The most difficult part of my job is always letting a dog go, and I had fallen a little bit in love with Lolita during my time training her. She reminded me a lot of Lulu. To be honest, I wasn’t that much of a Chihuahua guy until I rescued Lulu, but since then I’ve become a fan for life. This breed is a reminder that big personalities come in small packages, and when I took Lolita to meet her new family, their enthusiasm and commitment to training her and making her feel at home put me at ease. Lolita was bringing a new energy and a renewed joy to this family at just the right time, and I had no doubt she was going to find her happy ever after in their home.
INTRODUCING A PET DOOR
Important Note. If you have a brachycephalic breed, read all the way through to the special section on training them to use a dog door before following any of the steps below!
I get a lot of calls from people who encounter a surprising problem: they’ve installed a pet door to allow their dog the freedom to come in and go out as she pleases—and the dog refuses to go through it. For you and me, it might seem silly for a dog to be afraid to pass through that flap, but we can’t know just how the dog perceives it. As I explained in a couple of the earlier chapters, most dogs won’t plow through a physical barrier—even when they know they can. We can use that to our advantage when we’re teaching a command like STAY, but it can work against us when we’re just trying to make sure our dogs don’t get trapped inside (or outside) if we have to be gone all day.
Teaching a dog to trust a pet door is a simple process, but it’s one that’s easier to accomplish with two instructors than with one, so enlist a friend to help you. If you need to, though, you can manage this alone. This won’t take long at all. The only other tools you’ll need:
•A six-foot leash
•Some of your dog’s favorite treats
Step 1. Clip the leash to your dog’s collar, then run the end of it through the dog door to the other side. Now take your helper and go to the outside of the door. Have the helper stand next to the door, holding the pet flap all the way open so your dog can see through the cavity. You should stand a little farther away from the door, holding the end of the leash you had threaded through. Then offer your dog a treat and call her to you. (If you’re doing this alone, you’ll drop the leash and hold the flap open and the treat.) Most dogs will run right through because they can clearly see where they’re going, that you’re on the other side, and that you’ve got something for them. If your dog is a bit reluctant, hold the treat a few inches from her snout and guide her through. The first time is the most difficult. Once she makes it through that initial pass, every time after will be easy. Repeat this same process—with your helper holding the pet door open—a few times in each direction. Don’t move on until your dog is running effortlessly through the door.
Encourage your dog through the door with a treat.
Step 2. Next, lower the flap partway, about 50 percent. Your dog should still be able to see through it, but the new opening will be smaller than she is, so she’ll have to trust it a little bit. Hold the flap up and call your dog through again. If she’s reluctant, open the flap a little more. Since your dog goes through it once, she’ll know it’s possible. Now you’re just adding a new obstacle. Guide your dog again, with the treats closer to her snout if necessary, until she runs through. Repeat in both directions. Once your dog is comfortable with this step, you’re going to add a new wrinkle to the process. As your dog passes through the door, ask your helper to very gently touch her on the back with the door’s flap. Repeat a few times in each direction.
Lower the flap partway and call her through again.
Step 3. Now it’s time to close the deal. Have your helper fold up just the corner of the pet door so your dog can see through just a little bit—or hold just the corner up for her yourself. Now she’ll have to push through and feel the flap moving to pass. Be sure the helper has a treat in hand right where the flap of the door is open. This will lure the dog to the area and guide her through that small space. Do everything else the same—holding the leash on the other side, calling your dog through, and being ready with a treat. When she pushes through and realizes that the flap moves with her, that’s the big moment of clarity you’ve been waiting for. Once most dogs understand that the door is soft and they can control it, they’ll blow right through with no fear at all. Repeat a few more times with the flap slightly open until the dog has built up the knowledge and the courage to push it on her own. Most big dogs have no problem getting this down in a few minutes. Smaller dogs might take a little longer.
With just a corner of the flap raised, the dog will have to push through and feel the flap on her back.
In most cases, once your dog understands that the door is soft and she can control it, she’ll fearlessly pass through it.
Special for Brachycephalic Breeds. This method takes a little more creativity for breeds that don’t have a long snout to push the flap. Without a snout, the door can push on their bulging eyes and cause a potentially serious hazard. Here’s an easy fix to make the training process work. Follow the steps above but have your helper hold the leash this time so your dog doesn’t ram the door. With the leash being controlled from the same side of the door as the dog, your helper can set the pace of the learning process so your dog has to slowly push the door, forcing her to get a feel for the weight and flexibility of it. This way she can learn to adjust by tipping her head lower or higher to protect her eyes and still open the flap. This learning curve usually happens pretty quickly because these dogs know from experience that their eyeballs can get bumped. The leash just ensures that learning takes place before any injuries can happen. A little extra adjustment from the dog will make the door just as safe a passage for her as for any other dog.
