Yappy chihuahua!

[WaawaaB]

I knew they had a reputation for it but so doors my other dogs breed but he isn't too bad. Just doesn't like the postman.

My chihuahua didn't even bark till about 7 months.

She's now just turned one and in the last month she won't shut up. Once she realised she could bark outside she just hasn't stopped.

Every time she goes in the garden she will bark at every single noise or movement.

It's stressing me out so bad as I immediately bring her back inside.

She's had a few accidents indoors as I've brought her in before she's done her business.

Any ideas how to make her stop?

I dont know about chihuahuas and their presumably tiny bladders but does she need to do her business in your garden? My DDog has never once set foot in our backyard (rescue dog with some strange hang ups) but he does all his weeing and pooing on his walks. I would think if she's only barking excessively in the garden just dont let her in the garden.

She enjoys it though and the kids are in and out all the time.

My older dog lives to sun bake in the garden.

DH is always out there with his plants.

It's a big part of our lives especially in the summer so I can't exclude her from family life outdoors.

Try to teach the Quiet ! Command. Go near the dog when barking, wait until they stop then the second they do, say Quiet! And give a treat. Repeat until eventually when barking you should be able to stop them by saying quiet and dog will come for a treat. Worked with my Pomeranian who would bark when on walks constantly.

Ah well hopefully someone has some good ideas. I thought when you said about accidents she was just going out to wee.

You need to train the quiet command - start indoors with no distractions and then once she's reliable inside, slowly add in more and more distractions.

She doesn't really bark indoor though.

Just goes mad outside and doesn't listen to a word I say so I have to just pick her up and carry her inside. I don't think she's calm enough at that point to learn anything.

So if she's too overstimulated to listen then I would have her on a long lead and bring her inside every single time she starts barking. She should soon make the connection between barking and the fun stopping.

They're smart cookies and, if yours is as foody as mine, will pick up commands to stop.

When mine kicks off in the garden - usually as a result of other neighbourhood dogs barking - if she does more than one yip, I will say, firmly "IN" and point at the back door, and off she trots for a time out. Once she's settled down she's allowed back out again.

Reacting to external stimulants is totally normal, especially for this breed, and they're never going to entirely stop, it's just finding that off switch and being consistent with your training.

That's a great idea. Thankyou.

She's a really sweet girl and doesn't ahve any of the chihuahua meanness some seem to have.

She's lovely. But her bark is so loud and shrill!

Yes she's a food menace. So keep a good treat with me and when she barks I should call her over with it and if she's quiet she gets a treat?

If you keep her on a long line as above and try and the goal will be if she hears something that would stimulate her to bark - such as other dogs barking or neighbours in the garden, she comes to you for a snack instead of losing her head.

I would start by being as close to her as possible on the long line, when she kicks off take a step away from her to see if she turns to look at you and then if she does offer a treat. The goal being "oo a noise that means SNACK!" rather than "oo a noise, I MUST SCREAM".

With the treats, you do need to be sure to get the timing right, otherwise you could accidentally teach her that barking gets her your attention and a treat.

Personally I use treats to reward the quiet - so if she's outside and calm, then I would say something like "quiet" and then treat rather than wait until she makes a noise.

If she’s barking at noises given her age it’s likely to be a fear period. You can’t reward stopping as it’s an emotion.

Unless you can counter condition then I’d limit outside time. Excitement barking is different and needs a different approach. But if it’s noise sensitivity then it’s likely not.

My dog (small) also went through the same and we limited exposure and she grew out of it because we didn’t let her practice it or get more scared. The other night neighbours were having a very loud conversation late at night and she just looked up and carried on having a wee.

Management is key.