Are Chihuahua's naturally aggressive?

[actony1]

I had a Chihuahua for 15 years, and he was always pretty aggressive. Especially anytime somebody hugged or even touched somebody else. We were never able to break him of it, but we weren't overly worried about it because he was only 3 lbs.

I have talked to several other people who have mentioned that their Chihuahua's were pretty aggressive too, and I was wondering if that is just something that is specific to their breed?

 

[Fran101]

No. They aren't . My chihuahua isn't.

Being people aggressive is COMMON for chihuahuas, because its allowed. people get them and they are so small that people forget to train them, or they allow them to act up because its "CUTE" that combined with a VERY strong bond to their people makes for the high number of aggressive ones

People forget that they are DOGS. and aggression isnt cute and shouldn't be allowed. regardless of size

 

[FoxyWench]

chihuahus should NOT be agressive.

its common for them to be protective of their people...
but flat out agressive is a FAULT.
chihuahuas should be feisty, outgoing and a little bit terrier like...they form strong bonds with thier people, and tend to be "breedist" (prefering the company of other chihuahuas) but agression is actually a learned behaviour...

like most small breeds they are all oto often allowed to get away with bad behaviour because "there small" you said yourself, you wernt overly worried because he was only 3lbs, unfortunatly this is an attitude most folks get about small breeds...
oh i dont have to train him because i can just pick him up if he gets out of hand...or "hes so small i dont need to teach him anything"

chihuahuas need a kind but firm hand, they do NOT do well with punishment, raised voices, physical punishment ect...
instead the breed needs to be taught with lots of positive reinforcment and most of all needs to partake in alot of confidence building excersizes.

ive NEVER met a truly "Agressive" chihuahua, just very underconfident ones...
dodger is under confident, he doesnt like strangers despite our every effort to socilize him, (he was abused before comming to me) BUT he also knows there are behaviours we do not permit, he knows if a stranger comes into the house he simply keeps away we will do the rest, he knows he doesnt HAVE to be agressive because we are in charge of the situation...
guests know that they are to completly ignore him, and let him coem to them rather than visa versa, and he knows that if hes with oen of us and growls at a guest hes going to me imediatly removed from the situation (which is a huge "bad" thing for him because he wants to be with us...

 

[InLimbo87]

I'd have to agree with Fran (edit: and foxxy) here. It all boils down to environment, training, and the like. To the OP, what kind of training/work did you do with your chi in order to prevent/discourage this behavior? Also, what kind of aggressive behaviors did he exhibit?

This is a misconception, and one that most responsible Chihuahua owners can NOT STAND to hear. Just like the bully breed people do not like stereotypes being passed down to their breeds, we would like to enjoy the same courtesy.

 

[milos_mommy]

No, they are not naturally aggressive.

If he's showing aggression when you're hugging, it's resource guarding YOUR attention. Many dogs will try and do this if they're not trained properly. No one is going to tolerate a german shepherd or a golden retriever doing this, because they're big enough to be dangerous. So they'll stop it, very very quickly.

The problem is, chihuahuas are three pounds, so no one is overly worried about it. Most people think they don't have to train a three pound dog. Many chihuahuas are untrained, because their people NATURALLY assume they don't need to train a 3 lb dog.

 

[Island dog]

I think the above posters hit the nail on the head. My post regarding Bruce is a perfect example of a dog that was raised as a 'dog'. Bruce has the personality of a 'dog' and treats and is accepted by other dogs as just that. The other dogs aren't concerned with his size - it's his attitude - which is wonderful. His is a well rounded confident dog. I can't tell you how much this little guy with a big personality has impressed all the dog owners that gather every day. Bruce has become a hands down favorite.

 

[PoodleMommy]

I think everyone is right but there is another component.

Chis are a breed that is very popular with puppymills (as are many other small breeds) these dogs will many times have behavioral issues from their start (sitting in a cage for 8 weeks doesnt exactly help socialization or anything).

