Getting a Chi-wah-wah to shut the **** up!!!!

strategery

OK I've been fighting with this for almost a year. I'm tired of it. I need advice H/A.

My wife has a chihuahua, and I hate it. I actually love dogs. I really loves dogs. I've had a shitzu, a boston terrier, a siberian husky, and a mini schnauzer. Usually I like any dog I come in contact with. But I can't stand this goddamn rat. I'm not going to lie. I want to make it disappear. I've never wanted to kill something so much in my life.

But while that solves my problem, it would crush my wife(for some unknown reason she loves this rat). And I can't do that. So please, guide me H/A. How can I make this stupid fucking dog keep it's goddamn trap shut? It barks at EVERYTHING. I was outside smoking, it knew it was me, I stepped on a leaf and it went BALLISTIC. Yet my schnauzer was completely quiet. It whines for no reason what so ever, it never stops barking when we have company. It's to a point I refuse to invite people over to my house. Even after the dog has been introduced to the guest in our home, it will not SHUT UP. My wife's sister stayed with us for almost 2 months and stupid thing barked at her EVERY GODDAMN DAY!!! She'd wake up, come out of the spare bedroom(and this stupid rat knows she's there) and he would go fucking MENTAL. The whining is really weird. He whines for no reason what so ever. He always has loads of food, water, toys, attention, everything a dog could want. Yet it will just start crying out of the blue for seemingly no reason at all. Just whine whine whine. Not a whine like it's in pain, a whine like it wants more attention as someone is sitting there petting it already. It's un-fucking-real.

I really can't take it anymore. So short of having this things vocal chords removed, or having a tragic accident involving a dog biscuit and rat poison, how can I shut it the fuck up? It's driving me insane, and if it doesn't stop barking the stupid rat is going to make me snap it's neck.. swear to god. So help me before I crush my wife.

Forar

What about one of those citronella collars that squirts the dog whenever it barks above a certain level?

I'm sure somone better accustomed to behavioural modification of dogs might have more insight, but it sounds like you want a solution, and I saw this device recommended in another thread.

Spudge

Have you tried a bark collar (do they even make 'em that small? I dunno)? I tried a citronella collar on my Greyhound and it didn't work too well, but the electric one sure did the trick

dispatch.o

strategery wrote: »

OK I've been fighting with this for almost a year. I'm tired of it. I need advice H/A.

My wife has a chihuahua, and I hate it. I actually love dogs. I really loves dogs. I've had a shitzu, a boston terrier, a siberian husky, and a mini schnauzer. Usually I like any dog I come in contact with. But I can't stand this goddamn rat. I'm not going to lie. I want to make it disappear. I've never wanted to kill something so much in my life.

But while that solves my problem, it would crush my wife(for some unknown reason she loves this rat). And I can't do that. So please, guide me H/A. How can I make this stupid fucking dog keep it's goddamn trap shut? It barks at EVERYTHING. I was outside smoking, it knew it was me, I stepped on a leaf and it went BALLISTIC. Yet my schnauzer was completely quiet. It whines for no reason what so ever, it never stops barking when we have company. It's to a point I refuse to invite people over to my house. Even after the dog has been introduced to the guest in our home, it will not SHUT UP. My wife's sister stayed with us for almost 2 months and stupid thing barked at her EVERY GODDAMN DAY!!! She'd wake up, come out of the spare bedroom(and this stupid rat knows she's there) and he would go fucking MENTAL. The whining is really weird. He whines for no reason what so ever. He always has loads of food, water, toys, attention, everything a dog could want. Yet it will just start crying out of the blue for seemingly no reason at all. Just whine whine whine. Not a whine like it's in pain, a whine like it wants more attention as someone is sitting there petting it already. It's un-fucking-real.

I really can't take it anymore. So short of having this things vocal chords removed, or having a tragic accident involving a dog biscuit and rat poison, how can I shut it the fuck up? It's driving me insane, and if it doesn't stop barking the stupid rat is going to make me snap it's neck.. swear to god. So help me before I crush my wife.

Sounds spoiled, I'm sure it thinks it owns the house and you obey it at this point. You need to get some obedience training. Dogs do what works when it comes to getting attention, sort of like kids, any response is attention.

How old is it?

