Hey Everyone, I have 2 different problems but they kind of go together so I am posting them both here. The first problem is with my 7 month old Pomeranian, she is a very active, very hyper pup and is pretty much non-stop. I have tried training her and she has done fairly well with the basics, my problem with her is that she is always nipping and biting, I have worked with her on this consistently and it seems to always fail, she'll do good for a little while then it comes back in full force. I have read the e-books on this and have tried every training technique out there but they never fully work. Can anyone give me some ideas on how to break this habit?

Okay my other problem plays into this, I received a phone call about a week ago about a female chihuahua that was dumped off in the middle of a street and needed either a home or a foster and not being able to turn away an animal in need I took her in. The lady I got her from told me that she had some aggression issue, especially with food, but I don't think she told me the extent of it. This poor pup is a mess, it is obvious that whomever owned her abused her and I really need help to try and break her of this fear she has.

I believe she is obsessive compulsive, she growls if my pup goes near her when she has anything of value to her, be it food, a bone, a toy, she was even growling at me if I tried petting her but I push that issue with her by picking up the treat and then giving it back or touching it while I am petting her, I try to show her that I am not going to take anything from her. The obsessive part comes in because whether I am petting her, holding her, whatever she is constantly looking at that bone or treat out of the corner of her eye, like she thinks it's just going to disappear and if my pup is walking around she guards it with her life, it has to be right by her face when she is sleeping and if she is up and running around she will keep going back to where she left it to make sure it is still there, I have never dealt with a behavior like this before.

It seems to me that she was in a home with a lot of dogs and was the one that got picked on all the time, she constantly shakes and I know they say that's common in chis but I would think it should stop at some point, she has only been with us since Sunday and I know this is not going to change over night but I am really afraid she is going to lay into my Pom, I mean my Pom is clueless, she thinks when the chi starts growling that shes playing then she starts that play growling and hopping around and then she starts nipping, she'll nip my chis ears and legs and my chi actually went after her luckily I was there to stop it before it escalated.

The chi has tried playing with my pom but once she starts that nipping the mood changes and the chi stiffens up like a board and just wants out, she'll try to go to higher ground but my Pom being my pom will block her still thinking it's all a game. I did introduce them properly and they are together while I am at work and during the night but is this a mistake, they both seem fine when I come home but could something trigger an aggressive outbreak and my Pom get hurt? They both sleep the entire time I am gone, the chi is crate trained and has been seeking refuge in the crate I have for her but I don't want her living in a crate even though she goes in there herself and the door in opened I want both of these dogs to be comfortable and enjoy their freedom.

I know it's early and my chi has only been here a few days but I don't want to let this go and have an escalated situation and fear with her, what is the best advice for this situation, please help, thanks

Both dogs need crates, and both dogs need to be separated.
One, or both dogs are going to be injured if you don't keep them apart. Neither dog is enjoying their freedom right now. They are making each other miserable. Crates do not make dogs miserable- granted, they may throw quite a fit until they adjust to the crate, but after that they are very content to spend time in their crate.

Most dogs sleep a fair amount of the time- they might as well be doing it in their crate.


It is very easy to say that a dog has been abused- however, a small dog like a Chihuahua is unlikely to survive abuse. More likely is the fact that the dog has weak nerves, and was abandoned as a result.

The growling you are seeing, is not a result of OCD. It's plain and simple dominance and resource guarding behaviors. It needs to be nipped in the bud, now.

Not only are crates severely in order to prevent the dogs from fighting, but you also need to step in and become the two-legged pack leader.


Biting will be much easier to curb once the dog respects you as a pack leader; until then, you're really fighting an uphill battle.

Take some time to read these articles:
First and foremost, for the Chihuahua
http://leerburg.com/pdf/dealingwithdominantdog.pdf

http://leerburg.com/pdf/packstructure.pdf

http://leerburg.com/pdf/introducingdogs.pdf

http://leerburg.com/pdf/raisingtwopuppies.pdf

I agree w/Alyssa on everything except the weak nerves. I think the Chi is being a Chi. She's new to the routine and she'll be damned if she'll let anyone take her stuff. The guarding is fairly common. They can be very dominant. Widget and Caleb cannot be near each other after 5 years b/c Widget is the only dog who is so dominant that he will NEVER submit...everyone else decided long ago to just let Caleb be the canine alpha.

I'd crate them or keep them otherwise separated until you can make some headway w/both of them.

Correct the Chi. She's wrong, no matter how little and sad-looking she is. She needs to learn that sniping will not be tolerated. However, you need to acknowledge that your Pom may be inadvertantly causing this w/her overexuberance. Widget does that stiffening thing to-for about half a second until he goes ape$hi+ on the dog who's annoying.

On another note, you don't really "know" what your Pom thinks and thinking you do can be a problem. Those two are reading each other a whole lot more accurately than you're reading either of them. Mark my words;-)

I don't know much about Chihuahuas as a breed.

Is it normal for them to shake all the time?

Hello, need some advice on a two year old lab. Bob and I live on 7 acres in Texas next to a long horn ranch. Bob likes to roll in cow manure. O have closed eveery hole in every fence but now he is digging under them to get to the prize. Any answers out there? Thanks Danny

Shoot the dog. Just kidding.

Start another thread and I'm sure people will be happy to answer your question.

You can start another thread by going here:
http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=newpost&Board=134

Welcome aboard.

 Quote: alyssa myracle

I don't know much about Chihuahuas as a breed.

Is it normal for them to shake all the time?

Sorry-forgot to address that. In a word, yes. Widget shakes when he wants something very badly that I won't give him, or when he really wants to attack someone (canine or feline) and I won't let him. That can seem like all the time, LOL! I have seen many who shake almost constantly...other tiny breeds do this too.

They do tend to outwardly show signs of stress more than other larger breeds, but I still wouldn't be so quick to throw out the "bad nerves" phrase as a reason for abandonment.

 Quote: shannon dippold

she has only been with us since Sunday ...
I did introduce them properly and they are together while I am at work and during the night ...
I know it's early and my chi has only been here a few days...

You have contradicted yourself. If your dog has only been with you a few days, and you are leaving them ALONE and UNSUPERVISED while loose together, you have NOT introduced them properly at all.

Please read the articles in the other post.

Also, your 7 month old is being a puppy and the other dog doesn't appreciate puppy behaviour. I have to keep my 15-month-old separate from the other dogs because I don't like seeing the disagreements.

 Quote:

is this a mistake, they both seem fine when I come home but could something trigger an aggressive outbreak and my Pom get hurt?

yes. You have brought a strange dog, that you know is aggressive, into your house and left it alone loose with your puppy.

 Quote:

They both sleep the entire time I am gone

How do you know this?

The others have given you great advice. This Chihuahua has issues that you will need to work on. She will need to understand that you are the pack leader and she needs to be integrated into the family. The puppy still needs to mature and learn manners. Ed even says he doesn't let his pups play with his adult dogs until they are over a year old.

The Pack Leadership DVD is great and will help you with the possessiveness.

 Quote: Alyssa Myracle

I don't know much about Chihuahuas as a breed.

Is it normal for them to shake all the time?

More than half of them I've seen shook like they were tweakin' on meth.

*chuckle*