13
CHEWING
When I go to an animal shelter anywhere in the Southwest, there are usually so many Chihuahuas it’s overwhelming. Worse yet, too many of any breed in a shelter can make people think that kind of dog doesn’t make a good pet. Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to these dogs with small bodies but big personalities. Instead, there are a lot of factors that play into the high numbers of Chihuahuas who end up abandoned and homeless. One reason is what some shelters call the Paris Hilton Effect or the Legally Blonde Effect—basically when millions of people see one of these dogs in the arms of a celebrity, a lot of them want one. But when they get their new dogs home, they figure out that these are living, breathing, thinking beings, not accessories. Also, a lot of people looking for a small commitment mistakenly think they’ve found it when they get a small dog. But it doesn’t work that way. Even the smallest dog needs to be fed, watered, played with, exercised, and trained for any relationship to work. When owners realize a small dog requires as much labor and attention as a big one, sometimes they back out of the deal. By then it’s nearly too late for the unwanted dog who ends up in a shelter.
For all these reasons, plus the fact that they can make great pets for almost any dedicated dog owner, I train a lot of Chihuahuas. The first time I met Flash, I knew he was a diamond in the rough. He was tiny, only six months old, and completely untrained—but he was also confident, friendly, and trusting. As soon as we started training, he showed me he was a quick study. Unfortunately, he had a hacking cough that the veterinarian diagnosed as kennel cough—a highly contagious condition that can spread like wildfire among unvaccinated dogs at animal shelters. Once I got his diagnosis, Flash had to spend ten days taking antibiotics in quarantine at the ranch before I could really see what he was capable of.
Once he was healthy, Flash loved being let loose for playtime with the other dogs. He held his own with all of them, despite the fact that he was usually the smallest in the yard. I had a great family in mind for this spunky little dog—a couple with an energetic six-year-old boy who could match a puppy’s energy and become his playmate. I could imagine the two of them growing up together.
Unfortunately, at the end of his fi
rst long day of training, Flash revealed a habit that wasn’t going to work in any house with a young child and plenty of toys: he wasn’t above helping himself to things that didn’t belong to him so he could chew on them. I caught him chomping away at my shoe, then later on the corner of a pillow. Before I could place him in a home, I’d have to teach him to keep his teeth to his own toys and treats.
The Problem
Whether your dog takes the corner off your grandma’s heirloom rug, demolishes your remote, chews the leg of your favorite chair, or mauls your kid’s beloved stuffed animal, chewing is an unacceptable problem that will only get worse with time. For your dog’s safety and the well-being of your stuff, he’ll have to learn to resist temptation. There are lots of different reasons dogs chew, and knowing which kind of chewer you’re dealing with can help you find a solution.
Puppies. Puppies teethe just like babies do, trying to ease the process and the pain it causes by biting down on anything they can find. It’s a stage they all go through. Many veterinarians believe that when puppies are teething, their gums actually itch from the process. Since they can’t very well scratch their gums, the next best relief comes from applying counterpressure. Think of what happens when you’ve got an itch on your foot and can’t get to it to scratch it right away. Most of us will try to stomp it out. That’s the same thing a puppy is trying to do during those teething months. But for lots of dogs, the chewing doesn’t stop there. Many puppies keep on exploring the world with their mouth long after that last adult tooth is firmly in place. That’s what gets them into trouble in our world, where chomping down on anything that looks or smells interesting is a pretty big taboo.
If you have a young dog with a chewing habit or even an older dog who just never learned any better, it’s time to teach him what is and is not okay to chew. The first technique below is all about helping a dog understand that concept.
Adult Dogs. Adult dogs sometimes chew because they’re bored or have developed the habit and it feels good to them. The longer a dog has been at it, the harder it’s likely to be to bring chewing to a halt. If your dog has a deeply ingrained chewing habit, he’ll probably need more than just a few lessons in what he can and can’t chew. He’ll also need a deterrent. And a dog of any age who’s chewing on something potentially dangerous needs that deterrent stat.
Separation Anxiety Sufferers. Dogs who are chewing because they’re panicked or suffering from separation anxiety have a whole different kind of problem. If you think this may be the case for your dog, Chapter 17 is entirely devoted to this complex problem and offers solution suggestions.
The Approach
The reality is that you’re never going to be able to completely stop a dog who needs to chew. Instead, you need to redirect his habit from something that’s forbidden to something that’s allowed. It’s all about steering your dog the right way. Think of it as backseat driving. If you remind the driver to be careful and slow down often enough, you can eventually help instill that habit. Of the many ways to break a dog’s chewing habit, this first approach is one of my favorites. If your dog has a more severe habit, keep reading for additional techniques to include or add to this one that’s all about trial-and-error learning.
Before You Begin. Most of this book is about training the dog, but once in a while we have to focus on training ourselves. That’s definitely the case with chewing, where there are two guidelines I hope you’ll follow before you even start teaching your dog.
First, prevention is always the best way to avert a disaster. Before you start anti-chew training, dog-proof your house as much as possible, especially if you’re bringing home a new puppy. Puppies can’t help being a little (or sometimes a lot) destructive, so preventing them from capitalizing on their first instincts—to explore and to chew—is highly recommended. And no matter how old your dog is, if there are certain items that are big chewing temptations for him, don’t leave them lying around.