Edit:

A friend of mine had a dog that was smallish, to stop this problem (early in its life) he would just pick it up and go put it in a crate in the spare bedroom and shut the door for 15 minutes. I don't know if it's a good idea to train your dog to hate crating but it did work.

onceling

The dog probably needs a shit-ton of exercise and a lot of obedience training. It's probably doing this as an attempt to control and an attempt to get attention.

I would say it needs to be tired out at least 2 times a day, I dunno how much exercise this size dog needs but it needs to be a variety of different walking routes that stimulate the dog and have something new for it to experience daily, plus it needs to be exhausted and ready to sleep when it comes home at least twice a day to see if things improve.

Druhim

Yeah, sounds like your wife babies it and like you haven't bothered to train the dog at all. Honestly, I think half of the hurdle in resolving this will be your wife if she's spoiling the dog. More than likely, you'll need to work together to train the dog to behave and not constantly reinforce its bad behavior with the attention it's craving. There's a healthy balance and I'm certainly not saying the dog should be ignored, but if your wife is pampering the dog and adores it, you're probably going to have a very hard time convincing her to change her behavior toward the dog. I wish you luck, but I suspect your wife will obstruct any meaningful progress with the dog. That and chihuahuas moreso than most other breeds require proper training and socialization to not become little shitheads.

strategery

The dog is just over a year old. We've used the crate for discipline since the day we brought it home, but I will say I'm much harder on the dog(s) than my wife is. She lets him get away with murder, and I've told her that's part of the problem. Whenever the schnauzer does something it's not supposed to it gets smacked on the ass with a rolled up news paper and stuck in it's kennel for 15 - 30 minutes. I do the same thing to the chihuahua, but when I'm not home the wife pretty much lets it run the house. Drives me bonkers.

I haven't tried a shock collar yet. Never really been a big fan of the things, but at the same time I've never had a dog that needed something even remotely that extreme. Usually a spray bottled filled with a mix of water and vinegar has done the trick for me in the past. That technique worked with the schnauzer, but the chihuahua doesn't seem to get it.

As far as exercise. Both dogs are taken for 45 minute - 1 hour long walks once or twice a day, and I let them run and play in the back yard multiple times a day.

I agree with you guys though, it seems like this little shit just thinks he runs the world. And the sad reality is I know my wife is enabling it. Maybe I need a shock collar for her too :P.

Druhim

Yeah, until your wife recognizes that it's time for much more discipline and that it needs to come from her as much as you then you're pretty much doomed to failure. Like a child with one stern parent and one permissive parent, your efforts to control the dog will just result in it running to mommy and mommy pampering it, reinforcing the shitty behavior. Sorry, but until you tackle the problem of how your wife treats the dog I'm pretty certain your efforts will be mostly futile.

strategery

Druhim wrote: »

Yeah, until your wife recognizes that it's time for much more discipline and that it needs to come from her as much as you then you're pretty much doomed to failure. Like a child with one stern parent and one permissive parent, your efforts to control the dog will just result in it running to mommy and mommy pampering it, reinforcing the shitty behavior. Sorry, but until you tackle the problem of how your wife treats the dog I'm pretty certain your efforts will be mostly futile.

Ya that's what I figured. I've been trying to work with her, but she is just so damn stubborn about it. I even used the kid analogy. If this dog was our actual child would you put up with behavior like this? And her response is always "no, but this is different!" when it's not...

Stupid rat runs right to her when I start getting pissed at it too. So you are bang on the money.

illig

The basis for any positive behavior modification is reward or attention when a desired behavior is given, and absence of reward or attention when undesirable behavior is given by the dog.

It barks, so you pay attention to it (even if its negative attention, like yellin.g which im suspecting is frequent in your case)

If you want it to stop barking, you reward quiet, and ignore barking. If necessary, ignore it to the point of leaving the room and not letting the dog follow, or placing the dog in some sequestered location until its quiet.

Druhim

illig wrote: »

The basis for any positive behavior modification is reward or attention when a desired behavior is given, and absence of reward or attention when undesirable behavior is given by the dog.

It barks, so you pay attention to it (even if its negative attention, like yellin.g which im suspecting is frequent in your case)

If you want it to stop barking, you reward quiet, and ignore barking. If necessary, ignore it to the point of leaving the room and not letting the dog follow, or placing the dog in some sequestered location until its quiet.

Which will never accomplish anything until he changes his wife's behavior toward the dog.

