Chihuahua growling at me

Kasietchka

I have a male Chihuahua that is about 18 months old and we have recently got a female Chihuahua who is about 5 months old. Neither are neutered and both get along very well.

The male Chihuahua is now less interested in me which I fully expected but what is happening now is that he will growl at me whenever I go to pick him up. Sometimes even if I look at him he will growl or run away.

Can anybody help please?

A very fustrated owner:(,
Kasia.

portgirl123

what do you do when he growls at you?

Cherry Blossom

Why are you picking him up?

Kasietchka

When he growls I say "No" firmly and put him down from the couch for example.

He used to be very affectionate and liked to be picked up so he could sit beside me on the couch. To be fair its not just when I pick him up. It can also happen if I move towards him, pet him and sometimes if i even look at him. He's never shown his teeth in anger or went to bite, just growls like to say I dont want you near me.

Any suggestion why he would growl? What does it mean? Is it because there is a new female dog in the house?

Chris_Heilong

Why are you picking him up?

She should be able to pick up her dog without getting growled at

OP its a little strange that the dog is growling first and then running away, it sounds like he may be afraid of you, do you remember if anything scarred him, for examle did you accidently step on him or something simular?

Kasietchka

Thanks Chris for your reply

I can't remember any time i might have stepped on him or hit him by accident. Hes very well looked after and if I'm being honest probably a bit spoilt.

The only two things that I can think of is:

1) The new female dog
2) I had to go abroad with work for 2 weeks just before we got the female dog and maybe it started when I got back.

When I was away he stayed with my boyfriend in our house as normal so his surroundings never changed. Its going on for about 6 weeks now. Its very fustrating as I treat him so well and he used to be so affectionate to me. He growls a little bit towards my boyfriend but not to the same extend as he does with me.

I appreciate everybodys interest in my problem and I hope to be able to get to the bottom of it.

Cherry Blossom

Is there any chance that he has fallen off something or been stood on by accident, or had a falling out with the other, it sounds like he might be in pain when he is picked up. I would get a vet to rule out anything like that before considering it a behavioural problem.

By throwing another dog into the mix though you are changing the dynamics drasticly and he might need a bit of time to adjust.

Kasietchka

Thanks adrenalinjunkie for your reply

I'm pretty sure he's not in pain. Its going on about 6 weeks and he can growl when I look towards him or just pet him not just when I try to pick him up.

Cherry Blossom

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

She should be able to pick up her dog without getting growled at

Why are you quoting me? I asked why she was picking the dog up as it may have been relevant to the issue. Why do you automatically assume it wouldn't be?

Cherry Blossom

Kasietchka wrote: »

Thanks adrenalinjunkie for your reply

I'm pretty sure he's not in pain. Its going on about 6 weeks and he can growl when I look towards him or just pet him not just when I try to pick him up.

I don't think 'pretty sure' is enough tbh, I'd get him checked out by a vet first especially as you say you were away for 2 weeks, it could be any number of medical issues. I know of a Jack Russell that suddenly became agressive and it turned out she had fractured ribs, they came to the conclusion that the postman or someone must have kicked her.

If it's behavioural it could be any number of things or something you don't realise you are doing and I would get a behaviourist out to your house in this case, this is the more expensive option so I'd go with vet first.

Chris_Heilong

As drenalinjunkie said by throwing another dog into the mix though you are changing the dynamics drasticly this combined with not seeing you for 2 weeks and if the female is very submissive then this may lead to the dog reassesing the pecking order and putting himself on top and the pack leader does not get picked up.

You can try using treats to encourage the dog to come close to you, after a little bit of time try and convince him to allow you to rub his belly and when ever its feeding time make sure he does something before you feed him, even if its just a sit down, this will help establish you as pack leader again.

Kasietchka

adrenalinjunkie - Other people have been in the house and it doesn't growl at them. Most of the time my boyfriend can pick him up, pet him, etc.... and he's fine with that. He's always in the house or back garden which is enclosed so he's never out on the streets without myself or my boyfriend so I'm 100% sure he's not been harmed in any way.

tbh I think you guys have it right about the whole pack leader things coupled with the fact I had to go away for 2 weeks. So suggestions of what I should be doing to help this situation would be much appreciated.

Chris - I'll use that treats idea for sure. thanks

Kasietchka

Has anybody else any other suggestions what could be causing him to growl?

Or any other tips of what I could do to stop this behaviour?

SimpleOrder

haha thats pretty sad...im not for sure what i would do.

kylith

I'm not too familiar with Chihuahuas, but could the female be in/be coming into heat? If he's not neutered that might effect his behavior.

lrushe

If you've ruled out any medical reason for him growling then do you think you might be smothering him?
Alot of people think dogs (especially really small ones) need to be babied, held, stroked by your side 24/7. If a larger dog lies across the room from you you'd think nothing of it but for some reason people think they need to have small dogs stuck to them like a band aid. Not so. It sounds to me as though your dog is asking for space and he is growling quite simply because well it works, you leave him alone, don't pick him up etc. He probably wasn't overwhelmed with affection while you were away or giving your new dog attention and realised he like it.
If you have to pick him up for a good reason, ignore his growl and pick him up but just don't do it unnecessarily.
Does he have a crate, my Chihuahua loves her crate and will voluntarily go in there when she needs her space, I have a little blanket the I throw over the crate to give her some privacy, they really are a sensitive little dog and enjoy being hidden from view. If your Chi is on the couch with you I'd advise putting down a blanket he can get under if he feels a bit overwhelmed or exposed, remember the world is a whole lot bigger to him!!!

KaiserMc

Good advice from Irushe there.. just acknowledge him when you come in, just say'Hi scamp' give him a little smile and hand wave and carry on your normal routine in the house all the while ignoring him and in no time he will work out the new situation in the house and seek your attention.