Her Majesty Dogmad Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 30 minutes ago, Rascalmyshadow said: Ok I think I might have misunderstood your post, Claudia was initially in the breeders home and was being shown by her son, due to a couple of minor faults (at least that's what I was told) they stopped showing her and she was moved out of their home and into their kennels with other dogs, I have no idea what she went through before getting her but the way she is so afraid of both collar/lead and the car leads me to believe she was majorly stressed and forced into being shown when she shouldn't have. I don't want to put our girl to sleep but I would like to hopefully get her to a stage where we can have visitors without her getting so wound up by it. We have worked so hard to build her confidence from how she was, I am in no hurry to give up but I can only afford so much, not because I don't want to. We have already spent thousands on her between desexing, dentals, scopes, palate surgery, biopsies, medications, chiro, etc and that doesn't even include all the basics so it's not like we wont spend money on them if we have it. I completely understand but sometimes it is not to do with money being spent, it is a case of moving the dog to a different environment. I'm just being straightforward, the dog is young and the breed is known for being challenging. My first ever bite was from a Chihuahua. I can tell you about an Italian puppy, owner has spent 100s on behaviouralists who have put the dog on drugs. I gave her the answer right at the start - the dog needs a companion. We've taken the dog and assessed in a home with another dog (at owner's request) and she was fine. Went back to owner. Start of the same cycle again .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappi&Monty Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 8 hours ago, Rascalmyshadow said: she is also fine with my toddler unless she's on one of our laps. The dog or your daughter? If pup becomes aggressive/snappy when sitting on your lap to your toddler, then perhaps try to ban dogs from the couch for the safety of your little one. A few times Scrappi has been snappy at Monty (just minorly as a bossy big brother thing) when Scrappi is sitting with us on the lounge and Monty wants to get on too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 Sorry if Claudia is on any of our laps she will get snappy with my daughter, normally we just keep her off us while my daughter is wandering around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappi&Monty Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Personally I would ban dogs from the lounge all the time just to eliminate that scenario, I don’t know if it’s worth the risk. Especially because toddler face level is within reach if Claudia is on the lounge. Sorry that’s the only advice I can give you but I wish you the very best whatever the decision comes to. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 I agree with S&M's post . Claudia is a dog . Your daughter deserves to toddle about/climb on yr lap/the couch without anyone worrying about the dog's reaction From that post , it seems Claudia is resource guarding the most precious resource - HUMANS . Excluding her at times is good management - you're the decision makers, not HER ;) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 My toddler won't actually approach Claudia she's learnt very quickly that Claudia snaps. I know banning them from the lounge sounds like a good idea but it's one of the things we enjoy the most about having dogs, just like having them on our bed although Claudia generally prefers to sleep in her crate. It is also a big stress relief for me especially at the moment with the anxiety attacks I'm having, sitting down with the dogs calms my nerves a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 2 minutes ago, Rascalmyshadow said: My toddler won't actually approach Claudia she's learnt very quickly that Claudia snaps. I know banning them from the lounge sounds like a good idea but it's one of the things we enjoy the most about having dogs, just like having them on our bed although Claudia generally prefers to sleep in her crate. It is also a big stress relief for me especially at the moment with the anxiety attacks I'm having, sitting down with the dogs calms my nerves a lot. Ok ... just when your daughter is in there - I think it is a way to reduce stress for your human family 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 Oh I've just re read my last post and Persephones post, something I never thought of just occurred to me, could her increasing behaviour possibly be linked to my severe anxiety attacks. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rascalmyshadow said: Oh I've just re read my last post and Persephones post, something I never thought of just occurred to me, could her increasing behaviour possibly be linked to my severe anxiety attacks. I believe so .For what it's worth , I also think, as you love having her with you to SOOTHE you ... (cos it works <3) This could well be affecting her ... I am all for dog cuddles perhaps though , have your cuddles at times when there IS nothing else happening to add extra anxiety ? That way .. it's a time TOTALLY for you and dogs to enjoy each other - to breathe- to be free of "what if's" ..even for 10 minutes , while your daughter is napping , when your Partner is looking after her in another area ... or even, could you use your bedroom for your Calming and Comforting Canine Cuddle ? maybe this will mean Claudia can relax as well ... ..just my 2c worth I do hope you can get some relief soon .... Edited November 3, 2017 by persephone 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rascalmyshadow said: Oh I've just re read my last post and Persephones post, something I never thought of just occurred to me, could her increasing