 

[lizzybeth727]

No. They aren't . My chihuahua isn't.

Being people aggressive is COMMON for chihuahuas, because its allowed. people get them and they are so small that people forget to train them, or they allow them to act up because its "CUTE" that combined with a VERY strong bond to their people makes for the high number of aggressive ones

People forget that they are DOGS. and aggression isnt cute and shouldn't be allowed. regardless of size

This, exactly.

 

[Criosphynx]

wait you are asking this, had an aggressive dog, and are asking us to sign up for your dog training newsletter?


Forgive me if Iam not impressed.

 

[Kristen1980]

I have 2 Chi's and they aren't that aggressive. Infact, one is laid back and the other one is really shy. Gillian is the laid back one, and Gretchen is so camera shy. She hardly gets her pic taken cause she'll run from the camera. So afraid of the flash.

 

[JennSLK]

The are a companion dog. There is no reason they should be agressive towards people. That is a poor temperment. Im not a Chi person so I dont know if they are allowed to be D/A or not

 

[corgipower]

wait you are asking this, had an aggressive dog, and are asking us to sign up for your dog training newsletter?


Forgive me if Iam not impressed.

:hail:

 

[Tankstar]

Its all in the training. they should be friendly lovely bubbly little dogs. not little scared agressive monsters who sit their shaking 24/7. that is how idiots made them.

Heck this isn't even "my" breed and I hate hearing/seeing it lol. I know a good couple of chis who were brought up treated like real dogs, they were treated like they were 75 lbs, not babies or carried every where. and they are wonderful and out going due to this. not shy and agressive.

 

[TheGoldenRetriever]

"Naturally" aggressive? No way! Confident little dogs, yes ... but not aggressive.

I've met sooo many Chihuahuas ... but only a SINGLE one that was aggressive!! It was a tan female short-coated named ChaCha; she belonged to my aunt when I was a little kid. ChaCha's behavior was entirely my aunt's fault. She babied that dog to the point of ridiculous, let the dog get away with anything and everything in the way of bad behavior, and just generally spoiled it rotten!!

ChaCha would growl, aggressively bark, snap, and sometimes bite ANYone .... including my aunt who spoiled her so much! My mother refused to go anywhere near that dog and didn't want us kids near ChaCha either. (We had GSDs and terriers at home, and once a Rough Collie; NONE of them ever acted like ChaCha.) My father always thought it was such a shame that the entire family despised that dog because she was just so completely rotten!! He always said it was all so unnecessary ... if only my aunt would have realized that ChaCha is a DOG, and trained her!!

Dad tried, and actually had success ... but then my aunt would always end up objecting, and never reinforced what Dad trained. She would say she didn't want her "baby" treated like "some DOG".

My aunt completely ignored the fact that ChaCha always responded best to my Dad!! He was the only one ChaCha NEVER tried to bite, and that dog would specifically seek him out whenever he was at my aunt and uncle's home. Dogs are not "babies", but like human kids they really do WANT boundaries.

This is a misconception, and one that most responsible Chihuahua owners can NOT STAND to hear. Just like the bully breed people do not like stereotypes being passed down to their breeds, we would like to enjoy the same courtesy.

^^ Exactly!! Every Chi owner I know has heard it SO many times: "Oh! A Chihuahua? Aren't they nasty little dogs?"

 

[lizzybeth727]

My grandma has a "nasty" little chihuahua. I think he's just a combination of VERY poor breeding, almost zero socialization as a puppy, very little training (and NO positive reinforcement), bad diet (my grandma can't afford good food for him), and possibly just "a screw loose" in his brain anyway. This dog is scared of everyone and everything; I don't know if he's ever actually bit someone hard enough to draw blood, but if he did it would be TOTALLY out of fear. It's quite a sad situation, really.

But I think ANY breed in that situation would turn out aggressive, so I definately don't think him being a chi really has much to do with it at all.