Chihuahua is the most popular smallest dog breed in the world. It may look very delicate and fragile yet; it is the most dominant dog to do fierce engagements. You can find a variety of breed, color, size, head shape and length in Chihuahua. The history of the race rooted back to ancient Mexican civilization, as per the available archaeological findings and folklore references. The dog can be very whimsical at times; however, it is possible to train the dog perfectly to have adorable qualities.
Let us find here how we can train Chihuahua not to bark in wanted situations and stop from excessive barking.
Before we go into the rounds of why Chihuahua is barking, we need to analyze the reasons accurately. The basic fact is that they love to bark and it is their nature. Many reasons prompt a Chihuahua to bark. When they see something insensitive or smell something dangerous, they become furious and start barking. Even if they are excited or bored also will be a reason for barking.
The following could be the general reasons why Chihuahua is barking:
- For conveying some messages
- If they feel bored
- Due to excitement
- Smelling dangers
- If some other pets encroach into his territory
- To warn you or family of any impending danger
- Due to separation/isolation
- Trapped in some location and unable to come out/escape
- To express displeasure
- For fun, especially when he is very playful
As a practice to stop barking or regulate excessive barking, you need to be very careful about the rewarding policies. You need to make it a practice to communicate with your dog and get him understand what is acceptable to you and never try to reward your dog when he is continuously barking. If you reward him at the time of barking or in between the barking, he will develop a wrong impression that he got the reward due to the excessive barking.
Many dog owners make the silly mistakes to correct the dog in a wrong way by adopting wrong gestures. These gestures inadvertently feed like a wrong message in the conscious of the dog and your Chihuahua continue to embarrass you with his whimsical attitudes.
- Do not yell or shout at your dog, when he is barking. If you pay attention to him, he may think that because of barking you paid the attention.
- In case your Chihuahua bark, and you let him go out, he will believe that because of the barking you have let him go out or let him come into the house.
- During the barking, if you pay attention and reward him to stop barking, he may think that by barking he can get your attention and also have some rewards.
Now let us deal with your Chihuahua, how to train him not to bark or do not bark excessively and obey your commands.
Early age training: For any animals, it is better to start training in their early stage of life. It applies to Chihuahua too. You can easily train them barking etiquettes if you can launch the training at their early life. By the time they grow up, their behavior will get set and would be difficult to mold again. However, there are mechanisms to train even a grown up Chihuahua, which can make considerable changes in their barking habits.
Teach commands: Train them to understand commands. You can start teaching single small words, come, stay, sit, stop, etc. Start teaching one word at a time. You must understand that when you clearly pronounce a word looking at them, they will respond something. When they respond or obey correctly, give a treat and appreciate. Continue the training for few days, until Chihuahua can clearly remember the command and follow accordingly. Once he is in a situation to pick up the command, then you can move to the second command. Never scold your dog, during the training or if they misbehave or disobey or do some nasty things. In such cases, you can ignore him.
Remove the reasons: Sometimes your Chihuahua starts barking continuously, without listening to your commands. In such situation, you must check the reason. The dog may start barking if something he considers as a threat to him. It may be a stranger or another dog that trigger his emotions, leading to continuous barking, because it has entered the safe territory of your Chihuahua. If you see something like that, you can pull down the curtain or remove those threatening triggers from the visible territory or safe territory of your dog.
Introduce gradually: Desensitization is the best technique to reduce the intensity of barking when he sees unacceptable things that trigger his emotions. You can introduce other dogs and people gradually to him, which are calling as the ‘trigger,’ by keeping them at a safe distance. After exposing them for few days, you can reduce the safety distance and bring the “trigger” gradually close to your Chihuahua. Over a period of training, he will start accepting the ‘triggers.’ When your dog obediently responds to your training, make it a practice to give him some delicious treats. This kind of compliments will develop a feeling that he is receiving the rewards due to the good habits.
Other useful training: If someone knocked your door or pressed the calling bell, and upon hearing if your Chihuahua start barking, ignore his bark and never open the door while he is barking. Only after he stopped barking, you may open the door for your guest. If your dog continues barking, then you can ask your dog to stay quiet by giving the command, “quiet.”
Conclusion:
Chihuahua training requires consistent practice. You can achieve the results gradually, so you must be tactical and should have some knowledge about the basic behavioral pattern of your dog. Once you start to give training, you need to continue the process with great patience. The most important rule while providing training is that you should never compliment or give a treat to your Chihuahua when he misbehaves or shows disobedience or bark continuously. The purpose of the training is not to stop barking permanently but to regulate the intensity of barking.
