My gorgeous little boy is Loki, a 13 week old chihuahua-pug cross We've had him for 5 weeks now and he's our first puppy, and although we adore the bones of him I've got to admit that raising a pup has been a bit more challenging than either of us expected We've managed to overcome a couple of challenges already - 8 nights without sleep whilst he adjusted to his new home was particularly interesting! - but I was wondering if anyone could give any advice on some other issues we're having?

The main issue we're having at the mo is nipping. Whatever way we try to discipline him he still seems intent on trying to chew our fingers, toes and anything else in his line of sight. I suspect he's struggling with teething but I have no idea how to curb this behaviour, or alleviate the feeling for him. He has a variety of different chew toys (rubber, rope, cuddly) and we try to replace what he's chewing with them but he just ignores the toy.

We try disciplining him by saying no, saying ouch, using a spray bottle and removing him from the room to calm down, but he ignores verbal commands, thinks the spray bottle is a game and will calm down for about five minutes when we remove him from the room before reverting to this behaviour again.

Can anyone tell me where we're going wrong here? Any help would be much appreciated as I'm really not sure what to do

He doesn't want to hurt you, if he was playing with puppies or his mum they would squeal quite high pitched and stop playing. You need to hit the right note and let him no it hurts, It's not necessary to discipline him when he does it he just needs to learn bite inhibition and to do that he needs to know what hurts and what he is allowed to do.

Have you taken him to a puppy training class? What basic commands has he got? Have you taught a cast iron 'leave it' command yet?

Spraying and shouting are going to do nothing. The 'ouch' with a withdrawal should help as long as you are consistent - do it every time. But distraction also works. Transfer the behaviour to a rope for a tuggy game, use your leave it command and reward that,

He will grow out of this - eventually - but this is his way of learning bite inhibition so he doesn't hurt when he grows up......not necessarily as vital in a ChiXPug as it would be in a Great Dane But very important nether the less.

It is worth looking into clicker training too - to keep him distracted and re-direct the behaviour to a toy.

Don't want to put a downer on your happy addition, but both pugs and Chihuahuas have a host of health issues so may need a lot of vet attention. You do not want him to be a snarling ball of fear when you take him to the vet so getting him used to - or better still enjoy - being handled all over including paws, mouth, ears, without mouthing or biting/nipping is essential.

The other thing to watch out for is 'little dog syndrome' - some tiny dogs are scared of big dogs and strangers and will kick off massively at them. Make sure pup is very well socialised. 8 - 12 weeks is the optimal time but it's never too late. Puppy training classes would be good for this.

Good luck with your new addition I'm sure he'll bring you a lot of joy.

Can't remember if my collie ever nipped. She did chew though and some fringe or other on a rug was always more attractive than a toy provided for the purpose. But she grew out of it - in fact it was more like a switch being flipped and now she is the most obedient 'non chew' dog ever.
In the meantime I suppose you could try a sharp 'no' then ignoring for a while - maybe even time out in another room? The theory is that withdrawal of interaction (any sort of interaction) is a good way for a dog to learn that certain behaviours just aren't worth it.

Betty Chihuahua learned quite quick with the squeal technique, worst for hand nipping has been Elsie we called her the crocopup for a couple of months and looked like we had been self harming for a while ! Never occurs to her to be over rough with teeth now though so it does stop just need to not punish as that will just seem like you are escalating the game and may be inviting even rougher play.

I guess we must not be hitting the right note! We did try this but stopped after a couple of weeks as it didn't seem to be working but I'll start doing it again and see how i get on. I know he doesn't want to hurt us, but man his little teeth are like needles Thanks for the advice!

Thanks for the advice! We haven't taken him to a puppy training class as he's actually very obedient with his commands - he can sit, lie down, stay, drop and will happily sit and wait for his meals. We try to do a little bit of training with him everyday He's also really well behaved with strangers and the vet, he's been three times now for puppy health checks, vacs and his micro chipping. We also get stopped fairly frequently on walks due to the size of him and he's never nipped at strangers or children, it only seems to be us! Also, we socialise him with my parents and sisters dogs - an Akita and and a British Bulldog - and walk him everyday to try and stop "little dog syndrome"!

In regards to his health we're quite lucky as he's a really fortunate mix - he's got an elongated nose with hardly any nose rolls so respiratory problems look unlikely, plus his eyes are not as bulging as most "chugs".

I'll have a look at clicker training, it's not something I know a lot about but if it helps then that would be great!

Thanks the your advice! I think maybe scolding him is attention to him, hence why he carries on? So I think we'll need to nip that in the bud, so to speak!

I had all that with my Lucy. I was shredded. she nipped my legs whenever I tried to walk anywhere. I tried everything that you are doing. I left her lead on so that whenever she tried to nip me I could hold her away. I don't know exactly what cured her but she has stopped doing it . she is 6 months old now and she is much easier to deal with, so don't despair. it will get better. one thing that works is to remove yourself from him. turn away. stand with your back to him. ignore him. he will soon learn that biting isn't getting him a playmate.
Last edited by live & let live : 09-01-2015 at 18:28

The yelping thing actually excites some dogs and makes it worse. (Did for every dog I've ever had in fact but then they have all been feisty little terriers!)

Our pup is 20 weeks now and still a bit mouthy but we found the best thing that has worked for her so far has been a firm 'Sit!' (followed by treat). You're not treating the nippiness, but the sit and distract...

We've been training her with positive training, lots of treats and she is picking up new things quickly. Sometimes we can deflect her with a toy - but depends on her mood. She is now a hundred times better than she was at 10 weeks or even say 15 weeks...

Some folk recommend frozen carrot for teething as the coldness numbs the gums. But in our mutt's case she just stands and barks at the carrot because it is cold... We also broke the habit of her 'Mad hour' (dusk - also normal for pups) with a judiciously placed pig's ear. She loves them so much but they take ages to chew. That tires her out and by the time she'd finished, the mad hour was over. Distraction and deflection and rewarding wanted behaviours, ignoring bad - in other words.