[ChihuahuaAddict]

I hope this is in the right category. I'm trying to help an aquaintance of mine with her Chihuahuas aggression: I have Chihuahuas myself, but they were trained and socialized at a very early age and I've never had to deal with any type of aggression from any of them. She has a 10 month old male Chihuahua. She's had him for about 3 or 4 months! He is very, very protective of her children. He will bark, growl and snap at anyone, including other family members, when they try to get near him and her children. He has already bit one person. She makes her Chihuahua (once she catches him), lie down until he calms down, while saying NO BITE. She does have to muzzle her Chihuahua. She wants to know what she can do to change this dogs behavior. Since I have never had any of my Chihuahuas show any aggression and never had to deal with this problem, I was wondering if you can all help me, with some advice I can give her. If you have any links with information that will help her, that I can pass onto her, I would greatly appreciate it. She does Not want to give this little Chihuahua up. I don't know what kind of life this Chi had before she got him and it doesn't sound like he has been very socialized. She really wants to work with this little puppy. Can you help me, help her? I would greatly appreciate it! Thank You!!!

 

[Independent George]

If it's a real case of aggression (and if she requires a muzzle, it does sound like it), you need to find a behaviorist. The people on these boards can give advice, but aggression is a serious issue that requires a professional on-hand. None of us can observe the behavior to determine if it's fear, dominance, territoriality, etc. The only advice I can give (1) is to look for a trainer that uses positive reinforcement (a lot of so-called trainers that use dominance theory will make an aggressive dog even worse), and (2) hurry.

People tend to overlook small dog aggression because, well, they're small and cute. But aggression is aggression, and a failure to deal with the problem is dangerous for everyone involved.