I love Chihuahuas. I really do. Yes, more than any other breed, Chihuahuas routinely try to bite me at the beginning of training (Pip has been no different) but I love their spunk. Chihuahuas are a dog that can not only be taken out by any other breed of dog, but also some small birds can kill them. They are cocky, spirited, little strutters who put on a heck of a show.
Pip is such a sweet little bossy-pants. She has a severe case of the "you're not my mother!"s and is plain not interested in listening to me. However, after a few well timed and appropriately used corrections she is starting to see things from my point of view. She likes to think that it is Pip's way or the highway and she is starting to understand that it is actually Emily's way or...well, there's only my way.
Today we only worked on Heel/Autosit. I got one Autosit all day but she did eventually start routinely sitting when told to. I don't accept half-sits, which she tries to do ALL the time. She must put her entire little bottom on the ground or it doesn't count. She hates me for this. But when I am not making her put her little bottom down we are actually pretty good buddies. Right now she is helping me write this by standing on my leg and keeping watch.
She is not too impressed with the other dogs here. She and Kylie have this mutual respect and are living in polite indifference to one another but Ace, who wants to play with her (he has many tiny dog friends) has been chased out of the room by Pip more than once today. It is quite a funny scene to watch a 5lb Chihuahua genuinely terrify a pitbull. But Ace is not nearly as brave as he pretends to be.
Tomorrow we are going to start working on Down and Implied Stay. Pip is so short that I am going to have to employ the trick I had to use for Butter over Thanksgiving and teach her down on a table. This will save my back a great deal of agony when it comes to bending over to correct a tiny dog who doesn't want to lay down. Should be a fun day, for me anyway. Pip will probably not be a fan until she realizes that she gets hugs and cuddles when she gets it right.
Pip is such a sweet little bossy-pants. She has a severe case of the "you're not my mother!"s and is plain not interested in listening to me. However, after a few well timed and appropriately used corrections she is starting to see things from my point of view. She likes to think that it is Pip's way or the highway and she is starting to understand that it is actually Emily's way or...well, there's only my way.
Today we only worked on Heel/Autosit. I got one Autosit all day but she did eventually start routinely sitting when told to. I don't accept half-sits, which she tries to do ALL the time. She must put her entire little bottom on the ground or it doesn't count. She hates me for this. But when I am not making her put her little bottom down we are actually pretty good buddies. Right now she is helping me write this by standing on my leg and keeping watch.
She is not too impressed with the other dogs here. She and Kylie have this mutual respect and are living in polite indifference to one another but Ace, who wants to play with her (he has many tiny dog friends) has been chased out of the room by Pip more than once today. It is quite a funny scene to watch a 5lb Chihuahua genuinely terrify a pitbull. But Ace is not nearly as brave as he pretends to be.
Tomorrow we are going to start working on Down and Implied Stay. Pip is so short that I am going to have to employ the trick I had to use for Butter over Thanksgiving and teach her down on a table. This will save my back a great deal of agony when it comes to bending over to correct a tiny dog who doesn't want to lay down. Should be a fun day, for me anyway. Pip will probably not be a fan until she realizes that she gets hugs and cuddles when she gets it right.
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