Second, keep a close eye on your dog when he’s roaming free until he’s well past the chewing phase. Too much freedom—especially the unearned kind—is an invitation to your dog to do his worst. If you leave every door in the house open and choose not to supervise, well, that’s just irresponsible. Much like you wouldn’t let your toddler walk around the house unsupervised, you shouldn’t allow your puppy to, either. Use doors and baby gates to place limits on your dog’s range of exploration.
A Step-by-Step Plan
For this technique you’re going to need:
•Plenty of chew toys. I prefer natural chews (like bully sticks, hooves, etc.) because they are made of materials a dog can easily learn to identify as okay for him to chew; some people prefer stuffed toys or tug and rope toys. Either kind of chew toy will work fine for this training technique.
•A few household items (we’ll get to those in a minute).
Step 1. Okay, now let’s talk about the dog. Once you’ve limited how much trouble yours can get into, it’s time to focus on teaching him what’s okay to chew and what’s forbidden. This method uses a simple process of elimination your dog can easily understand.
Start by choosing six objects—four things your dog is allowed to chew, and two he is not allowed to chew. The objects he’s not allowed to chew should be typical things he might find on or near the floor. For example, you might choose a stuffed dog toy, a bully stick, and a rope toy for the chewing-approved options; a remote control, a book, a shoe, or even an unplugged power cord work for the don’t-you-dare options. If there’s something your dog has been grazing on that’s forbidden, include it in this exercise.
Now, set all six objects out on the floor in no particular order, scattering them a foot or so apart and staying nearby to supervise. Next, you wait. If this is an ongoing problem in your household, before long your dog will approach one of the objects and begin to chew. If he chooses one of the okay-to-chew options, praise him, pet him, and allow him to enjoy it for a minute or two before moving the object away. You want to heavily reinforce the fact that he’s chewing something that’s allowed. If it’s a don’t-chew object, reprimand your dog with a sharp (but not angry) NO command or a clear, firm, “Ah, ah!” As soon as you clear the don’t-chew object out of his mouth, place it back on the ground and go back to waiting. Play this game with your dog for twenty minutes, ending the session on a positive note by praising him for choosing one of his own chew toys. Repeat with multiple sessions each day for a week until your dog starts to get the idea.
Considering okay-to-chew and don’t-chew options.
Step 2. Once again, spread all the training objects out on the floor and wait, but this time use different items so your dog can learn which ones are his to touch and chew, and which ones he should leave alone. This time, balance the ratio at three okay-to-chew objects and three don’t-chew objects. Praise and pet your dog when he goes for the things he can chew. Verbally reprimand him and pull him away when he chooses the things that aren’t allowed. This is an exercise you should repeat a few times each day, spending fifteen minutes on each session. Through this simple process of elimination, most dogs learn very quickly which chews lead to corrections and which ones lead to rewards. It’s a much more effective training method than just yelling at your dog when you happen to catch him chewing the wrong thing. That kind of broad correction can confuse him, making him wonder just what he did wrong. But a week or two of this process will have your dog figuring out the distinction between what’s acceptable to chew and what’s not.
Training Tips to Remember
As always, the training is in the details, so let’s discuss a few points.
Take Away Temptation. The last thing any puppy or new-to-you dog needs is too many ways to make a mistake. Until your dog gains an understanding of what is and isn’t okay to chew, don’t give him more options than he can handle. Keep your shoes and socks, your kids’ toys, and other likely chewing targets out of sight. The easiest way to do this is to establish a dog-safe area in your home and confine his free
time to that space. As he matures and learns the rules, you’ll be able to expand this area to include more (or all) of your home. Start small, and as your dog shows he understands what is and is not okay, give him access to one more area at a time. Only a dog with proven good behavior should have free range.
Remember How Your Dog Learns. Dogs are trial-and-error learners just like we are. If you send them clear signals about which behavior is acceptable and which is not, they learn from their mistakes and try to follow the rules as they understand them. You can take an extra step to help your dog keep all this straight by eventually gathering all his chew toys in one place and rewarding him for choosing things from that spot. Many dogs come to love the idea of their own toy basket or box almost as much as kids do.
Keep Corrections Quick and Calm. When you reprimand your dog, it’s important to use the right tone and volume. I never recommend yelling unless it’s to save a life. A slightly raised, stern voice is all you need. In addition, never spend too much time on a reprimand. A second or two is all that’s needed, then quickly redirect your dog to an acceptable alternative. If you’ve ever seen how a mother dog or any other older dog handles an overzealous puppy, you know what I’m talking about. The mom only needs to give a quick, firm grunt or growl to get her point across when she’s had enough nonsense—and she is the master of getting compliance from her little troublemakers. Spending too much time on a reprimand only leads to confusion—and in the long run, it can lead to your dog shutting down on you.
Most dogs pick this up quickly, but if you work this technique with your dog for a week and don’t see positive progress, try one of the alternative methods below. There are a lot of ways to solve this problem, and there’s definitely one that will work for you.
Lucky Dog Lessons Page 17