jacci

From what I understand Monte lived on a remote property before we purchased him. I’m guessing his only interaction was with his female owner but according to the ad..on this website he was fully socialised with adults & children which I believe was untrue. He arrived to us on December 4 2022 his first Birthday was on 3 March 2023…however I’m determined that his past will not shape his future

Thankyou everyone for all your advice…just to clarify when I said No interaction with my husband..I meant no forced interaction. Walks by Monte dropping a treat etc 3 second touch rule..he can sit with us on lounge etc…but if I get up he’s jumping off with me. He literally cowers with my husband & I can assure you all my husband has never raised his voice or hand to him. All meds are through our vet & I initially said no but after she explained that we needed to reduce stress levels to get him to a level stage so we could hopefully change his responses to triggers etc..with the strategy put in place by the behavioural specialist. We thought having a friends small poodle here for a few hours on a regular basis who is the most loving dog might help Monte understand that my husband is ok as dogs often learn by association.

Thanks for the advice…you name it we have done it…my belief is that he was not socialised when very young. The breeder has said that he was fine with her so it must be something we’ve done. No further conversation with her. As he was 10 months we suspect there may have been a chance he had previously been returned to her. I’m hoping that the meds coupled with retraining will improve his interaction especially with my husband as he is absolutely terrified of him (& he’s the fun one).

Desparate for advice....purchased a chihuahua puppy in December which we had flown from Qld to NSW. He bonded with me within 48 hours however he would not accept anyone else and has pretty much stayed that way ever since. We have engaged a behaviour specialist and have followed all of her suggestions however we have seen little improvement and four weeks ago in consultation with our lovely vet as well as the behaviour specialist have gone done the road of an anti anxiety medication to help reduce his stress levels to a manageable level where we could start again. When we got him he was literally scared of everything and every noise which we have slowly worked through and have seen improvement. He will not accept my husband and basically runs everytime he sees him. He was sold to us with the promise he was a wonderful social dog and comfortable around kids & adults - obviously not true. If i leave the house he shuts down and will not move until i return. he will not eat or drink or respond to my husband and will run from him. My husband does not interact with him (on advice). We have owned 5 dogs over 30 years (including a chihuahua) so we are aware of these special little dogs and their special behaviours but we are really struggling here and it is now at the stage where i am hardly leaving the house and if i do i race through the things I need to do to get home quickly to him....