Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 10/15/2008

Question
Hi, I just adopted a Chihuahua/Jack Russell puppy. They told me she is 5 months old but she seems much older than that, maybe 10 months. I've had her for 10 days and I am concerned with some strange behavior she has displayed. She seems to have a weak memory, forgetting people and dogs she is being spending most of the times with after only one day of not seeing them. I also noticed that in two occasions especially, at some point, she suddenly started shaking when I went close to her (2 minutes before we were traning on commands and she was fine), she had her tail in between her legs and went hiding against a wall, refusing to come to me or respond to any attempt to pick her up. Yesterday she did it again and went hiding under my car first and then under some furniture. She is very stubborn, I know she can understand what I tell her to do because she does it when no distractions are around her, but most of the times she refuses to even respond to her name.
Still has potty problems even though I take her out many times and praise her when she goes potty.
I know she is gonna need a lot of training but I'm not sure whether I am being too strict or too inconsistent, since she spends time alone with me and then time with my boyfriend and his daughter with different approach to training. She also barks a lot and growls at people. Growling has gotten much better and she lets some people close to us now, but barking is a huge problem and my landlord doesn't is very strict about it. I don't want to end up evicted and put the dog on the street with me after I rescued her...Do you believe in crate traning? What's the best solution for this kind of behavior? Thank you so much for your time.

Francesca

Answer
Hi, Francesca,

Thanks for the question.

What's her name? Does she like to play? Can you stop concentrating on "training" her for the time being and just let her explore her new environment in her own way, and at her own pace? Does your boyfriend scold or threaten her? (If so, that's gotta stop!) Can you hand feed her all her meals?

Here's what I'd do with such a dog: for the first few weeks I'd simply let her get accustomed to me and my home environment. I'd feed her every day by lying on my back and putting her dog food on my torso, inviting her to come put her front paws up on me in order to eat. If that feels too dangerous to her, for the first few days I'd just lie there and hold the food out to her with one hand, softly praising her until she came and ate. But I would ONLY do this while I'm lying flat on my back. That's a must with this dog.

Once she starts to feel comfortable eating that way, I'd look for moments when she felt like playing with me. I'd play fetch and tug (if she'd let me), and I'd praise her for winning at tug. I'd also praise almost everything she does, even the bad stuff (except the housebreaking issues). Praise makes a dog feel socially connected, which is almost as important as food, water, and oxygen.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have further questions.

LCK
http://www.LeeCharlesKelley.com
“Changing the World, One Dog at a Time”