Chihuahua10 Chihuahua training topics
Every common Chihuahua challenge, with first steps and guides to read.
Barking at visitors
Calm hellos at the door.
Start training your Chihuahua the day they arrive, with the same house rules a big dog would get and rewards cut into crumbs. Do that consistently and you will have an adult who is pleasant company instead of one who runs the house.
The breed gives you a reason not to wait. Chihuahuas seem well aware of how cute they are and learn how to get their way, so an untrained puppy soon discovers that trembling, protesting and a tiny frame buy carrying and forgiveness. Among the 415 Chihuahua owners' accounts we reviewed, many describe praise and reward games teaching new behavior quickly. A mind that learns fast picks up manners as readily as bad habits.
Read the full guide: How to Train a Chihuahua: The Complete Guide
Bossy with big dogs
Confidence without the bravado.
The usual advice is to expose a small dog to everything, early and often, but for a Chihuahua that advice falls short. A crowded party or a rowdy puppy playdate can teach fear faster than it teaches confidence.
Socialization carries more weight for this breed than for most, and small puppies are the ones most likely to miss it. Done well, it gives you a sassy, affectionate companion who greets visitors with interest instead of alarm. This guide covers socializing a Chihuahua, from the daily noise of your household to kids, strangers and other dogs, and down to a single greeting broken into seconds.
Read the full guide: Socializing a Chihuahua With Kids, Dogs and Strangers
Hates being picked up
Make lifting feel safe.
A Chihuahua may be easy to scoop up, but size does not make lifting neutral. Under the breed standard, a Chihuahua should meet people and other dogs "with confidence and interest, even impudence." Owners of Chihuahuas who yelp, growl or snap when lifted report something else. Their dog has learned that hands coming down from above predict trouble, and every lift repeats the lesson.
Behavior and training of this breed is our specialty, and the same story comes up again and again. A forced lift teaches a faster snap. A respected no teaches the dog that approaching hands are safe.
Read the full guide: Chihuahuas That Yelp, Growl or Snap When Lifted
Time alone
Help a one-person dog relax.
How long a Chihuahua puppy can be alone changes by weeks of practice, not by a fixed date. A puppy new to your home may manage only moments out of your sight at first, then a few minutes, then a longer stretch once the earlier steps feel boring to them. A rescued adult climbs the same ladder, starting from wherever they are today.
Timing matters for this breed because Chihuahuas are devoted to their person, and that closeness can turn into panic when the steps come too fast. Get the pace right and you gain a dog who naps while you shower, run errands or sit in another room.
Read the full guide: Chihuahua Separation Anxiety: Teaching Alone Time
House training
A tiny bladder needs a clear routine.
If your Chihuahua growls when picked up, put the lift on a spoken cue, pay with a treat after every lift, and handle them the way a show judge would: straight on, unhurried, never looming. A tiny dog who gets grabbed learns to dodge your hands, and a dog who can't dodge learns to growl and then snap.
We reviewed 415 Chihuahua owners' first-hand accounts, and some owners describe handling bites that grew after unpleasant experiences such as vet shots or a bad nail trim, then spread to baths and being picked up. A well-taught lift reverses that spread and gives you a dog who steps into your hands.
Read the full guide: Picking Up a Chihuahua: Calm Lifts on a Cue
Barking for attention
Quiet ways to ask.
Most bark advice rests on two plans: ignore the noise until the dog gives up, or teach one quiet cue and consider the matter closed. Both meet a different animal in a Chihuahua. The breed rates 5 of 5 on the scale that runs from only to alert up to very vocal, and the body doing the barking spends much of its day held, carried and set on laps, which changes what ignoring and cueing can accomplish.
Handled badly, alarm barking spreads to every sound and hardens into a habit that keeps the whole household on edge. Handled well, you get a watchful companion who sounds the alert once and stops on request. This article looks at barking at home and the problems that trouble owners most.
Guarding food
Trust around the bowl.
Ordinary advice says to leave a guarding dog alone, or to snatch the item away and move on. Neither works well for a Chihuahua. The trade-based rules are the same ones every dog needs, but a toy-sized dog who lives on laps and in arms changes where and how you practice them.
Guarding in this breed also reaches past the food bowl. Many owners describe Chihuahuas who guard a lap, a sofa spot or a favorite person. Handled badly, a stiff look becomes a snap. Handled well, you get a relaxed dog who lets you near their things.
Read the full guide: Chihuahua Resource Guarding, Jealousy and Guarding Their Person
Shaking at noises
Calm confidence around sounds.
Give a scared Chihuahua room to stay well away from whatever frightens them, and pay them with treats for noticing it from there. The breed was built to notice everything and announce it, so fear in a Chihuahua is usually the alarm system stuck on, not a flaw in the dog.
Left alone, a stuck alarm turns into lunging, snapping or hiding, and harsh responses make it worse in small dogs. Handled well, a wary Chihuahua often becomes a devoted one who trusts you to step in when something looms.
Read the full guide: How to Help a Scared or Nervous Chihuahua
Crate crying
A cozy den.
Some Chihuahuas hear a single word and trot to their bed, then ride in a sling with their chin on the edge. Others weave around your ankles in the kitchen, squirm out of the bag as soon as the zipper moves, or scream the moment a door closes. Temperament plays a part, but history plays a bigger one. The first dog learned, treat by treat, that small enclosed spaces predict good things. The second was asked to cope.
This article looks at the sounds and behaviors Chihuahua owners meet around crates, pens and carry bags. Read on to learn why screaming, refusing, bolting, chewing and shadowing happen, how to fix each, when a gated pen beats a crate, and how to tell ordinary fussing from real distress. For a dog this small a panicked scramble can injure them, so calm conditioning is a safety measure.
Read the full guide: Crate Training a Chihuahua: Crates, Dens and Carry Bags
Puppy nipping
Gentle mouths for tiny teeth.
The usual advice says a Chihuahua puppy is house trained like any other dog: choose a spot, head out a few times a day, and reward what goes right. That advice is sound, but owners tell a messier story. What they say works is the same method run more often, with outings every hour or two and after naps and meals, plus praise and a treat the moment the puppy goes. A few also see setbacks when the weather turns cold and wet.
The method holds. What changes is the number of trips and the care around each one. This guide covers potty training a Chihuahua puppy, from the body and den instinct behind the accidents to feeding rhythm, a trip schedule, rewards, indoor options and what to expect over the coming months. We have trained this breed for many years, and we would rather you plan for all of that than be surprised by it.