behaviour possibly be linked to my severe anxiety attacks. Possibly, dogs are sensitive beings. I understand you love her, you've spent a fortune on keeping her well but i honestly think she needs a different home. She's a tiny little Chihuahua, things can be terrifying when you are that small however i also agree that she's doing some resource guarding as Persephone said above. Since you've had her your home has also changed, a baby now a toddler is a HUGE change for any dog to deal with, let alone a tiny Chi. Edited November 3, 2017 by Her Majesty Dogmad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Can i ask if you have previous Chihuahua experience or is this your first Chi? I thought you always had poodles only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 This is our first pure Chi, we've mostly had poodles, Astro (the boy we lost recently) was a Chi x Pom and Rascal is Silky x Lhasa. Years ago ago we had a couple of other bigger breeds. We chose Claudia because she was raised with kids and my older two were at an age to understand how delicate she is. One of the reasons we went to other breeds as we lost our poodles was because none of them were ideal with either our kids or other peoples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoofnHoof Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 (edited) Yes chis are very funny little dogs, big personalities and their tiny size means they can be intimidated by just about everything. In my experience they also like to be a “one person” dog, they can like or tolerate others but they do tend to form a very strong attachment to “their” person, and will defend you to the death. Toddlers are constantly changing and it could just be too much stres for your little one, if all else fails I would consider rehoming her to a household where she is the only dog and she mainly has one person to herself. I would also check hearing, if she has had sinus issues they could be linked to inner ear issues, and a loss of hearing would certainly make an already sensitive dog even more sensitive to sudden movements and actions. Edited November 3, 2017 by WoofnHoof 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy2446 Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Hello. I put up a post today about Lovan for my dog - he stresses from thunderstorms and fireworks, loud noises etc and I stress about him but after reading your post, why don't you try that? Apparently its supposed to aid with dogs that have anxiety issues etc. My dog is practically a zombie at the moment........ I think Lovan might help. Please forgive my ignorance but what is PTS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pjrt Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 13 minutes ago, Snoopy2446 said: Hello. I put up a post today about Lovan for my dog - he stresses from thunderstorms and fireworks, loud noises etc and I stress about him but after reading your post, why don't you try that? Apparently its supposed to aid with dogs that have anxiety issues etc. My dog is practically a zombie at the moment........ I think Lovan might help. Please forgive my ignorance but what is PTS? PTS = Put to sleep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy2446 Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 I am so sorry......I hope you don't have to do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted November 8, 2017 Author Share Posted November 8, 2017 We see the vet tomorrow so I'll post once I get home. On the upside she was very good and her normal self when my mum came over on Sat ( didn't like the friend she brought with her however) and she has been fine around my daughter this week, even curled up on the couch next to her. My stress levels have been up since the weekend but funny my anxiety levels have dropped, no panic attacks so I'm really starting to think I'm the cause of a lot of her behaviour. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralPug Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 A lot of people with Chihuahua experience ave been saying that she will be better in a different home. If you choose to go that route, I can only suggest that you do so with full disclosure and plan to refund any purchase money (FTGH is too risky unless it is close friend or trusted family) in the event that the change of homes doesn't work. If you do choose to PTS rather than passing on a problem, I certainly wouldn't judge you. The dog is currently not a happy dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 Ok so we've been to the vet and she isn't 100% sure if it's just behavioural or if her medical issues the cause. What we do know is there is something going on in her sinuses/nasal cavity again which could potentially be giving her on and off head aches. I showed her a video of her weird breathing and head shaking that she does if she runs around or eats anything dry and it's definitely not reverse sneezing (I didn't think it was especially since she had the palate surgery). At this stage she has been given a long course of antibiotics incase it's the beginning of another infection, if in 10 days we see no improvement we stop the antibiotics and move on to cortisone, if that fails we are looking at CT scans (which we can't afford) as there is a possibility she has an inward growing tumour either back/high up in the nasal cavity where the scopes can't reach (due to her tiny size) or in her brain. So at this stage we hope for the best and keep her out of confronting situations. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoofnHoof Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Hmm maybe an allergy. If it is cortisone should settle it down but that’s a bit hard core I would have thought the vet would try antihistamines first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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