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Old 06-02-2010, 11:36 AM
 
Location: East Bay Area
165 posts, read 594,435 times
Reputation: 95

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Hello everyone, I'll be moving into a new home soon and I thought this would be the perfect time to retrain my 2 year old chihuahua-dachsund. I know this will be a really challenging task, so I'm turning to you all for some guidance.

Background info:
My GF and I got our dog from this filthy apartment with no signs of the original parents around, and in fact, the "owner" couldn't find all of the puppies in the litter! I originally found the ad for her on Craigslist (horrible I know). She was only 8 weeks at the time.

After picking her up, she was pretty much sick on and off for about 9 months. You name is she had it. At one point she was "diagnosed" with parvo (obviouslly mistaken), mites, worms, fleas, cut paw (from shower drain), and split dew claw. Because of all of the medications she had been given, we did not get to socialize her as much as we would have liked, however, we did as much as we could to socialize while she was healthy (taking her to friends' places with dogs, dog parks, walks, etc)

Currently, my GF and I live separately (both with our parents) and we take turns watching her. Our parents have played a crucial role in her learning (or regressing) as they let her get away with a lot, they feed her human food, and don't discipline her as consistent as we do. Of course this will all improve when we finally have our own home and can properly train her.

Now after doing a buttload of researching online, here are some training ideas I'm planning on implementing with our dog:

-control the feeding times
-have her sleep in her own bed
-don't allow her to go on the couch unless we invite her
-take her on daily walks to socialize
-scold her when she growls

Now some of the questions I have for you guys are:

-Will all of these changes, along with moving, will it be too much for her?
-Should we implement the changes gradually or all at once?
-With regards to sleeping should we go back to kennel training? Becuase I know if we put her bed beside ours and go to sleep, that she'll be in our bed in the morning.

Any input would be great.

Pasta:
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Old 06-02-2010, 12:12 PM
 
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 32,853,980 times
Reputation: 28898
I'm sorry; I wish I had some advice and/or answers for you. But I do know WHY your girl (Pasta? Such a cute name!) is such a trouble-maker. Want to know why?

Because she's so darn flippin' cute!!!!!

Someone more experienced -- or a lot of people more experienced -- will answer your questions. I just wanted to tell you that I think Pasta is ADORABLE!
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Old 06-02-2010, 12:25 PM
 
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
9,352 posts, read 19,938,879 times
Reputation: 11620
^^ me too!!

she is just beyond adorable and you and your gf are so cool for having saved her life......

thanks for not calling her a "chiweenie" .... ridiculous designer dog name for doxie / chi crosses.....
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Old 06-02-2010, 12:25 PM
 
Location: 500 miles from home
33,943 posts, read 22,366,883 times
Reputation: 25806
She is totally adorable. Since you are moving; I would take things slowly; but you can start implementing things now if you are able. Walking is great; having a set feeding schedule is great; controlling the furniture is a good idea (but hard to implement at least for me).

Someone here probably knows how to attach the link - but there is a training program called Nothing in Life for Free (NILF) that is a great way to 'gently' enforce the fact that you are the leader. It's really just a polite way of living such as waiting to be invited onto the furniture; sitting down before the bowl is put in front of you . . . I can't remember it all.

Once you get moved, you might check into a puppy class or obedience class.

I know exactly where you are coming from; I have a little yorkie with health issues that took up a big part of her puppyhood. Of course, she was spoiled rotten because everyone was worried about her all the time. Now . . the 'princess' tries to rule the house.

Good Luck with your puppy and your move!
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Old 06-02-2010, 01:02 PM
 
7,380 posts, read 15,616,761 times
Reputation: 4975
i'm a big proponent of NILIF. to expand on Ringo1's post, it basically means that *every* time your dog gets something she likes (food, a toy, a treat, a walk, attention, petting, whatever), she does something to get it - generally a simple trick that she does reliably like sitting, targeting with her nose, shake, down, stay, whatever you want to teach her. i also use NILIF to reinforce new things i'm teaching my dog, once she's gotten them somewhat down. like i've been working on targeting with her for her agility class so now that she gets it i've been having her do that every time i feed her.

i've also had good results with something called cookie zen. it teaches your dog self control, and to look to you for direction/permission when they see something they want. you just hold a treat in front of your dog, and if they make a move toward it, close your hand. wait until they hold still or turn their head away (my dog started turning her head away after just a few tries!), then say "OK" and let them have the treat. at first, reward them after just a few seconds of ignoring the treat - eventually you want to work your way up to holding the treat right next to their nose or leaving it on the floor for as long as you want, until you say "ok". there are no verbal commands involved in this except the release word, because you want her to do it on her own, not just when you tell her to.

this can be frustrating to dogs until they get it, so if your dog is really having trouble with it, give her a break once in a while and just have her do something simple that she knows, like a sit, and reward her for that. also, if she bites at all, especially if she does it guarding food, save this exercise til after you've worked on that.

please do NOT discipline her for growling. the last thing you want to do is make her stop growling - growling is a warning! what you get when you teach a dog not to growl is a dog who goes straight to biting without a warning. when does she growl? what triggers it? if you can tell me that, i (or many other posters on this board) can give you some more specific advice about what to do.

and she is a cutie! i love the name.

Last edited by groar; 06-02-2010 at 01:35 PM..
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Old 06-02-2010, 01:23 PM
 
3,728 posts, read 12,346,760 times
Reputation: 6834
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonHomeHunter View Post
Hello everyone, I'll be moving into a new home soon and I thought this would be the perfect time to retrain my 2 year old chihuahua-dachsund. I know this will be a really challenging task, so I'm turning to you all for some guidance.

Background info:
My GF and I got our dog from this filthy apartment with no signs of the original parents around, and in fact, the "owner" couldn't find all of the puppies in the litter! I originally found the ad for her on Craigslist (horrible I know). She was only 8 weeks at the time.

