Anxious and noisy rescued Chihuaha!

[Guest Anonymous]

Hi everyone, I'm sure you guys must see this type of post all the time, but I really need some advice! I just adopted a 2.5 yr old chihuaha/terrier from the spca about a week ago. She's very shy and scared, and cowers on the floor when approached by strangers, but seems to have grown attached me. She always has to have me in sight when I'm at home, and barely tolerates my time in the bathroom with the door shut. But when I leave her alone in the apt, she chews up the carpet and the blinds which are against the front door. She did not destroy anything else, just the area around the front door. I put her in the kitchen, and she again only dug up the carpet near the entrance. And she also whines very very loudly! almost seconds after she thinks I've left. I will try to accustome her to my abscences by spending time pretending to leave and come home, but I'm worried how effective it will be since chihuahas are supposed to be a hard breed to train? I love her and she's adorable, but I live in an apt and her high pitched whining will eventually draw complaints!! I don't have the heart to punish her, and am fairly sure it won't work anyway. Please, any suggestion would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

[DogPaddle]

Couple suggestions you could try.
1. Get a crate and slowly crate train her. This will save your furniture, carpeting and blinds and give her a secure feeling zone of her own.
[Crate training methods can include feeding the dog in the crate, putting the dog in the crate starting with very short periods with you still there say while watching tv, slowly increase time in crate and begin leaving in crate for very short periods when your not there and work your way up, have a very special favourite treat she only gets when in the crate and if possible don't let her out while she is fussing only when she is calm, always praise her when she goes into the crate, do not use as a punishment, get a crate that is only big enough for the dog to sit, lie down, stand or turn around in - any larger and they mail mess in the crate.]
2. When you are out put her in the crate in a room that has carpeting and a fair amount of furniture and leave a radio on with classical music or the tv on an animal or wildlife channel - this masks some of her noise but more importantly gives her something to listen to or watch, don't forget the special treat.
3. As for the cowering - time will probably fix that, she needs lots of love.
Do not use a bark collar as this problem occurs when you are not home and dogs should not be left in bark collars unattended.

Good for you for adopting an adult dog. :D

[Daisysmom]

I totally agree. A crate is the way to go. You can even put it in your family room and when she is in it, sit in the same room with her as a comfort zone for her. And as for the special treat, I would get her a kong and stuff it with treats and peanutbutter so she will be so busy trying to get the treats out that she won't notice that you have left! Good luck, and good for you for adopting!!!! :D

[Carolk9s]

Kudos to you for adopting! Crate training is the BEST thing you can do for her at this stage. Please CONTINUE to be very patient with her, she has had a huge amount of confusion and instability in her life, she does not know yet that this is her forever home. Time will help her to understand that she is HOME and that you will return. You may well be the VERY BEST PERSON she has encountered in her life, naturally she wants to be with you all the time. I would recommend a plastic airline type crate, like a vari kennel, they are semi closed in and will give her more of a 'den' feeling. The crate is her refuge, her safe place, her snuggle down and relax place. Perhaps you can sacrifice an old tshirt or some other clothing or just cloth, wear it or sleep with it so your scent is strong on it. Put it in the crate with her along with a kong stuffed with a little peanut butter and a crunched up cookie or two. Her anxiety is probably the highest JUST after you leave so if her worry can be diverted for even a short time there is a better chance of success.
My sister adopted a chi/corgi mix some time back, her dog will go get one of my sisters shoes and carry it around. She will also jump on the couch and sleep with her head on the shoe. So far, she has not chewed them, just wants to cuddle with them.
Best of luck and please remember, be patient with your little girl. It is going to take a bit of time for her to truly understand that you are not abandoning her and that is HOME at last.

[Carolk9s]

P.S. Punishment is the LAST thing you want to do, she would not understand why she is being punished and it would only increase her anxiety. I'm not sure about Chi's being hard to train, I'm sure with patience, persistance, and praise you can train her quite well.
Chi's bond very tightly to their people, you are her god or goddess and that bond will continue to grow as time goes by.

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks for all the suggestions :) I would really feel bad about locking her up in a crate..I mean, I'll be gone to work 7 or 8 hours at a time, isn't it cruel to put her in that small space for so long? I'm leaving her in the bathroom for now with her little bed etc. , where she can't really do much damage...will that work the same as a crate? I read carefully what yu guys said about crates, but I would feel so cruel caging her like that!!

[Daisysmom]

I used to think the same thing about crates, but now my puppy goes in there on her own when she is tired. I leave the gate open. They feel safe in there. Don't think of it as a cage. Let her get used to it slowly. It really works. Don't close her in at first. Put a bed or nice blanket in there and some of her toys. She will know it is hers.

[DogPaddle]

If you will be gone 8-9 hours see if a neighbour will come by halfway through the day to let her out, especially to start. (Do you walk her or use a doggie litterbox?)
The benefits of the crate over the bathroom are:
1) The crate can be put in any room of the house so the dog can see the regular areas of its den and will not think its being shut out of the common traffic areas. Also may bark if in bathroom because may think you are home but in another room.
2) Crate allows dog to see more of the room it is in.
3) Dog may be able to listen to stereo or watch tv easier from a crate then from the bathroom.
4) If you visist or travel or go to the vets or have an emergency you pet is already crate trained and will have its safe place that can go anywhere thereby reducing its stress.

You could also get a crate and an x-pen or perhaps just the xpen if you want to give your dog more space and still have all/some of the benefits of a crate.
If you still want to use the bathroom as an area of containment make sure it is puppy proofed and try the radio trick in there.
Best of Luck