Chihuahua training is really important, because as sweet as your Chi is, you have to show him whose boss or he’ll walk all over you (and those little feet can be pretty messy sometimes).
Chihuahua training can be a real challenge, I will give information on what you need to know to train a Chihuahua and my personal observations as a Chihuahua Breeder.
Training any of the small dog breeds takes perserverance and it’s not for the lazy dog owner. Which is why some Chi and other Toy owners give up and decide not train them at all (except for the potty training, which becomes a necessity).
So you think it’s OK to not train your Chihuahua, afterall you can easily pick him up if he gets out of control?
Corey Ford said:
"Every dog should have a man of his own. There is nothing like a well-behaved person around the house to spread the dog's blanket for him, or bring him his supper when he comes home man-tired at night."
NOT! Chihuahuas need the right guidance to grow up into a well liked and even tempered dog.
They need to be socialized and trained and you need to start it early.
Starting this early socialization is a priority to me as a breeder, all puppies from Patz Dogs receive this training.
What You Need To Know About Chihuahua Training
Here’s what you need to know in order to train your Chi:
Begin training the very first day you get him. The first training lesson is Chihuahua potty training, either outside or litter box Learn about Litter Box Training.
As soon as they are successfully housebroken, you can start teaching him other commands.
When teaching commands you need to do so effectively:
Start him in a quiet area of your home where there are no distractions
Provide him with treats and plenty of praise when he follows your commands, this keeps him happy and lets him know he’s pleasing you (very important for these little guys).
Keeping training sessions short, then they won’t get bored and lose attention
Chihuahua Training Requires Persistence
When you train be persistent:
Don’t let your guard down for a moment. Your small Chi will try every trick in the book to ignore you, not follow your command or encourage you to play instead of teach. You must show your dog who’s boss.
Use one-word commands. Don’t confuse your dog when teaching a command by giving him a phrase or short sentence. For example, instead of saying “Come here”, say in a firm, gentle tone “Come” followed by your dog’s name.
Use a voice of authority when giving commands - Your dog needs to know you mean business when giving a command. Give all commands in a firm voice, in a tone slightly louder than normal.
Never aggressively discipline your dog while you are teaching him...keep it gentle but firm. If he doesn’t follow your instructions, tell him “No” gently, and don’t give him a treat. Then start from the beginning, and take it slower until he understands.
Praise and treat him for coming to you, after all he followed the command,even if it takes him a while.
You want your dog to associate the action as a good thing.
After housebreaking, the second command you should begin with is “Sit”, followed by “Stay”, “Come” and “Down”.
Once your dog has successfully mastered all of these basic commands, it’s then up to you whether or not you would like to teach him more.
All commands you teach must be constantly reinforced until he understands them easily.
My Observations
My personal observations about this awesome little dog.
A Chihuahua is a proud and intelligent animal that usually responds to positive reinforcement and praise. A Chihuahua will not respond well at all to punishment and any punishment may create unwanted and habitual aggressive behavior.
A Chihuahua absolutely thrives on attention, but they can be stubborn and defiant as well. Don’t let them get away with bad behavior.
They will continue to repeat it, and when reprimanded look at you with those big beautiful Chi eyes that say “don‘t you love me anymore?“
Of course you do, you know you do, or why would you continue with your Chihuahua Training Ordeal
TRUST ME don’t fall for it!
After all I've said here, I will add I adore the Chihuahua and thats why I choose to become a Chihuahua Breeder.
Basic Obedience Training For Your Chihuahua Puppy
Obedience training teaches your Chihuahua puppy to learn and obey your commands. These commands allow you to have control over your Chihuahua - so that he does what you want - in various situations. The seven basic obedience training commands are: no, sit, down, stay, come, heel (walk on a loose leash), and off.
You can begin training your Chihuahua puppy from his 8 week birthday. A Chihuahua puppy is completely capable of learning obedience commands at this very young age. Just keep in mind that he will have a shorter attention span when he is a young pup.
Positive reinforcement is the fastest and easiest way to train your Chihuahua puppy. This involves teaching commands to your Chihuahua by using rewards - a treat or praise - to get your Chihuahua to perform a command. It never involves punishment.
When training your Chihuahua puppy the time at when you give the reward is very important. Be sure to reward your Chihuahua immediately when he does the desired action - not 3 seconds later - or he won't associate the behavior with he reward and therefore won't learn the command.
The key to teaching your Chihuahua puppy any command is consistency and repetition. You need to be consistent in the way you give commands. Use the same word for the command, use the same tone of voice, and always give him the reward (which can simply be praise) immediately when he completes the command - every time. Don't give him the treat or praise if he does not successfully obey the command you gave. The more times you practice a command over and over the faster he will learn it.
So without any further ado here's how to teach your Chihuahua puppy the seven basic obedience commands:
1. No
The "No" command is used when you want your puppy to stop doing whatever he is doing. It's a way of telling your Chihuahua puppy that you are not happy with his actions and want him to stop. This might seem like a fairly obvious command to execute, but mostly everyone gets it wrong!
A lot of people make mistakes with the "No" command. The thing is: puppies do not really understand words, they just interpret different sounds and the tone of voice you use. For "No" to be effective, you must always issue the command "No" in the same stern tone of voice using the same facial expression (consistency is the key to "No" - and all commands for that matter). You do not have to shout "NO!!!!" at the top of your voice - this would only scare your Chihuahua puppy and you're not trying to scare him. Simply say "No" in a deep, stern, uncompromising tone of voice so that he gets the message, and that's it. Think of "No" as the deep growl that one dog gives another dog when he is not happy with whatever it is the other dog is doing.
