My boy chihuahua is green with envy of his sister. If his sister walk over he growls. How can I gain him to stop?
Anytime he is in my lap and his sister comes around he growls and at times has attacked her. I not long inherited the mother and both children from my brother and have never owned a dog before so any proposal is welcomed.
Answers: The male is not being controlling, he is being territorial. He is trying to keep the female out of his nouns and what he believes is his, this can include you, any toys they may share, food and water bowls, beds, etc. This is not an easy item to fix, especially with some of the small breeds, like chihuahuas, who own not been raised with boundaries and training.
First, start by separating the dogs when you are not at domestic. You don't want anyone getting hurt, especially when you aren't home. Next, sign all the dogs up for submissiveness classes, the male is the one that needs it most, and if money is tight in recent times start with him and take as much time as you can to teach the other two what you are study with the male in classes. Eventually they should adjectives get to a class though as they will need to memorize how to socialize with other people and animals, and basic assent is very useful. You need to stop the demeanour as soon as possible so that it is easier to break. Since you just got these dogs, setting some boundaries early for them may produce it easier to fix any problems. When the male is on your lap and the sister walks by, whether the male growls, move him off your lap, stand up and move about to another room for 10 seconds. This will make him wonder where you own gone and why you left him, and will probably immediately stop his growling. When you return, don't say anything, but progress back to where you were. He is allowed to sit pay for up on your lap if he pleases, but if he growls, depart from the room again. Continue doing this. He will learn that when he growls at her for coming near you, his comfy seat leaves, so he will revise to allow her to walk by without growling. You will probably eventually want to progress past this point and be capable of pet the female while he is sitting with you and you can do this with indistinguishable method. When he doesn't growl you can also try rewarding him with a small treat such as Benny Bulleys (just break off a small piece). As for other times that the male is not on you, but he growls at the womanly for walking by, use a spray bottle filled with water and only just give a squirt of water to the male. Do not read out anything when you do this. It will seem to the dog like it is a consequence from the environment for his behaviour. If you can be consistent near this he will quickly learn to stop.
Consistency is key when training a dog, particularly when they are already set on a certain behaviour. Good luck!