He puts dog away for barking to teach it not to bark all the time, mommy comes running and lets it out and lavishes attention on it because she feels so sorry for her precious and ends up continuing to reinforce the shitty behavior. The dog will probably become somewhat afraid of him, or hostile toward him, but that won't really change overall patterns of behavior. It'll just reinforce that daddy is mean and mommy loves it so whine/bark enough and mommy will come and make everything better.

Improvolone

My dad had great luck with shock collars on my step-mom's yap happy papillion. They definitely make them that small.

strategery

oh the damn thing is absolutely terrified of me.

I mean terrified

And it's all because I'm strict on it trying to teach it things, and she more or less taps his butt with the newspaper, and then goes "come here baby!" and pets the shit out of it and rewards it. She doesn't get her own mixed signals. I think Druhim is right, I gotta fix her before I can fix the dog.

Thanks for the advice man. I figured that's what it was, but I wanted to make sure I'm not nuts for doing what I've been doing with the dogs. Because she acts like I'm just the meanest person alive for disciplining them....

Druhim

I sympathize strat. I used to rent a room in a house from a friend with a golden retriever that she babied like that. She couldn't bring herself to discipline the dog at all, so he was an uncontrollable shithead who was always getting into trouble and she was always wondering why this kept happening even though there were several us telling her it was precisely because she refused to discipline him and he understood he could get away with murder.

Forar

If your wife's behaviour may be part of the problem, perhaps you could look into a season or two of The Dog Whisperer on DVD as an early christmas gift? With the context that it might give some insight into how to deal with his behaviour, but knowing in advance that Cesar often has to deal with the owners themselves being part of the problem.

Druhim

Also, has the chihuahua been spayed/neutered? If not, that can also exacerbate the acting out. Though if it hasn't been spayed/neutered yet, that may be another issue you'll have to battle the wife on even though it's for the dog's own good.

strategery

That is a battle I've been having with her. She wants the schnauzer neutered, but wont neuter the chihuahua. She thinks she can stud him out for money, but her attitude has made the dog just irreversibly horny. I mean the schnauzer is not much younger(maybe a year) and he's never humped a leg or anything.

The chi on the other hand, she bought it a stuffed monkey around the time we brought it home. It played with it for awhile, then when it got older it did nothing but fuck the shit out of it. And instead of putting an end to that behavior like I told her to, she thought it was funny as hell. So for like 4 months he was doing nothing but fucking the shit out of that monkey like all day every day(I work all day, she works part time. So I wasn't home to stop it all the time).

then she realized he was old enough to actually ejaculate. And the monkey became a huge mess. which made her throw it away because it's gross. Now it has nothing to fuck, so it tries to hump the schnauzer all the time. Caught him trying to hump blankets, a stuffed pink rabbit I got her for easter, clothes, his own bed, etc, etc. Regardless of all that, she still thinks the schnauzer(who has never humped so much as a strangers leg let alone anything else) needs to be neutered but the chi should be studded. It boggles the mind...

THEPAIN73

Sounds like it's more of a wife problem than a dog problem now.

Druhim

Oh god, your wife is encouraging it to hump everything and actually thinks she can stud it out? You poor man.

zenpotato

In addition to it being a discipline thing, some of it is just the breed. Small dogs like chihuahuas were bred to bark at strangers (and alert the bigger dogs people kept around). Even a well dsiciplined chihuahua is a loud chihuahua.

strategery

Druhim wrote: »

Oh god, your wife is encouraging it to hump everything and actually thinks she can stud it out? You poor man.

My thoughts exactly. I even told her nobody would want to pay for a stud as poorly disciplined as he is. Like those traits don't get passed on to some degree...

I mean it when I say I have never wanted to harm an animal in my entire life. This dog has made it to where I can no longer honestly say that. Her attitude towards it, and the behavior that goes undisciplined has driven me insane to the point of homicidal rage. I can't stand it any more.

I actually flat out admitted to her that allowing that dog into our home has been the biggest mistake I've made since we met. It made her cry, but the truth hurts sometimes. She hasn't displayed a desire to keep the animal in line. The schnauzer she treats pretty much as my dog, and it's very well mannered. It gets a little excitable, but he's a damn good dog. Just wish I could say the same for her little precious baby....

NailbunnyPD

Are you in the NY Tristate area?

http://www.ricochettelevision.com/ItsMeOrTheDog/Index.htm

Seriously, training the dog will take significant effort on both of your parts. it sounds like you are ready, but convincing her might be more difficult. If you are strict in training it but your wife is not, then your efforts are in vain. You both have to be consistent with training.

