how to teach your chihuahua to stop biting

teaching your chihuahua to stop biting requires consistency and hard work.  train your chihuahua at a young age so that they learn early that biting and chewing is bad behavior.

1:  play with your chihuahua and bring attention to your hands.

sit on the floor with your chihuahua and play.  bring their attention to your hands by tapping the floor in front of them and wiggling your fingers.

tip:  don’t scare your chihuahua by tapping their face.  teasing might cause them to instinctively bite out of self-defense.

2:  yell “ow!” and stop playing if your chihuahua bites.

loudly and sharply yell “ow!” when your chihuahua bites you too hard.  quickly pull your hands away and immediately stop playing.

3:  play again and see if your chihuahua continues to bite.

play with your chihuahua again after a few minutes have passed.  again, draw attention to your hands, and see if they bite.

4:  offer a reward if your chihuahua doesn’t bite.

offer a treat or other reward if your chihuahua doesn’t bite your hand and continue to play with them.

5:  yell “ow!” again; ignore for 20 seconds if they bite.

yell “ow!” again if they bite you.  then turn away and ignore your chihuahua or put them in a designated time-out spot.  wait 20 to 30 seconds before turning to them and trying again.

tip:  choose a small room away from people, toys, and other animals for your time-out spot and use this spot as a means of punishment.  never hit your chihuahua to punish them.

6:  be consistent.

be consistent in your training, practicing in short, 15-minute bursts of time as often as you can.  your chihuahua will quickly learn that biting is a quick way to bring an end to the fun.

source:  dog training 101 videos at howcast.com

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