Settling a rescue chihuahua

Taking on a rescue chihuahua is a great thing to do, but the process can have some challenges.

Chihuahuas are one of the most surrendered breeds. They can find themselves in a shelter for various reasons, such as the death of the owner, or being rescued from a puppy farm or hoarder. But one of the main reasons they are handed in is behaviour. Aggressive or fear-based barking, biting, resource guarding or shut down and pessimistic.

So, when you take on a rescue chihuahua, the chances are it’s not going to be all plain sailing.

If the chihuahua has managed to secure a foster home before you adopt them, that will be a better start for them, as the average chihuahua is going to find the environment around a shelter difficult to cope with.

Most rescues will do any medical work that’s required. This often includes spaying and neutering of complete dogs. This is understandable, but unhelpful in the case of the boys. While the spaying of the girls is better once she is mature, neutering males can pile on the behaviour problems. The drop off of testosterone reduces confidence and can cause fear based aggression and barking. Here is an interesting paper by Dr Tom Mitchell, one of the country’s leading vet behaviorists.

Get as much background as possible, including any bite history. Some rescues like to avoid giving you the background, but you need to know what you’re dealing with.

It is possible your rescue chihuahua has been babied and carried everywhere. This will mean poor muscle tone and you may need to gently build up their fitness. They also may have been kept in diapers and aren’t toilet trained.

Chihuahuas also attract some of the worst training advice I have ever seen. The chihuahua may have started to develop unhelpful behaviours when young and owners go to some of the larger chihuahua forums for advice. This advice is handed out by people with no understanding of dog behaviour. All it does is create more anxiety and, in some cases, severe trauma for the dog. Making behaviour worse so the owner has no choice but to hand the dog in.

So how can you get your rescue chihuahua off to the best start?

Your chihuahua will need time to decompress. Your chihuahua’s emotional bucket will be full. A lot has happened to them in recent months, so this is to be expected. Create a cozy corner and leave the dog alone. A crate or pen is a good idea. Too much space can be overwhelming and make it hard for the dog to settle.

As your chihuahua’s emotional bucket fills, you will get overspill behaviours. Give your dog time for their bucket to empty.

It’s tempting to keep picking them up, smothering them with love, getting them to meet family members, but all of this is stressful. Leave them alone, let them potter and come to you in their own time. Actively keep people away from the dog. Be prepared for this to take a few weeks.

Do not try to put a harness on them and take them for a walk. The dog will already be stressed, putting them into an environment they are not familiar with will not help. Let the dog pee in the garden or just use mats for the moment. Again, this can take a few weeks.

Don’t expect your rescue chihuahua to be grateful. This is a human construct. For the dog this is just another unknown stressful situation for them to deal with.

Grow your chihuahua’s optimism

Start to build your chihuahua’s optimism. Play games with them that will shift their mindset from negative to positive. We want our chihuahua to cultivate a ‘seeking’ frame of mind.

Like people, dogs have an avoidance and seeking system in their brains. Avoidance is about danger and fear and is driven by fight or flight, seeking is about thriving. Dogs like to hunt & scavenge, chew & lick. So, create opportunities for your dog to do this and it will shift your chihuahua’s mindset to positive.

Some games to play,

Food flicks across the floor, getting them to chase food.

Scatter feeding in the garden. (Throwing some food on the grass).

Catch. This is a joyful game and helps with a nice stretch for fitness and tension.

Snuffle mats and lick mats are fun ways to get your dog hunting and seeking.

Long-term chews, but not things that your chihuahua can consume in one sitting or they will get fat.

Play games in the garden to get your chihuahuas focus to be on you and not the environment. Here’s a link to three easy to follow games you can start to play at home.

Getting your rescue chihuahua out and about

Once you feel your chihuahua is ready to go outside, introduce it with micro walks. Micro walks are tiny walks punctuated with fun games. Think of your walk as a circuit, a micro walk is a very small circuit that helps you rehearse success rather than barking at other dogs.

Micro Walks, start you circuit off small and play games. Gradually increase the circuit as your chihuahua becomes confident.

Another good game to play is leg crawls. Sit on the floor with your legs out in front and throw food out, your chihuahua should orientate back to you. Encourage them to climb on you and crawl under your legs to get them used to being around you. This is a good game for any other members of the family to play. Chihuahuas can imprint on one member and then be unfriendly to others, even start to resource guard them. If your chihuahua has taken against your partner this article can help.

Change the label

By changing the label I mean change your mindset. People use the ‘it’s a rescue’ to excuse all sorts of behaviour issues. But the truth is your chihuahua isn’t a rescue, they are your dog. Don’t fall into the trap of letting the label be your dog’s future. If your chihuahua is barking and lunging at other dogs, rather than shouting “Sorry he’s a rescue” to get you out of dodge, be empowered to make the behaviour changes that will enhance your dog owning journey. Join us at Chihuahua School for all the strategies and support you need

Need more help?

You may need a more comprehensive approach to settling your rescue. We have a full programme on this in our award winning, online chihuahua training programme Chihuahua School. Find out more here.

There are also some free downloadable guides in the sidebar.