And honestly, both dogs should be neutered. It might be a worthwhile compromise if it means the Chihuahua gets neutered at the same time.

strategery

oh I already told her the only way the schnauzer gets neutered is if they both do. My intention from day 1 of getting both dogs was to get them neutered. And unfortunately I'm having to hang on to it as a bargaining chip, because I know if I don't get them both fixed at the same time she'll never fix the chi.

I wish I was in NY. Unfortunately I'm in Boise ID, where we have a significant lack of good dog training courses. Petsmart is about as good as it seems to get around here really.

Druhim

I agree with nailbunny that the schnauzer should be spayed/neutered anyway. It doesn't solve your main problem, but really every dog should be spayed/neutered unless it's legitimately a stud animal.

NailbunnyPD

You can do some very effective training on your own, but you have to put in a good amount of research and effort. If your significant other is actively undermining your efforts, though, its not going to get you anywhere. I wish I could offer advice in that regard, but I've never dealt with anything like that.

Maybe start watching It's Me or The Dog, because Victoria Stilwell calls couples out on this repeatedly. Maybe it will send a message to your wife?

Iruka

Honestly, if the dog is driving you this crazy, I would start to lay it out really seriously with your wife. As in "Im not sure you are properly considering my sanity over this dog, and its a major deal breaker." sort of serious.

If the dog is getting that much of a mixed environment, plus raging hormones, its probably a little more than stressed out and anxious. The dog whisperer is horse shit, but some Its Me or The Dog is something your wife can watch. Nothing is going to work if your wife isn't on board. She is making a detrimental environment for both you and the dog, plain and simple. Try to lay it out that her little pumpkin is infact confused about his role in the world and she could do the dog alot of good by comforting his nervousness with leadership.

VisionOfClarity

Stop giving her a choice. Tell her you're taking both dogs to be neutered or the dog is going.

strategery

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

Stop giving her a choice. Tell her you're taking both dogs to be neutered or the dog is going.

See I've been trying to avoid that, and be a good husband by making this a joint decision. But she just refuses to entertain the idea. And if I can't break her soon, that's exactly what's going to happen. If she can't acknowledge that I'm at my wits end, then she may find her precious baby up on the humane society website for adoption.

ceres

No responsible breeder is going to accept an ill-mannered, untrained animal into their lines, even if all of his physical traits are perfectly breed-standard. This dog being male and also a walking jizz factory is not enough to make him stud material.

So unless she's going to see him properly trained, this is not a good excuse not to have him neutered.

strategery

THANK YOU! That was my point to her EXACTLY!

And she thinks I'm fucking crazy because he's "a good looking chi."

ceres

My advice to you at this point, in that case, is to contact a real, reputable breeder, send pictures of your dog and explain his behavior, and see what the breeder says. Maybe even contact a few so you can compare responses. They will either confirm what we're saying or tell you it's all about looks, but unless she knows what breed standards are for chihuahuas chances are he might not actually look that good to a breeder.

But "maybe we can stud him someday because mommy thinks he's handsome and so I refuse to have him neutered" is not really reasonable.

strategery

Good idea. Didn't think about that. More people than just me telling her the dog is fucking awful would probably do the trick.

Thanks!

Iruka

strategery wrote: »

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

Stop giving her a choice. Tell her you're taking both dogs to be neutered or the dog is going.

See I've been trying to avoid that, and be a good husband by making this a joint decision. But she just refuses to entertain the idea. And if I can't break her soon, that's exactly what's going to happen. If she can't acknowledge that I'm at my wits end, then she may find her precious baby up on the humane society website for adoption.

How clear have you made this? I mean, she understands that you hate the dog enough to cry about it, but how forward have you been that you are really unhappy with the situation and changes have to be made? If you've been as explicit as possible and she thinks she can just wait you out until you let issue drop, hammering this out sooner rather than later is probably best.

I think its important to note that nurturing is going to help, but its most likely that is not going to fix all of the behavioral issues at hand. Getting your wife to communicate with you reasonably should probably be priority number 1.

VisionOfClarity

strategery wrote: »

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

Stop giving her a choice. Tell her you're taking both dogs to be neutered or the dog is going.

See I've been trying to avoid that, and be a good husband by making this a joint decision. But she just refuses to entertain the idea. And if I can't break her soon, that's exactly what's going to happen. If she can't acknowledge that I'm at my wits end, then she may find her precious baby up on the humane society website for adoption.

