how do you discipline a dog who's small and has recently been abused im afraid ....HELP!?

Question

she is a chiuahuah i really need help anyone have the same problem as me if so please help me out?!

Answer 1

ok i would do scolding and a spray bottle a spray of water in the face.

Answer 2

Let the little misdemeanours wash over you and save discipline for the big crimes. Keep calm, don't shout or move fast. Isolate her from the scene...if she has nipped or stlen from your plate, put her in a dog cage for a while (only a short time or she will suffer). Only discipline when you catch her in the act... she won't have a clue why you are angry if you tell her off having come home to find that she chewed the wallpaper 2 hours ago. A firm "No" should get the point over pretty quickly but don't use her name too as thats the term you use when you want her to do something such as come to you or when you are praising her. Lots of praise for the things she does right too, please!

A cage can also give her security, somewhere to snuggle when the family are all too much for her. Leave the door open and let her wander off into it when she wants to.

Two things about chiuahuahs... first, surely they cant cause that much harm or damage...?!!

Second, how could anyone abuse any dog, especially one so small. Hope they came back as a bluebottle and get swatted... horrible "b'"!

Answer 3

If you are talking about a dog who is fearful I wouldn't discipline at all. I would work with redirection, i.e. if the dog is jumping teach them to sit. The idea is to look at the behavior that you don't want and then try to think of something that they can do instead.

Say you have a dog who is barking; they can't bark and sniff at the same time (one is inward the other outward) so if you hold a treat in front of their nose and they smell, then you reward and give your quiet command.

Be very careful if you do "discipline" look at it more as correction. I start teaching no and yes. I hold a treat or a piece of dinner and when I give it I say yes, then I hold it back and say no. A few times and the dog starts to catch on.

Then I say sit and when they don't I say no. Over and over the dog learns that no means they lost the treat and that is bad. I don't yell but if they are ignoring me after they have learned I lower my voice and repeat.

Never give any command you can't or won't enforce. Instead after the second no get up and hold the dog until they listen.

Good luck and don't yell or threaten the dog. A fearful dog bites or becomes more afraid neither you want.

Answer 4

The type of discipline depends on the situation you are facing. Also, are you afraid because you think the dog is going to bite you? If that is the case, I'd suggest getting a professional trainer to work with you if the dog is showing signs of aggression. The trainer should be skilled in dealing with dogs with aggression issues and focuses on positive, non-violent approaches to training.

If you are dealing with a simple situation (dog is barking, getting into something it shouldn't), a penny can works well. Take a soda can, put several pennies in and tape it shut. Toss the can close to the dog (without hitting it) and say "no" whenever you catch the dog doing something it shouldn't be doing. You have to act fast or the dog won't associate the noise from the can with the bad behavior, so keep the can close by or make several of them to have on hand in different parts of your house.

Answer 5

Hi, the short answer is - don't.

Ok, so that leaves you with a bit of a problem, because you've now got a dog who chews up your shoes, jumps all over the furniture and pees on the carpet - and you can't discipline her!

So what do you do instead?

You learn how to train the behaviour you want INSTEAD OF the unwanted behaviour using POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT - i.e reward training methods such as Clicker Training.

Of course, reward training is only part of the equation. Check out the reference listed below for the whole story.

Answer 6

Your best bet is to find a reputable dog trainer to help you. They are a wealth of knowledge with all kinds of dogs. Sure it costs to enroll your dog in basic obedience but it will pay ten-fold in the end. Basically what I learned from when I took my formally abused dog to obedience was to just look the dog in the eye and tell it firmly, not yell, to 'stop it!'. I am a firm believer in crate-training dogs. That would also be a smart thing. Since your dog is so small, a basic crate won't cost much at all. A good dog trainer could also help you in teaching your dog to go to it's crate on command and stay in it without complaining.

Hope this helps some.

:-)

Answer 7

To Begin with what makes you think it has been abused??? The reason I ask this is because about 80% of the so called abused dogs I see were never exposed to any sort of abuse. They are just the "wallflower" out of a litter. This is important to know because the solutions are very different. The abused dog in training can be corrected if done properly. Many timid dogs require an extremely soft voice, in fact it is far easier to whistle train them than it is to voice train them.

Answer 8

I've heard of disciplining a dog but not in that way.

Answer 9

I watch dog whisperer he said don't use physical abuse use mentel abuse such as saying uh uh real loud so the pet nose u mean it!!! I hiley recommend u watch the dog whisperer!

Answer 10

I have a chiuahuaha I just spoil her and play with her , walk her ,and feed her and she is just fine .At night she sleeps with me or my sisters ,and most of the normal things.