After picking her up, she was pretty much sick on and off for about 9 months. You name is she had it. At one point she was "diagnosed" with parvo (obviouslly mistaken), mites, worms, fleas, cut paw (from shower drain), and split dew claw. Because of all of the medications she had been given, we did not get to socialize her as much as we would have liked, however, we did as much as we could to socialize while she was healthy (taking her to friends' places with dogs, dog parks, walks, etc)

Currently, my GF and I live separately (both with our parents) and we take turns watching her. Our parents have played a crucial role in her learning (or regressing) as they let her get away with a lot, they feed her human food, and don't discipline her as consistent as we do. Of course this will all improve when we finally have our own home and can properly train her.

Now after doing a buttload of researching online, here are some training ideas I'm planning on implementing with our dog:

-control the feeding times
-have her sleep in her own bed
-don't allow her to go on the couch unless we invite her
-take her on daily walks to socialize
-scold her when she growls

Now some of the questions I have for you guys are:

-Will all of these changes, along with moving, will it be too much for her?
-Should we implement the changes gradually or all at once?
-With regards to sleeping should we go back to kennel training? Becuase I know if we put her bed beside ours and go to sleep, that she'll be in our bed in the morning.

Any input would be great.

Pasta:
Without a doubt she is a cutie! I have a couple of questions for you:

Has she bitten or nipped anyone? If so, has she broken skin?
What are the situations that triggers her to growl?
Does she exhibit any guarding behaviours, toys, food, places (i.e the bed or couch) or people?

Need a little more info before I could give you any suggestions
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Old 06-02-2010, 01:51 PM
 
7,380 posts, read 15,616,761 times
Reputation: 4975
yep, you could get more helpful advice if you list what the problems are that you want to fix. as far as what you're planning to do (besides scolding for growling, which i can't condone), i'd just start doing it all at once, and above all be consistent. combining the new training regime with the move might even be helpful, because she may basically be like "ok, these are the rules in this new strange place".

if she's not going to stay out of your bed without a crate, by all means, train her to sleep in a crate. just make sure that the crate is always a happy place to go to and is never used as punishment. you want her to want to be in there, to feel safe there.
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Old 06-02-2010, 01:52 PM
 
Location: East Bay Area
165 posts, read 594,435 times
Reputation: 95
She growls at other dogs from a distance and wants to get really close to them (big or small). Then when she gets close, they meet, sniff each other out, then she's over it. But any dog we see while we're in the car driving, she barks her head off.

She's also really posessive over her treats and rawhides. If I play around like I'm going to take a rawhide away from her mouth while she's chewing, then she'll growl.

My GF's brother also has a dog (chow-pit mix, so a lot bigger) and she nips at him all the time. He doesn't seem to care, he thinks they're playing, but they go at it and it looks like they're having fun, but she's growling the whole time.

She jumps on the bed, couches, and dining table all the time. When it comes to the dining table, I chase her off and tell her NO! and she gets really scared and curls into a ball, but then she'll do it again and again.

Sometimes she runs out the house and we can't ever get her to come back. And it's impossible to catch her since she's so deng fast. So we have to trick her by getting her attention, then running back to the house. Then she chases us back to the house. But sometimes it's harder than that, sometimes it takes her a LONG time to follow us, or to find a way to distract her and pick her up.
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Old 06-02-2010, 03:42 PM
 
Location: Phelan
205 posts, read 723,169 times
Reputation: 170
Possessiveness over food and toys is serious. Granted she is a little thing, but a bite is a bite. You own everything and she needs to understand that.

Controlling the toys and food is where you need to start. Collect all the toys and chews, she only gets them under your supervision and you start and end the play.

To start you have the toy (actually they have the toy and are playing with it) and you have a higher value item - say a meaty treat. I tell Peter "Thank you" and offer him the treat. He lets go of the toy to get the treat. Thats how I taught him his "OUT" command. Sometimes you give the toy back to them as the reward instead of a treat. I would do this over and over again. He now is the perfect gentleman and hands me his toys when I say "Thank you".

Now the food guarding. Start by feeding her after you eat. I get my boys food ready, put it up so they know exactly where it is, they are watching me eat my food and are waiting quietly for theirs. Remember you are the alpha, and alpha's eat first. You don't have to finish your meal entirely, just be sure she knows you're eating and she is waiting on you. Then give her the food.

You can feed her from your hand. You can put a few kibbles in her bowl, let her eat them, pick up the bowl and put in a few more kibbles. Do this until she has been fed her meal. Then move up the stakes by putting her food in the bowl, then taking the bowl - keep it for a few moments then give it back to her. Interrupting her as you will during her meal. Remember, you own the food, the toys - everything.

You can use Scat Mats on the furniture. They are static electric pads that you can place on your furniture that give the dog or cat a little static shock if they step on the pads. It won't take long and they get the picture.

Honestly, you have a little girl that you can with a little work put back into the happy position of pack member and not pack Leader.
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Old 06-02-2010, 07:38 PM
 
Location: California
593 posts, read 1,787,467 times
Reputation: 552
I, too, have a Chihuahua/Dashhound mix. I happen to like the name Chiweenie and that's what we call our little girl...I've also heard them referred to as Mexican Hot Dogs...:>)

Your description of Pasta is identical to my Lucy...She's agressive and hyper at times, but she's the most LOVING dog I've ever had..I wish I could help in training suggestions, but I'm still struggling with my baby...She's only 9 months old so I'm hoping down the road she'll mellow out...

I thought I'd paste a picture of Lucy...Now isn't she precious? :>)
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs506.snc3/26606_1141353792409_1784381844_285762_1903646_n.jp g (broken link)
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