What do you do for a mean old dog?

[mpg]

Is there anything you can do to make a mean dog (Chihuahua) into a nicer fun loving dog? My parents never taught it right, they give it treats when it steals something. But I run after it and grab it from her. She'll bite anyone that disturbs her while eating, I don't like having company over with it either. Its horrible. Attack of the taco bell dog!

Its only nice to my parents and it doesn't really bug me unless i interfer with her. My parents feed her human food, no dog food except treats. I was thinking of overfeeding her or something to tone down the years but I think thats cruel. Any thoughts? I would think professional training would be expensive. She still craps and pees on training pads, parents are really lazy with this dog.

 

[vi edit]

Some dogs are just annoying little pissants that never will "chill out". For them there is only one solution....

Bullet in da head (Rage Against the Machine)

 

[sharkeeper]

Unfortunately, that breed is very unresponsive to correction when older and hasn't been raised properly. They can be mean as sh!t! You could always have its teeth filed down to reduce the severity of the bite wounds.

Cheers!

 

[mpg]

I was thinking of calling the pound and have it taken away then tell my parents it "ran" away. I do have a heart but I know things would be better around the house without her.

 

[Azraele]

I know the feeling. My in-law has a chihuahua, and it is nice only to her, and she has it so cowed it's unfortunate. She is affectionate, but when she tries to get attention from my in-law she snaps at her to "sit down!" or "be still!" This dog totally adores and relies on her, to the point where on the rare occasion that she leaves the house, the dog huddles on her bed shaking until she returns. The dog also bites, has bitten me on several occasions, not viscious bites, never broke the skin, but a bite nonetheless. She also pees and poops on the floor, and the inlaw never picks it up. It gets old fast. I would like to take the time to train this dog, but I can't stay near the inlaw for long because I'm allergic to the smoke of her cigarettes (the dog refuses go anywhere away from the inlaw). One minute with the inlaw equals one day of misery for me. I can't breathe, I sneeze, choke, cough, sputter, watery eyes, and then I feel like crap the rest of the day. She refuses to put in an air filter or open a window, so no help there. I'm at a loss as to what to do myself.

mpg: what you can do for the dog is first of all, try to get it eating doggie food. It's healthier for the pet. When the dog is bad, scold it and refuse to give it any attention. When it is good, lavish attention on it. Try and train her to go outside. Put a training mat in the backyard so she gets the idea that going outside is good or you could just put some poop out there where she can smell it. Let her out several times a day and when she goes outdoors, praise her. Slowly wean her off the training pads. You can also try some cursoy obedience training, such as the command "sit." It's a fairly easy command for a dog to learn, you simply push their bottom into a sitting position (don't be rpough), say sit, and give them a treat. Repeat the process until she gets the hang of it. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of treats, but she'll learn. Also, you may want to discuss with your parents your concerns. She does sound alike a "problem dog" right now, and her behavior needs to be a bit more on the acceptable level.

 

[amb#cog]

Time to take that dog "hunting".

 

[Pacfanweb]

If you do that, your parents should call the nearest prison and have you hauled away. If it's their dog and they love it, let it be. It doesn't matter if you like it or not. If you don't care if it dies (which is what will happen if it goes to the pound), do the world a favor and never, ever own any animal.

 

[Delusion2001]

feed it tacos. that will calm it down (taco bell chihuahua. hehe)

 

[dennilfloss]

Maybe let the Mean Mod adopt it?

Safety dance (Men without Hats)

 

[Namuna]

<< She'll bite anyone that disturbs her while eating >>


I'd bite you too if you disturbed me eating!

Azraele has some solid advice for you, if you're willing to work on it. But it won't be easy, I get the feeling your parents won't be much help (if ANY help at all).

But whatever the case, you're going to have to accept and learn to live with that dog (since your parents don't seem to have a problem with it).

 

[mpg]

Azraele i like your suggestions right now i'm gonna go out and buy some dog food. Do you have any suggestions to what might taste like human food? hehe

 

[mpg]

Well I mean she'll guard a treat all day and never eat it if you try to go around it she'll bite your hand off.

 

[Azraele]

mpg: I don't know what doggie food tastes similar to human food, lol, I've never tried it to compare However, I would suggest that you start off with what I like to call &quot;doggie junk food.&quot; That's the food with loads of bright colors and, from my experience, dogs just love it. A few examples are Kibbles and Bits and Chefs Blend. They are not as healthy as some brands of dog food (Science Diet or Iams or Eukanaba) but since she is used to human food, the bright/tasty brands are good for a start. You don't want to go out and buy Iams only to have her snub her nose at it. You can slowly introduce her to the healthy stuff once you can get her eating doggie food. You may also want to buy a few different brands/flavors. Try them singly or mix and match, whatever she will eat. To get her used to dog food, you may also want to put a small amount of the human food she's used to in her bowl along with the dog food. You can also try canned dog food. She might take to that more readily than dry at first. Good luck.

