Chihuahua temperament – it is known to be quite an aggressive dog despite its small size. But the Chihuahua is misunderstood. The Chihuahua is an extremely loyal and loving dog. It is a brave little creature that will do anything to protect its friends and family. And sometimes, this defensive behavior can manifest itself as aggression which can be scary to some people. But the Chihuahua means good. If your dog is snapping at people, that’s because he is trying to protect you from them. Problem is, humans often do not understand that they cannot use the same yardsticks to judge human and animal behavior. Animals offer unconditional love and are driven more by instinct than logic. Fortunately, there are ways to calm down Chihuahua temperament and the dog must be treated with utmost respect, care and patience.

The Chihuahua is the smallest breed of dog. It originates from Mexico and is named after the state of Chihuahua. Being small in size as it is, it was bred as a companion dog. Chihuahuas are tiny and the biggest ones weigh no more than 3 kilos. Despite the small size, Chihuahua temperament is known to be nasty. These dogs need to be trained from the time they are pups. In fact, even the pups need to be picked carefully. Small animals do tend to be a little aggressive. They lack size and hence try to compensate for it by being aggressive. It is a defense mechanism.

To calm down Chihuahua temperament the dog needs to be trustful. Chihuahuas are fiercely loyal, usually to one person or a small group of persons. They are not prone to being friendly with strangers and will most likely eye them with suspicion. While you should respect this and leave the dog alone, also make it clear to the dog that it is not right to bark and nip and strangers. Be firm with the dog and while the dog cannot understand your words, use tone of voice to convey to the dog that it is wrong.

And Chihuahua temperament will only worsen if you overdo it. Do not isolate and tie up the Chihuahua or any dog for that matter. Chaining up dogs will lead to pent up frustration and they will take out that frustration on the first unfortunate person to come in their way. The training should be a mix of firmness and gentleness.

You can improve Chihuahua temperament and train the dog to obey your commands and respect you by playing a few games. But keep in mind, don’t get too aggressive with the games. The Chihuahua is a small dog and you cannot toss the Frisbee and make it run long distances. But what a Chihuahua needs most of all is security. People and other animals are prone to abuse the Chihuahua because of its small size and this causes the Chihuahua to respond aggressively. Keep other pets away from the Chihuahua and ask the people who visit your house to leave the dog alone.