Chihuahua

[jennabub]

Hi, I am hoping for some help on this topic. As i have mainly only had large breeds during my childhood and adulthood and now i own a wee little chihuahua i am getting very frustrated with the lack of training he is getting from me included. He is very tiny at 17 weeks he is still under a kilo but very very healthy and sure of himself. I was going to take him to puppy training with a friend of mine who has just started her 6 month old maltese girl in the obedience class. She was telling the instructor that she had a friend with a tiny chihuahua who would love to join and his comment back to her was - "why bother , there is nothing you can do to train them" . I have no idea if that is true or not or if that it may take me a lot longer to train him. I have found his toilet training has gone extremely well and that didnt take long at all. I will admit to having a bit of a hard time with his recall etc but thought that was just because of his age. Even though he is tiny i still want a dog that i can walk, let of leash at the dog park, the dog beach etc . I also have a larger dog that goes to all these places and i dont want little Nemo missing out because i cant trust him . Any help would be appreciated especially if someone has a chihuahua who is trained well. Thanks in advance . Nikki

[WoofnHoof]

Chis are definitely trainable :) They aren't as biddable as some breeds but they are very smart and you should have no problem, I'd probably avoid that instructor though as a negative attitude towards a particular breed is not a great starting point.

You need to take into account some of the physical aspects, their eyes are better at close up vision than far away, and my little chi took ages to pick up 'sit' because I was trying to teach him on a lino floor and he didn't like to put his bum on the cold floor lol! Once I moved to carpet he was fine. :) Little things like that I would take into account but there is no reason you can't train your little guy.

[Vickie]

They can definitely be trained. We have a couple of Chis in agility & they are fantastic!

Edited September 6, 2012 by Vickie

[Kadbury]

That little Chi is soooooooooo cute and so very smart. :D

Woultn't you love to show that to the trainer that said they can't be trained.....(Insert Rolly Eyes) :D

[Cosmolo]

I have had 3 Chihuahua's just in the last few months that were fantastic to train. They aren't the easiest but they can definitely be trained.

Please be super careful if you intend to have him at off lead parks though- they are so small that it takes very little for them to be accidentally injured by another dog.

Edited September 6, 2012 by Cosmolo

[whitka]

There was Chi in Vic competeing in Agility trials :)

[Pretty Miss Emma]

I think every dog can be trained, but just like us they learn in different ways and at different rates so it's just a matter of finding the way that works for the teeny one and possibly having some patience!!! Trainers who say that there's no point trying irritate me, especially when there are people trying to be responsible pet owners and put dogs in a good light in society (especially the little breeds that often get a bad rap for some of tehir behaviour which is usually due to no one training them!!!).

Yay for you wanting to train the littlie!!!

[kayla1]

Wow, that video is fantastic! I love watching the little ones in agility.

[BC4ME]

Richard Curtis one of the best Dances with Dogs performers in the world has a Chi named Betty, she does everything his biggers dogs do.

There is no reason you cannot train a Chi after all they are still a dog.

[bedazzledx2]

What a little ripper :D

[cheagle]

Thanks so much to Vickie for posting the video of Chad at training!! :) He is my boy and is retired from Agility now due to a back injury that happened somehow at home and wasn't Agility related. He was able to achieve his AD and JD title and we are starting some Rally-O now for a bit of fun. One of my goals in life is to help people understand that Chihuahuas are dogs and can do anything that a larger dog can do. He free-runs in the park every day with my other 3 dogs ( 2 x Chi crosses and a Koolie) and has a great recall that was taught primarily using the premack principal. He goes to the dog beach but doesn't swim very often. He does everything that my other dogs do and I have the same expectations of him as I do of the others.

There is a huge difference between a purebred 2kg Chi and a 3-4kg Chi x dog in terms of training. Chad weighs 2.1kg and my Chi x Mini Foxie Satine weighs 2.6kg. She finds life in general much easier than Chad, she can jump higher, run faster etc. I only know of 1 other purebred Chi in Sydney that is competing at the moment and she competes in Obedience and has been doing very well.

I did find Chad particularly challenging to train because he wanted to please himself and not me, the world revolves around Chad. ;) I guess what I am saying is that it can certainly be done and is a challenge to be enjoyed. Do find a trainer that has experience with toy breeds and have fun. :)

Regards,

Karen and Chad the Chihuahua

[fuzzy82]

The chis I've worked with have been smarter than the GSD's and JRT's I've worked with......

Pretty sad when you come across people, and trainers of all people, who think chis can't be trained. Well, they can't be trained with that attitude!

[Poppy's mum]

Thanks so much to Vickie for posting the video of Chad at training!! :) He is my boy and is retired from Agility now due to a back injury that happened somehow at home and wasn't Agility related. He was able to achieve his AD and JD title and we are starting some Rally-O now for a bit of fun. One of my goals in life is to help people understand that Chihuahuas are dogs and can do anything that a larger dog can do. He free-runs in the park every day with my other 3 dogs ( 2 x Chi crosses and a Koolie) and has a great recall that was taught primarily using the premack principal. He goes to the dog beach but doesn't swim very often. He does everything that my other dogs do and I have the same expectations of him as I do of the others.