As for her guarding treats, my inlaws chihuahua hides treats and food all over the house. Seems to be something this breed likes to do. As long as she doesn't express inappropriate behavior when guarding, ie biting, go ahead and let her guard. If she bites, though, she loses the right to the treat.

 

[mpg]

Ok she hasn't been fed table food since last time we've talked. This morning i put two small peices of hot dog in her dog food and she ate a cuple peices of dog foot (barely any). I put the dog food everywhere around the house, I even tried force feeding it to her a cuple times today. She didn't budge. Will she eventually start eating it once she is starving or really hungry? I lock her up in a room or outside with food once we have dinner, I put food with her when she sleeps and during the day and there is food always in her dog bowl. I'm using the kibble &amp; bits and the come n get it and some dog food in a can. Also she was outside today and it looks like some insect bit her eye lash or she ran into something, I don't know it was bleeding.

 

[mpg]

She likes to wait for my parents to come to dootie or peepee. So i tried putting her outside like a cuple minutes after they arive for like 10-15 min outside and she'll run in and goto the bathroom.

 

[Azraele]

mpg: Try not to force her right now. It will probably just make her more stubborn. Patience is the key, you can't expect a turn-around overnight. Keep letting her out, get your parents to stand out there with her and a doggie pad if necessary. She did eat a little bit of dog food, which is encouraging. Don't give her any people food unless it is with dog food. Remember, she's accustomed to people food, you have to slowly wean her away from it. More importantly, see if you can get your parents cooperation on this. If they still giver ger people food or allow her to go inside, then she will get mixed messages as to how to properly behave. Also, if you catch her going on the piddle pad, take her outside. That way she will develop an association with going and outside. Remember to praise her consistently for anything you consider good behavior. A short &quot;NO!&quot; and then ignore her for bad behavior.

<Edit> as for her eye, keep a close eye on it. If it's just a minor scratch, it's probably nothing to worry about. If you want, you can try cleaing it with a q-tip and hydrogen peroxide (made sure that doesn't get in her eye). If the scratch actually goes onto the eyeball itself, she should probably see a vet.

 

[mpg]

It looks fine her eye, she actually ate some dog food tonight on her own like 2 or 3 peices. She hasn't had any people food except this morning in her dog food. I put her outside and inside, and I also suggested my mom to go outside with her for comfort but she didn't.

 

[mpg]

shes only eating dog food now, but only the soft stuff of the kibbles and bits. Is there any healthy dog food thats soft? Thanks Azraele.

 

[Azraele]

Glad to hear she's improved

As for soft, healthy food, I'll check into it. For now, just let her enjoy her Kibbles 'N Bits. It's healthier for her than people food. You can try mixing some healthy food in with the Kibbles 'N Bits to get her used to it that way. BTW, how are her potty practices coming along?

 

[Azraele]

You might also consider giving her something hard to crunch on since she's eating soft food, like a doggie rawhide chew or a dog biscuit/bone. This will help scrape tartar off her teeth and keep them clean(er).

 

[GasX]

Anyone remember the movie, Ruthless People?

&quot;Muffy meet Adolf.

Adolf EAT Muffy!&quot;

 

[ArkAoss]

the movie fierce creatures was good too. what kind of stuff does it steal?? dog's really hate being ignored. Of course don't ignore it too much, a chihuahua can only get stepped on so many times. we have a smaller dog, sheltie collie size, but he learns to stay quiet while we're working in the kitchen. but if we work on the floor, like when we were putting down tile, he couldn't help watching over our shoulders. we had a friend take him to a very nice kennel to be pampered. we work (jobs) soo much the dog deserved a nice time.

 

[Phil21]

Iams/Eukanuba makes some good soft dog food. Science Diet as well. Theres also another brand thats very good, but man I can't remember it.

You should generally mix the soft with hard food. Feeding soley soft is bad, but a mix is fairly healthy.

Also the attention thing is paramount and cannot be stressed enough. If she does something bad, DO NOT give her ANY attention other than the simple &quot;NO.&quot; or whatever. Just ignore her and leave her presence if possible.

Same if she goes inside. Don't let her see you clean it up. That will just mean &quot;hey, I do this, and I get attention! yay!&quot;. But if you see her go outside, praise her and lavish her with attention.

Been a LONG time since I worked at the pet store..

Good luck.

-Phil

 

[Azraele]

<<Iams/Eukanuba makes some good soft dog food>>

I know those are good brands, but by soft, do you mean wet or soft dry?

 

[Zapster]

My neighbors had a similar dog. It bit a kid and spoke to the kids parents about putting the dog down. What the did instead was to have the VET remove all the teeth from the dog and to perscribe some doggy downers. This really made a change in the dog and it was sort of humorous when the dog came up to you and started gumming your leg.