I've had my chihuahua pup (girl) a about a week now and she is getting more and more aggressive with me. she bits and nips me. some times when i'm on my bed, she will growl at me and run around the room like she is ready to attack me. why is she acting like this? is it normal?
2006-12-18 15:17:45 · 16 answers · asked by Bon 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
COMPLETELY NORMAL! She's at the age when they really start getting playful, almost all puppies do this at this age. She is playing with you. You need to teach her what is acceptable and what is not. When she is nipping, gently hold her mouth, make sure you have eye contact, and tell her easy or no bite. You'll have to repeat several times because she is a puppy and doing what is natural to her but be persistant and it will work. It's not cruel, don't hold hard or for long. It's worked for my puppy though now she'll still start to until someone says easy then she backs up a bit. Good luck!
2006-12-18 15:32:10 · answer #1 · answered by MasLoozinIt76 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's very VERY normal and you gotta correct her behaviour right away. Your chihuahua puppy is acting like this because she is in the time period where she is trying to establish dominance over you (or your family).
Dogs are pack animals by nature. There must be an alpha (leader) and the weakest in the pack. The weakest is the one who will always get picked on.
Your puppy is most likely testing you. She wants to see if you are the pack leader or is she the pack leader. This does not mean she hates you or anything. It simply means she's in the stage where she will try to be the dominant leader over your entire family.
She starts to show symptoms such as aggression. If you don't give her a particular toy or food she'll growl, bark, stare you down. When you call her she chooses not to come. She does what she wants and doesn't seem to care what you say.
This behaviour may be annoying and seem like a little problem now but it will eventually grow into a huge one. Your puppy needs to know that she is NOT the leader, it is you.
To tell her this you have to correct her behaviour immediately. The best way to train your puppy is to put her on a leash and let her walk around with the leash trailing on the floor-- this way if she shows disobedience or defiance you can quickly correct her by tugging on the leash.
If she barks at you you need to stand your ground and firmly say "No." Don't scream or yell, just firmly.
Running around and not listening to you is a big problem. Start by saying "come". If she doesn't do it, grab her leash and tug her to you.
Repeating these steps until your sure she knows that you are the leader of the household and not her will prevent you from facing disastrous events later on.
Believe me, I know =]
2006-12-18 15:25:20 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Are you sure it's an aggressive "I'm going to draw blood", thing or is she just playing? What other signs is she giving you? Are her ears back? Does the hair on her back stand up? Does she get really still and gives you a cold stare? Those are signs of aggression. Is she bowing down to you with her butt in the air? Does she jump around a lot? That means she's playing. If it's the second part, don't worry about it because that's normal puppy play. If it's the first part, I would recommend looking for a trainer to give you advice on what to do.
2006-12-18 15:23:55 · answer #3 · answered by freedove06 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Dove's got the right answer. Look at the body language that your dog is using. Play-bows and relaxed ears, and a lot of jumping around (even the zoomies!) are fun and natural for a puppy. Stiff legs, cold stares, raised hairs = all bad news, and you would want to get to a behaviorist asap.
Don't be spooked by play behaviors, if that's what they are. But be sure to go to a puppy socialization class or meetup in your area - these next few months are very imprtant for your pup, and it would be a shame for her to decide that other dogs are no good.
2006-12-18 15:54:54 · answer #4 · answered by Misa M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of people ask this question on here, and it is all with young puppies. My guess is that your puppy wants to know where she stands in the 'pack' She is testing you, and wants to be the alpha female. You should take her to puppy obedience classes to learn how to teach her that you are the head of the household, and that biting and growling are not acceptable. This is normal, and with obedience training she should be fine. Just make sure you get control of it while she is still young so this behavior does not continue.
What is funny is that a girl with a pit/rott mix asked this same question earlier and everyone told her it was because her puppy was an aggressive dog breed. It is just because they are young puppies and want to see where they stand.
2006-12-18 15:30:26 · answer #5 · answered by Stark 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your pup is playing. I know it may not seem that way. But when pups play with their littermates they nip and bite and growl and run away. When she runs away she wants you to chase her she is trying to engage you in her play. You need to firmly (not yelling) tell her "no bite" when she bites and nips at you. Give her a bone or toy to chew instead. I would tell my dog "no bite" then "switch" as I gave her the toy or bone. She is now almost 5 months old and occasionally during play she may need a "no bite" reminder for the most part I have no problem with her biting and nipping.
2006-12-18 15:26:30 · answer #6 · answered by ESPERANZA 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. My chihuahua pup is a girl and about 12 weeks old. She has gotten very VERY aggressive she has actually bit me and my husband. We havent done anything to make her this way either. We arent sure why or what to do about it either. Good luck!
2006-12-18 15:19:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
is this rather aggression, or is it familiar pup play? You took her faraway from the muddle too early, had she stayed longer, she may have discovered that a large number of this develop into irrelevant behaviour. i do not see it as aggression, she develop into taking area in that way inclusive of her muddle friends.. it truly is as a lot as you to redirect that style of play to at least some thing it extremely is proper. Is she a keeper?? isn't that some thing that you ought to have determined earlier you presented her abode? did not the breeder help you opt for the right pup on your household? in the adventure that they did, then you actually does no longer have topics till you create them your self. yet i believe that because you've a pup too youthful, then the breeder had no clue in any respect how that could actually help you opt for a pup.. for this reason issues flow undesirable... human beings getting the incorrect dogs, from undesirable breeders who positioned no idea into some thing and ought to careless who receives the pups..
2016-11-27 19:19:10 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chihuahua's are extremly aggresive dogs.It seems like the smaller the dog the bigger they think they are lol.I dont think she should be attacking you so what you can do is everytime she does that swat her butt not to hard cause she's a small dog but hard enough to let her know you mean buisness evetually she will get the point that what she's doing is a no no.
2006-12-18 16:14:50 · answer #9 · answered by amanda c 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because your dog is now the boss. Just because you feed her all you are to her is a roommate. Don't let your dog get away with anything. Show her you aren't scared and don't pamper her. When she wants up don't let her. You tell her when to do things. I recommend that you watch the dog whisperer, I trained my dog(boxer/pitt mix) by his methods and she has never growled at me once. I can even take her food or toys away when she is eating or playing.
2006-12-18 15:27:20 · answer #10 · answered by Richard Cranium 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