Mary Allen
Puppies will nip and bite when playing with littermates or their humans. You are not yet good at assessing your own strength and you have to learn when it hurts the other person. When fighting with other puppies, they will howl and squeak if they get too much and/or run away and stop playing.
A man should handle it in the same way when working on bite inhibition with his small dog child. If the Chihuahua bites its fingers or toes during play, you can also “squeak” loudly or simply say “Ouch”. Then you get up and ignore the puppy for a short while. So the Chihuahua quickly learns that if he pinches, the fun is over.
If dog children have learned this bite inhibition and are otherwise well educated, they will not simply bite for no reason as adult dogs.
Triggers for snapping and biting can be:
- fear
- stress
- pain / undetected illness
- defense of resources (in the case of the Chihuahua often the attention of his favorite human,
but also food or toys).
- negative experiences
- hormonal changes (thyroid).
- wrong communication.
A bite from an adult Chihuahua can also be very painful or cause infection. If your dog has already bitten you, safety always comes first. So it may be advisable to first use a muzzle on walks or even at home so that the four-legged friend cannot bite you, visitors, or passers-by.
In addition, a dog trainer should be consulted urgently. He will first find out the cause of the snapping so that the problem can then be worked on in a targeted manner.
Important: Always take your dog to a veterinarian to rule out any health issues.