5 replies to this topic

[Kalimaster]

I thought I would share a bit of humor that happened the other day. My neighbor has a chihuahua, you know one of those dogs that is small, never shuts up, leaves little brown mines everywhere, and tries to gnaw you off at the ankle. Well, one of the stray cats in the area took offense to said dog, and went after it with a vengeance. The dog took off "Yipe, Yipe, Yipe." At which point my neighbor who is slightly on the dense side of the mental equation yelled at me. "What did you do to my dog.".

At this point the cat went after the dog again, so he chases the cat off. Now with it's owner present, the dog which was crossed between the mean bone out of the Grinch and a near-sighted demon got brave and went back into another neighbors yard...where the cat was waiting. lol.

[Alaskan Nobody]

I have only ever met one chihuahua, and she was definitely not the stereotypical chihuahua
(probably helped that she was ~14 years old when I met her)
Most dignified dog I have ever met.

Bad news is that her owner also had a mastiff pup that looked up to the chihuahua (for a given value of up )
Now the chihuahua is dead - and the mastiff is grown.
But the mastiff still thinks she is a lap-dog.

[Egomane]

Chihuahua temper problems are mostly a problem of wrong education for the dog by the owner. Because they are so small, many believe their agressiveness comes from a defensive reflex. This is wrong! If you train a dog properly it can and will behave properly.

Many buy them because they are so small and cute (not to me, but obviously for others). They can get away with murder with their owner, as the owner doesn't really punish or scold them when needed. In the end they become rowdys. They can do whatever they want, whenever they want and to whomever they want. This is by my experience, the smallest group of small dog owners who educate their dogs in a wrong way, but that doesn't mean that there are only a few.

Then there are those those who buy a small dog as a decoration and are completly overwhelmed by the real needs and responsibilities that come with taking care of another lifeform. They will make the same mistakes as the above owners and then some, as they have even less of an idea of what they are doing.

Lastly there are those who buy such a small dog as child replacement. They want to lovingly take care of something that is alive. They treat their dogs like babies. They might even put them in a cart to drive them around instead of taking them for a walk in the park. Those are often the worst offenders in not training their dogs properly. They simply can't punish their child.

A cat that is running freely and has made a claim on some territory will be trained in combat, unlike the pampered little dog, who never had to deal with a real opponent. The claws of the cat are a fearsome weapon, such a small dog can not hope to counter. I have seen cats educate a dog, to the point where the dog was afraid to even be in the same house as the cat.

Of course not all cats are like this. There are also the ones who will even flee in wild panic before a hamster if it suddenly moves towards them. Usually a cat knows quite well, what opponents it can take and where it is better to keep some distance.

Edited by Egomane, 17 February 2015 - 01:14 PM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Egomane, on 17 February 2015 - 12:47 PM, said:

Chihuahua temper problems are mostly a problem of wrong education for the dog by the owner. Because they are so small, the many believe their agressiveness comes from a defensive reflex. This is wrong! If you train a dog properly and can and will behave properly.

So I would assume that at least part of the attitude of the chihuahua I knew was good training?
The person the dog came with was not the one who trained her, and only got her after she was ~8 years old
(if I remember right)

[Egomane]

Shar Wolf, on 17 February 2015 - 12:56 PM, said:

So I would assume that at least part of the attitude of the chihuahua I knew was good training?
The person the dog came with was not the one who trained her, and only got her after she was ~8 years old
(if I remember right)

It's a possibility. They become quieter at old age as well, but proper training is the most important part early on and during most of their adult age. Sometimes it might simply be, that the dog naturally has mild manners and as such will not become the little anklebiter so often seen.

[Kalimaster]

I don't think the dogs down the street from me even have an ounce of proper training.