My 3 month old chihuahua is scared of everything! How can I help her to see the world isnt so scary?
I just got her 2 weeks ago. She was with about 20 other chihuahuas and not much human contact at all. She is so shy and scared of every loud noise. I know it will take time for her to get used to us. And I can tell a difference in her comfort level. For instance she loooves to be held, she will just fall right asleep. But if I take her outside she just stands there with her tail tucked between her legs and doesnt move. If she does she tries to run away (of course she is on a leash). I’m just looking for ways to encourage her to move around and explore! Right now potty training her is almost impossible. She was an outside dog, so she is pretty much used to going wherever. she wont use puppy pads. I have them all over the house but she goes anywhere but the pad. If I try to stop her she gets soo scared and cowers up. I dont want to terrify her. plus she just pees in a long line then. She is so scared of everything Ive been hesitant on putting her in a crate.
You’ll probably get this a lot but I would suggest the puppy course for obedience training. They have beginner courses and then puppy classes. I own a chihuahua mix (he’s about 5 pounds and he’s mostly afraid of loud noises. Because they’re so small everything is just so big to them! So the most you can do is take her to a socialization classes and bring her on walks if you can, not scary walks in the city, but maybe a nice walk in the country? I’d suggest possibly start making loud noises and if she doesn’t get scared reward her with a treat. As for the potty training, I would go against using mats only because it teaches the dogs going to the bathroom inside is OK as long as it’s on this object, which the goal is to get them to go outside completely. Put her outside every 30 minutes if you have to and reward her when she goes, eventually she’ll catch on peeing outside = love love love! Good luck!
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