Collar problem

[MHMama]

Desi Lu, our almost 6 month old chihuahua does not like her harness taken off. It becomes a fierce battle to get it off and she actually growls and shows teeth when you try to take it off. She has even bit me.
If that wasn't bad enough, now she does the same thing when I try to put her harness on. Today, my husband and I had to do it together, one holding her front paws while the other keeps her mouth shut while we put the harness over her head. It is not funny in the least and I am not sure how to stop it.
Any ideas.
I would hate to think that I am going to let a 2 pounder make the rules in this house. Besides Ricky (our 7 lb chihuahua) would not stand for it.

[wolfsoul]

I'd suggest using something that is easier to put on her. Harnesses can be tough when dealing with an unwilling dog. Why not just use a simple collar?

[MHMama]

Wolfsoul, Desi Lu is my newest of 3 long haired chihuahuas and the Vet from day one said Harness only. Simply because these guys are so small and when I walk them, there is no way of knowing when a loose dog won't come out of no where to get one of them. With the harness, I can sweep them up quickly without strangling them.
Everytime I go to their Vets, he checks to make sure I have a harness on them and reminds me to keep them on a short leash. He has seen too many small breed dogs killed suddenly by a loose larger dogs so he tells us not to take chances.
I have never had a problem with Lucy Tu or Ricky but Desi Lu isn't having it.

[cloverfdx]

you could try giving food rewards when putting on the harness, but only for good behaviour (you dont want to re-inforce bad behaviour), or start doing some simple obedience work with her eg stay (down stay is a good one for dominance issues).

please try not to take offence but your vet sounds a bit paranoid about the small dog/big dog thing (i know it could happen)

our chihuahua boy only gets obedience trained on a collar (correction chain or martingale, but with out the corrections) and is on a harness the rest of the time or naked so to speak

good luck with getting desi lu used to the harness.

[MHMama]

paranoid as well as my Vet. Our oldest daughter's chihuahua was killed with one bite by a beautiful Lab mix that "never bites" with one single bite. You just never know.

[cloverfdx]

yes it could happen but what are the chances (1 in 100)

just wondering if you pick you lil chihuahuas up every time a large dog is around?

[MHMama]

I did have an incident 2 months ago where a neighbors Pitt Bull (not trained to be nice) got out of their yard and came running for my two little ones. I held them over my head while the dog kept jumping at my chest until the neighbor came.
Many of my friends have large dogs, Pitt bulls, Labs etc. but they are trained and not a threat to my little ones.

[ParNone]

I keep my two lil' Cairns on halters and I've had to yank
them up off the ground quickly numerous times. It's been
a lifesaver. If I see a loose dog heading towards us, you
can bet they're getting scooped up off the ground. And
after having my Collie attacked by two Great Pyrenees,
in the future I'm not going to hesitate to pick him up off
the ground either, no matter how silly we look.

MHMama,

I had some trouble with Oz wanting to put his collar on.
He wasn't aggressive about it, but he'd walk away from
me. I started putting him in a sit-stay, then put the collar
on, then gave him a treat. Once he knew a treat was
going to accompany the collar, he was fine with having
it put on.

Par...

[lizbud]

I believe the harness is perfect for the smaller dog. If it's
fitted properly, you can lift the dog right off the ground with
it & not hurt the dog at all. Safety is always a concern with a
small dog or a puppy of any breed. MHMama, has Desi Lu
always rejected the harness or is this something new? Is the
harness smooth leather? If not, maybe it's scratchy to Desi Lu.
If you're sure it's not to small or otherwise uncomfortable on
her, then it's a matter giving treats for putting it on without too
much fuss. Good luck in training her.

[MHMama]

lizbud,
the harness is not scratchy and it fits fine. Right now, she is wearing Ricky's old one because she chewed hers in two. She just doesn't like anything going over her head. Once it is on, she is happy and forgets about it. She has been this way since day one.
I think we will have to use the treat system for a while. The main thing is to stay calm and not make it any more stressful for her.

[lizbud]

MHMama,

I think you are right. I didn't know about the "going over the
head part". Can you distract her & cover her eyes with your
hand ,sort of block her view, then quickly slip it over & offer a
yummy treat right after? You're right about the less stress the
better. You'll manage it, I'm sure.

[carrie]

Collars CAN work for small dogs - but you have to be very in control of your movements in every situation.....I would feel safer keeping the harness -BUT you must treat the harness as you would a collar on a large dog.
Your problem is one of two things - there may have been an instance when the dog was surprised or startled or even hurt - it only needs to a small hurt - when the harness was put on. This may have happened very early in the dog's life and it may have been some other thing , like a collar or a towel put over the head that caused it.

My gut feeling on this one is that you have a "who makes the choices in this family" problem.
The facts that the problem has grown from putting the harness on to taking it off, aggression was not apparent at first and the dog is happy and calm between the putting on and taking off all point to this being the reason.

For both reasons there are things you can do to improve the situation greatly - but you do have to be prepared to treat the dog as you would a much larger dog behaving the same way - imagine a German Shepard reacting to having a collar put on the way your dog is.......the consequences could be devastating. Your little dog thinks and behaves the same way as the German Shepard would and there are very safe, positive and effective ways of dealing with it.
I am not trying to put you in a stereotype in anyway but I do realise that it can be hard to realise your little lap dog is still a wolf in dog's clothing. My most troublesome cases always start with a phone call saying, "It may sound strange but my little (insert name of toy breed) has me terrified of him/her and I don't know what to do!"
Please post or email what you think the most likely cause of this behaviour is and I will try and give you some ideas.

[Shelteez2]

Originally posted by MHMama
lizbud,
She just doesn't like anything going over her head. Once it is on, she is happy and forgets about it. She has been this way since day one.

Could you lure her head through the loop with a treat? Maybe start with a larger than she needs loop of string or a normal collar. Hold it at her lever and hold a treat on the other side so that she has to stick her head through the loop to eat the treat. Give it a command like "collar on" or "head through" or whatever you want. When she's comfortable sticking her head through the loop then make it smaller so that it may brush over an ear or her cheek or brush over her muzzle accidentally. Finally when she's comfortable with the smaller loop, transfer it to the part of the halter that she will stick her head through. Pretty soon you'll have a dog that helps you to "get dressed" for going outside *S*

Best of luck!