Raising A Chihuahua For The First Time

[parrotpea]

I have just got my first chi :)

In the past I have mostly had staffords, and one tibbie, so little dogs are fairly new to me. I am concerned about little dog syndrome, I am aware of mostly what causes it - but I am in a bit of a quandary as my chi pup is so small and I don't want to make her fearful either.

So how do I socialise her without traumatising or babying her? It seems a fine line to walk!

For instance, at the moment she is walking nicely on the lead, but if a loud car starts it's engine she will freak out a little, and stop walking. I encourage her to keep walking - either, just keep walking myself, then if she's still not walking I will call her and she is usually fine.

But how do I judge what is too much for her? Is exposure to people enough - without any actual contact? If she doesn't initiate contact with someone, then should I just leave it? Ie. if they are talking to me, telling me how gorgeous she is, do I ask them to let her have a sniff of their hand(which seems to be pretty scary for her at this point) or just wait until she is feeling more confident?