I paid a small re-homing fee and brought this chihuahua into my home at the end of January 2010. The owners that I purchased him from informed me that the dog only lived with them for about 4 months and that he was originally purchased for mating their female (since the male they already had wouldn’t). Apparently, the older male only needed some competition because the female birthed puppies that looked identical to the older male and, while the younger male didn’t pose a problem initially, the older male constantly attacked him once the puppies arrived. Therefore, they sought to find another home for the dog and this is where I came into the picture.
When I met with the owner, he informed me of a couple of things… The dog had apparently been abused by the previous owners (according to him…it may have been while in their household) and was very timid. He stated that the dog wouldn’t even come near him during the first 2 weeks in their home. He also stated that the dog was malnourished when they got him but they were progressing a little (horrible diet of human scraps if I may add…bowels smelled terrible and incredibly bulky). He also stated that the dog was purebred and AKC registered although he had no papers. I wasn’t really concerned about that; I just wanted a chihuahua really badly and would see that he was restored to good health.
Well, the timidness was obvious from day 1. He wouldn’t come anywhere near me but would reluctantly come to my sister; he warmed up to me after a couple of weeks. He was extremely frightened of strangers… when introduced to my parents he defecated while in my mother’s arm and still urinates til this day when scolded… I definitely believe the story of abuse (although I’m not sure from which family)….He has a strict diet of dog food and raw vegetables and has gained impressive weight. He also is much more sociable although he still dislikes strangers; instead of cowering, he barks and occassionally bites.
With everything being said, I still have some issues…. I realize that his urinating during nervousness or scolding stems from fear; is there anyway to get that under control and to an eventual stop? and what are correct ways of properly socializing him?

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Filed under: Chihuahua Dog

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