# My Chihuahua tries to bite me when i scold or reprimand him



## jules (May 1, 2010)

I adopted a 5 year old male chihuahua 3 months ago, he is neutered and in perfect health. He is potty trained, but still urinates in the house when we are away. I've done the whole thing over and over where we don't make a big deal when we leave or when we come home to reduce his separation anxiety and i've also caged him while we were gone. He has toys all over the house and another dog to keep him company, but when i give him the benefit of the doubt, i find urine somewhere in the kitchen. And when we have guests over the house, he tucks his tail between his legs and hide between the guests feet, and then he urinates many times by our feet inside the house. He knows what he did is wrong because after doing so, he runs off and hides. We have been reprimanding him by telling him "no" or putting my hand on his behind and slapping my own hand lightly, but not to hurt him. Either way that we reprimand him, he gets extremely aggressive and shows his teeth at us and sometimes viciously lunging at us to bite. At this point, we are not sure what we are doing wrong because he continues to be aggressive when one of us scold him. We've read and watched many training books and videos, some which tell me not to flinch or back off when my dog gets aggressive towards me or to gently and calmly hold him down until the aggression dissipates and he eventually he calms down, but sometimes still come after one of us after he calms down. Nothing has worked so far, but we are still trying. We love him and will not give him up, but we are so lost. What are we doing wrong?


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## RedyreRottweilers (Dec 17, 2006)

A few suggestions:

STOP punishing your dog. He is telling you he is overwhelmed in the only way he can. 

START rewarding your dog for doing what is right. Tasty tidbits for all outdoor elimination. Same with anything he does right inside the house. Focus on what he does right, not what he does wrong.

Explore belly band options. For small dogs who are difficult to housetrain, this can be a good option.

http://www.smalldogclothing.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

As you've discovered, creating fear won't work and adds the further problem of Submissive Urination. 

Go back to house training 101:
No unsupervised freedom of the house
Crate/confine when you can't watch
Frequent potty breaks; upon waking; after eating; after play; every hour when awake
Interrupt (not punish) accidents about to happen...hustle him to the potty area to finish (do not carry or lead the way...he should know the route by walking ahead of you)
Praise and treat generously for going in the right potty area
Clean-up mistakes with an enzyme cleaner like Natures Miracle


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

Man, these chihuahuas are something else. A couple of things are going on here -

*Peeing while you're gone*
Typically the answer to this is to confine him to a smaller area so that he is less willing to have an accident. Dogs don't like soiling their living quarters. You said you have tried caging him, did he pee in his cage?

*Submissive urination*
This is what's happening when guests come over. He's weary of strange people and pees as a reaction. Do not punish submissive urination as it's not something he can help, and punishment will only increase his anxiety. Look for training methods on desensitization, this is what you need to do to help him learn that people coming over is actually a good thing.

*Snapping when you reprimand*
Some dogs cower away and some dogs get snappy to defend themselves. Either way, reprimanding is generally ineffective. Dogs don't understand the concept of doing something wrong, only that in certain situations their humans get angry. You don't need to punish the dog, ever. It is best to stop bad behaviors by preventing them; by telling the dog what you want him to do instead of what not to do.


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

RedyreRottweilers said:


> A few suggestions:
> 
> STOP punishing your dog. He is telling you he is overwhelmed in the only way he can.
> 
> ...


Agree'd. Stop punishing him so severly. If a dog shows you their teeth it can mean 1 of 2 things, aggression or a submissive smile and unless you know how to read the difference you could be escalating the aagression on YOUR part making him more reactive when he's actually trying to give you a submissive gesture. STOP reprimanding your dog. Focus on the positive and ignore the negative as much as you can. Your dog is fearful of you which tells me that maybe you (or the previous owner) has over diciplined him TOO much TOO harshly which is why he is so reactive.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

He's telling you to back off - but not in a "you can't tell me what to do" way, but in a "OKAY I GET IT, YOU DON'T LIKE THIS, BUT I'M AFRAID AND DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO!" kind of way.

Also, tail between legs - classic sign he's highly anxious and trying to look small and pathetic (so it doesn't look like he's worth the time to bother with - it's a survival tactic). 

If he's peeing while doing this - it has NOTHING to do with housetraining. It's just another "I'm pitiful like a puny puppy - look, I can't even stop myself from peeing before you" signal. Again, an appeasement/don't hurt me! signal - and a pretty strong one. 

Hitting him in this state is just showing him his appeasements aren't working so he'll hide to stay out of your way (and protect his own hide - again, another survival tactic) and if he can't hide (flight) then he'll lash and attack (fight). 

Dogs are predators and survivors above all else - so when they are scared, they are in survival mode - not "disobedient" mode. 

Sounds like he needs to gain confidence in these situations and then you can solve the peeing (since it sounds like he's doing it because he's highly anxious). Give him easy things he can do in these situations and help him see how you'd rather he act in these situations and reward him heavily and go easy on him (don't push him over his threshold) - and allow him to choose his distance from the action where he will get back under threshold and feel safe and work with him there. 

A dog, if allowed, will seek his own distance to where he feels safe with a situation - use that and reward it and then over time he'll test the waters, so to speak. In the meantime, when he's at his distance, reward him for interest in the situation and give him some easy and fun things to do so he can gain rewards and learn he can cope and that the situation isn't one to fear.

Then ignore him. Let him see for himself that the situation isn't one to fear. Just go about your business and act like you don't have a dog for a while. Crate him if you have to (but let him see/be around the action so he still can watch it and feel safe) for safety, etc. 

Every once in a while, go back to him and give him a reward for just staying there and observing instead of reacting. It's an accomplishment for a dog to just observe what he's still scared of (instead of just saying "screw it" and bolting).


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