Biting

[jennifer]

I gave Mickey a bath tonight and after the bath tried to brush him. He usually bites a little, but tonight he was even more aggressive. He lunged toward me and bit my hand, broke skin.

I'm at a loss on what to do to stop his aggressive behavior towards myself when trying to brush him or sometimes take food away from him when its dropped on the floor.

He's attacking the cats all the time too. he thinks he owns the place.

HELP.

[Romans Mom]

Hi Jennifer, Sorry to hear you were bit. Roman did that to us too when he was younger. Here's a bit to start with... I know others have things to add or different methods you can choose from as well.

I have always liked to brush dogs before the bath. I think it's easier and less pulling. It's been a while though, so perhaps this method has changed. Then I just towel-dry afterwards.

If Mickey refuses the brush and bites you instead, give him a calm, but firm "uh-uh" which is saying, "I am not happy with what you are doing." The instant you put the brush near him, praise with a "Good Boy" and try to pet Mickey. They usually bite the hand out of their excitement. So say, "Uh-uh" again. If he persists, turn your back to him. You can also get up and walk away. We used this method with Roman when he bit us. We even ran out of the room or to a corner or wall and "yelped and cried." During this time, we wouldn't look at him keeping out back towards him. A Chihuahua really doesn't want to hurt you and will soon see that when they bite, you leave him. They don't like this at all because they want you to love them. Oh, and one more thing I still use on all my dogs, is put the back of the hair brush on them a lot and not the bristles. Then both you and Mickey can see that there is no pain involved in brushing. Make sure he's not scratched too hard, especially around his ribs. All my babies hate to be brushed on their sides, so I do a little here and there to keep the grooming session short. You can gradually lenghten the session as soon as he feels more comfortable. Dogs are just like people: we all have to do things in life we find uncomfortable and both people and dogs live through it with practice. LOL

These problems can seem to go on for a while, so you have to be consistant. Repeat as necessary. Consistent, positive reinforcement for biting appropriate items such as toys is good, and no reinforcement of behaving inappropriately. After a few times, some Chi's calm down, and others take a few days, and some take a week or more. Roman took a long time. LOL They will also forget the rules a lot at first, but will get better with the understanding of what you're doing, and soon will behave, not bite you, the neighbor or other animals. You must be consistant until he gets it and then somewhat forever. ;-)

Another very important rule we layed down for Roman...and daddy...was no rough play EVER. And NO TEETH ON SKIN EVER AGAIN. This is hard to do when we love to play with them so much, but if the Chi is a biter, that's the way it goes. LOL

Two important things to remember while going through the biting problems are: Consistant communication and how your dog likes to be trained by you.

Don't worry, the "command, action, reward" over and over will get through with time and patience time..then continual practice.

If he's still biting non stop, he's not quite understading what you're trying to teach him just yet. As he starts to catch on, you will see him thinking about the process.

With the biting and food, work with Mickey daily by giving him his bowl of food, put your hand in the bowl and take about 1/3 or 1/2 out while petting him and telling him "Give It." Be careful at first! LOL Use the same postitive reinforcement with this too. Then give him back his food. This is a natural instinct for a dog to protect his food, but he will soon learn he can't dominate you.

With him attacking the cats...I would use leash training with this problem. If the cats are in the house (and outdoors), hold short sessions with Mickey where he is on his leash, sees the cats. Use obedience sit/stay practice on him. Repeat, repeat, repeat. He should really start to even like this when he sees he gets tiny bits of his favorite snack when he does good. He will soon learn "who needs a cat when I can have food?" :w00t: Let us know if you have any questionons about this or any other methods. :) Barb

[jennifer]

Thanks I'll try those suggestions. As far as the food thing goes he's fine with me touching his regular dog food. I can touch that or take it away from him just fine, its only people food. For example my hubby gave him a cob of a corn the other day to chew on after he was done eating it. After about 10 minutes I went by to take it away and mickey went nuts.

I'm not sure if any of this has to do with when he was a baby. He was the runt of the litter and was picked on quite a bit by the other puppies. He had to be fed by the breeder by hand because the other dogs would push him out of the way when trying to feed on mommy.

[Amaze]

Jennifer-I'm sure Mickey's actions have nothing to do with him being the runt of the litter, it is clearly a dominance issue inwhich Mickey has been allowed to believe that he is the alpha dog of the house and has the right do dictate things to the other creatures in the house. That being said, there are many books out there that discuss the issue, an excellent one of them being "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell. You need to become aware of your behavior and what you are doing to encourage Mickey's behaviour before you can correct it. Things like timed feedings which show him that as the leader of the pack, you dictate where/when he can eat, keeping him from the "pack" when he misbehaves (ei: putting him in another room, his crate, etc. for a 5-15 minute time-out depending on the severity of his actions (I'd say biting would be a 30 minute time-out!), and ignoring his "bad" behavior and rewarding his "good" are just a few things that will help. Once you figure it out and show him the right way to act through your behavior, he should quickly come around and behave better all together. Then you can begin trying to desensitize him to the brush, etc.
Lys

[2Chiwawa]

Graci went through a biting phase. I got bit twice. We went to the "everything stops dead when her teeth hit skin" solution. If she used her teeth even a little bit, all play and petting stopped right away and we used the command "No Teeth". She is much better. But she will absolutely not tolerate having her toes touched. So to avoid biting whe very very rarely touch he feet. Only when she is very calm. Both girls go to the groomers to have their nails clipped. They both will growel over a treat or a toy stuffed with a treat but after they are eaten they will let you take the toy away.

[Romans Mom]

We went through a hard time with Roman wanting to bite, not meanly, but just wanted to do it. Then Elle came along and acted like she always knew not to bite. From the first day, if we touched her teeth, she would just give a big (((yawn))). And now when I clip her nails, she'll bite eventually, but it's more of a mild "scrape" with her teeth. Then she feels bad about it. LOL I've been rubbing my hands in stew or soup before I trim their nails. This has them licking instead of biting, but then everyone gets a bath afterwards. It works. :)

[Chloe's Mom]

LOL Barb!!!

I just read your post - I immediately got a mental picture of you plunging your hands in a pot of stew and then turning to call the babies for grooming! Too much! :clap:

[momof1chi]

I agree with Roman's mom! I think these methods will work for you! GOOD LUCK
Chassi and Chili