can try it again I guess (as long as I hold the handle at ALL times!) but he is also very hard to tame outside so I ended up getting a PetSafe leash Easy Walk® Harness, No Pull Dog Harness so that he would not pull as much as when we had a harness leash. He walks ME and not the other way around. I would like to get his attention on something better than another female dog's pee or another dog (like a piece of real chicken) but it does not work. He is wild outside and listens to no orders even though I trained him inside the house and in the backyard. Inside the house, he is pretty obedient and a very good dog and listens so well - he's so intelligent. It's impossible to tame him outside though. I've only walked him once with hubby since it happened since I have been scared to walk him and it's been really cold outside lately. I think he's getting used to me not walking him lately but I feel so bad as a chihuahua mommy and love this little one dearly.

 

[MikeyChi]

Hmm. That's strange. That's beyond my experience. Maybe someone else will know why your chi acts like that outside. There must be some sort of trigger. Maybe the bad experience with the leash is making him anxious outside. I know my chi remembers everything. I think you need someone with more training experience to suggest ways to calm him down outside. I didn't know about the fear of that leash so you are probably better off not using something he's afraid of if he's already acting differently outside. Have you tried walking him around inside with the leash on? If he acts crazy like he does outside, then it's possible there is something about him being leashed that sets him off.

My chi is very afraid of feet if you lift your foot. If you lift your foot to check the bottom of your shoe or just don't see him standing behind you and you barely brush against him with your foot, he tucks his tail and looks sad like he did something wrong. I'm afraid his previous owner before he was rescued abused (kicked) him. They are very smart and have an excellent memory! Sometimes it's hard to figure out the reason why they behave differently in some conditions but I bet it is based on something he's remembering.

Mike