You should stop being a doormat (seriously, good husband doesn't mean you have to let your wife's bullshit be the rule of the land) and tell your wife that she needs to recognize that this is impacting your relationship. Man, I wouldn't even be able to think about having kids with someone who couldn't handle their pet, how could they ever handle a child? I think it's time to put your foot down about this rat before it becomes a bigger issue. The fact that she completely does not care about how this dog's behavior is affecting you is a load of crap.

Druhim

I really like ceres' suggestion. Having someone who actually breeds dogs lay some reality on her might be just the ticket to nudge her back into reality.

LaPuzza

http://www.petco.com/product/11575/PetSafe-Ultrasonic-Bark-Control-Pet-Training-System.aspx

My wife's dog (cocker/poodle mix) used to just sit in the middle of the room and bark at me all day. My wife loves the dog, and she was ready to resort to a shock device. I walked her into this item linked above. It doesn't hurt the dog, just distract them. My dog was cured before the first battery ran out. We occasionally bring it back out if we have workmen in the yard, etc.

Our dog was a pup when we got it, though, so that may have made her more trainable. Additional warning - it doesn't work with multiple dogs that have barking problems (one good and one bad, it should work), and a vacuum cleaner will set it off. Otherwise, I recommend it to anyone dumb enough to buy a dog.

ceres

Yeah, it doesn't really bode too well for your relationship, either. I mean, it's not that she loves the dog enough to keep it no matter what, because I appreciate that, but that she's refusing to acknowledge these problems AS PROBLEMS; they are objectively problems but they are also seriously stressing you out. There's something off about a complete denial of your feelings on the matter.

strategery

Iruka wrote: »

strategery wrote: »

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

Stop giving her a choice. Tell her you're taking both dogs to be neutered or the dog is going.

See I've been trying to avoid that, and be a good husband by making this a joint decision. But she just refuses to entertain the idea. And if I can't break her soon, that's exactly what's going to happen. If she can't acknowledge that I'm at my wits end, then she may find her precious baby up on the humane society website for adoption.

How clear have you made this? I mean, she understands that you hate the dog enough to cry about it, but how forward have you been that you are really unhappy with the situation and changes have to be made? If you've been as explicit as possible and she thinks she can just wait you out until you let issue drop, hammering this out sooner rather than later is probably best.

I think its important to note that nurturing is going to help, but its most likely that is not going to fix all of the behavioral issues at hand. Getting your wife to communicate with you reasonably should probably be priority number 1.

I've gone so far as telling her that if his behavior doesn't change that one day she will come home and find that I snapped and killed it. I even told her that if things don't change with that damn dog that it will get to a point that I wont be able to take it and will walk out on her.

I don't know how I can make it any clearer. She just doesn't care. He's "momma's baby" and as long as she has that mindset she'll pick him over me every time. Which is another thing I told her is pissing me off. She's my wife, and he's an animal. Yet I get the distinct feeling that if I sit her down and say it's me or the dog, she'd pick the dog.

I've made all my problems regarding this situation more than known. She just kind of blows them off, and has even mentioned that she thinks he'll just grow out of all this. Which I told her proves that she has no idea how to train a dog. They don't grow out of anything, they just develop habits that persist throughout their life and unless you stop things like this early you will never be able to stop it.

ceres

Be mad all you like, but do watch your gender-based generalizations as 1) half the people who have given you valid and valuable advice in this thread are female and 2) I don't care how much of a dick your wife is being, I WILL give you an infraction for making them.

In fact I will totally forget all about it right now if you go back and edit the offending statements out of your post right now.

strategery

Sorry not trying to make sexist generalizations, but this is the second time I've had this happen in a relationship. Just a little jaded. My bad.

Done, I'm not above admitting I'm being stupid.

Iruka

Also, Saying "Im going to kill this dog" means nothing. You arent going to kill the dog, just like I'm not going to stab my computer when it fucks up even though I tell it I will.


Listen, saying you're angry at it and she cant train a dog is not the conversation. This conversation is about You and Her and not about the dog at all, really. Shes disregarding your sanity and you need to make it clear that YOU are unhappy and that you cant stand the situation. This communication really needs to be about the lack of reason and difficulty you are having communicating. If your wife loves you more than the dog, then she'll listen, especially if you make it clear that this sort of thing is a relationship breaker.