It's also important you don't use your Chihuahua pups name along with the word "No". For example "No Fido... Fido.... Fiidddooooo... No". You do not want your Chihuahua pup to associate his name with the negative word "No".
Another very important point to keep in mind is that you must time your "No" very carefully for your puppy to understand WHAT he has done or is doing wrong. It is no good saying "No" - and correcting him - five seconds later, or 10 minutes later, or even 3 hours after he has misbehaved. For example, if your Chihuahua puppy chews up your new pair of sports shoes... you must catch him while he is in the act of chewing the shoes and say "No" when he is doing it, or when he looks up at you when you enter the room and catch him, for him to realize that chewing your shoes is the bad behavior. If you come home after being out all day and find your sports shows which were chewed up 2 hours earlier, and then say "No", and expect him to understand that the "No" is for chewing up the sports shows two hours earlier - you're kidding yourself. Dogs are not smart enough to connect the two events together - the chewing of the shoes, and then the "No" command - which happened so far apart.
2. Sit
You Chihuahua puppy should learn to sit after only a few dozen repetitions. To teach sit, first say "Sit". Then hold up a treat and move it above and slightly behind his head so that he naturally takes the sit position. The second his bum touches the ground, say "sit" and give him a treat. Repeat these steps until he has mastered the sit command. The key here is to associate his bum hitting the ground with the word "Sit". So the first dozen times you teach the sit command, give the "sit" command and then say "sit" again, a second time, when his bum touches the floor.
3. Down
The down position is the laying down position where your Chihuahua puppy is lies down on his tummy. To teach down, first have your Chi pup sit. Then hold a treat in front of his face and move it down close to the ground so that he naturally goes into the down position. When he does lay down on the ground, say "Down" and give him the treat. Keep practicing down until he masters it.
4. Stay
Stay is a very useful command that gets you Chihuahua puppy to stay where he is until released. Crouch down and command your Chihuahua puppy to "Sit", then put your palm forward in front of his face and command "Stay". Stand up and take one slow step backwards. Wait a few seconds and then return to your puppy and give him a treat. Keep practicing by following these steps, but gradually take more and more steps back. Eventually, if you practice the stay command enough, you will be able to walk all the way to the other side of your home ,or even leave the room for a few moments, and your Chihuahua puppy will stay obediently in the spot the whole time.
What happens if your Chihuahua puppy break the stay position, and runs over to you while you are taking steps backwards? Firstly, don't get mad at him. Simply walk him back to the spot where you want him to stay, command him to sit, and start over.
5. Come
The come command means your Chihuahua will immediately come to your feet when called. The come command will not only make your life easier but it will keep your Chihuahua puppy safe too!
Attach a long retractable leash, or a 15 foot piece of cord, to your Chihuahua puppy. The reason you do this is because to effectively teach the come command you must be able to enforce it if it is not obeyed.
With that in mind, you must never associate any negativity to the come command. Never get mad at your Chihuahua puppy when he eventually comes to you, and never yell "come!" or "come here!" when he has done something wrong and you are unhappy at him and intend on correcting his behavior. He is not going to come to you when he knows he is going to get in trouble when he gets to you. The "come" command should be a positive experience for your Chihuahua puppy - every time! When he gets to you praise him and a reward him every time. Associate arriving at your feet with fun and love, so that he naturally wants to come to you.
Now, here's how to teach the come command. Walk about 2 meters away from your puppy. Give the "come" command with a smile on your face and open arms. When your pup gets to you praise him and give him a treat. If he doesn't come, gently reel him in with the cord and then reward him with smiles, praise and a treat once he arrives at your feet.
The key to teaching this command is practice and great relationship with your Chihuahua pup! Once he has learned the come command on the leash you can practice in securely fenced area with no leash. A good trick is to have someone else help you. Stands about 4 meters apart from each other. Once person calls come and then rewards the puppy for coming. Then the other person calls come and rewards. And so forth.
6. Heel
Heel is a fancy word for having your puppy walk beside you on his leash without pulling. Because Chihuahuas are so small, it isn't so noticeable if they are pulling on the leash when you go for a walk because it's really not going to do your back in. However, it's still a good obedience command to teach your Chihuahua nevertheless.
Command "Heel" and reel him in so that he is standing to the left of you, facing forward. Begin walking forward. If he darts ahead and pulls on the leash take a 180 degree turn and walk the exact opposite way. This teaches him to be alert - you could chance direction at any time. Be gently however, and do not yank on the leash or you will hurt him. Practice this many times in your backyard until he walks beside you all the time, without running ahead. If he falls behind you while walking, let him catch up and then praise him when he does.
7. Off
Off is a very useful command when you want your Chihuahua puppy to get off of something, such as the couch, a chair, or a off your lap.
This is easy to teach. If you want your Chi puppy to get off something, command "Off" and then physically get him and move him to the ground then praise him for being a good boy. After doing this a few times he will connect the word "Off" with the act of getting down off whatever he is on. Do not use the word "Down" to teach the "Off" command. Down is for teaching your Chi to get down on his stomach - to lay down. If you use the word "Down" to teach both lay down and off, he will get confused.