There is a huge difference between a purebred 2kg Chi and a 3-4kg Chi x dog in terms of training. Chad weighs 2.1kg and my Chi x Mini Foxie Satine weighs 2.6kg. She finds life in general much easier than Chad, she can jump higher, run faster etc. I only know of 1 other purebred Chi in Sydney that is competing at the moment and she competes in Obedience and has been doing very well.

I did find Chad particularly challenging to train because he wanted to please himself and not me, the world revolves around Chad. ;) I guess what I am saying is that it can certainly be done and is a challenge to be enjoyed. Do find a trainer that has experience with toy breeds and have fun. :)

Regards,

Karen and Chad the Chihuahua

I used to train at Paws4Fun and often wondered what happened to Chad! Congrats on his titles and I'm sorry to hear about his injury. Karen (an expert trainer) gave me some encouragement with my nervy silky-cross that I will always be grateful for.

Chihuahuas are smart and can do anything - as everyone else said. Patience may be the key and short sessions, as with any dog. I have just finished some training videos for my Delta course and I used Chelsea the 14 y.o. previously untrained Chi (I know, I'm bad but she's always been so good, easily handled and biddable, the need didn't arise). Being food motivated helps. Just start in baby steps with a good positive method training book or DVD (most people recommend The Power of Positive Dog Training - Pat Miller) I'd suggest you avoid anything by Cesar Milan. Chis need gentle handling - eg no pushing on the rump for 'sit'. Not that you should do that with any dog. Check out Ian Dunbar's site - Dogstardaily - lots of free puppy training info. and a downloadable free book.

As for the park - my advice would be 'never in a million years' after my sensible, self-possessed 4kg crossbreed terrier was chased by a pack of dogs. Excellent recall saved her but it was touch and go. Small dogs resemble prey. Small dogs sometimes snap when a dog stands over them out of a sense of self-preservation. The response can be disproportionate from a larger touchy dog - and believe me they are everywhere in the dog park. There are a lot of irresponsible owners who have no idea what their dogs are up to. You are your dog's protector - don't put it at risk.

I could never be without a Chi - giant brain, huge personality, tiny body, heart of a lion.

[smisch]

I remember chad! He's a great little dog. There's also a chi called piper who runs in QLD is an awesome little dog! My Sheltie boy used to also do strategic pairs with a little chi x daccy they are amazing dogs just as trainable as any other dogs.. Don't let people get you down

People wouldnt believe that Ella my lowchen girl would be capable of competing and doing things like other dogs, there seems to be a stigma with toy breeds but truth be told they are just as good as the bigger breeds!

Good luck and have fun!!

[jennabub]

I remember chad! He's a great little dog. There's also a chi called piper who runs in QLD is an awesome little dog! My Sheltie boy used to also do strategic pairs with a little chi x daccy they are amazing dogs just as trainable as any other dogs.. Don't let people get you down

People wouldnt believe that Ella my lowchen girl would be capable of competing and doing things like other dogs, there seems to be a stigma with toy breeds but truth be told they are just as good as the bigger breeds!

Good luck and have fun!!

[jennabub]

Thank you all so much for your Replies. It was lovely seeing the video of chad what a clever little man. I have decided against the dog park only because most of the dogs there are huge and even though I'm sure they wouldn't mean to hurt nemo it could be done accidentally. If anyone knows of a good trainer in north brisbane I would love their name. He is very well socialized luckily as my daughter runs a dog grooming business and nemo meets many dogs as well as daily playing with my daughters dogs. Thank you all again

[jennabub]

Thank you all so much for your Replies. It was lovely seeing the video of chad what a clever little man. I have decided against the dog park only because most of the dogs there are huge and even though I'm sure they wouldn't mean to hurt nemo it could be done accidentally. If anyone knows of a good trainer in north brisbane I would love their name. He is very well socialized luckily as my daughter runs a dog grooming business and nemo meets many dogs as well as daily playing with my daughters dogs. Thank you all again

[mumtoshelley]

My chihuahua Rascal is pretty smart he knows sit,stay,come,sit/stay the only command he has trouble learning and doing is drop.

[biker girl]

this thread reminds of a Chihuhua story years ago..............

typical Sunday morning training and a big dude on a huge Harley turns up to training, he gets off his bike and saunters over to us, just think about a BIG hairy heavily tattooed biker guy

and he says.................."You guys train dogs here?" Nobody was going to point out the dozens of dogs being trained on the oval at that moment!!

"of cousre we do" was the answer and we are all thinking to ourselves........."crap....what type of dog is he going to want to bring out to training"

As much as I hate labelling and pigeon holeing people, this guy must have a bull type of breed!!!

but no..................................

He pulls out from his leather waist coat his tiny 16 week Chihuhua

And for the next several months, turned up on his Harley, pulled out his little dog from his waist coat and trained him through to class 4/5

No one told him youu can't train a Chihuahua

[Tassie]

Love it. :laugh:

I can remember years ago when obedience ruyles review considered a proposal for making the UD scent discrimination articles proprtional to the size of the dog, like the dumbbell can be ... because the standard ones were too big for a chihuau to retrieve properly. They are seriously smart little dogs.