Meet Out-of-Control and Anxious Chihuahua😬 | Full Episode | It's Me or the Dog

today's challenge a Chihuahua with social anxiety the simplest things she'll be terrified Al it is kind of driving us mad in London Ivon and Peter can't understand why Allison their 8-year-old Chihuahua is so anxious pretty much all of the time Allison's personality described in one word is probably neurotic or to use two words extremely [Music] neurotic she's barked at her own reflection oh come on Allison is very scared of new people when they come through the door or if they're just walking by she'll bark like crazy she'll just bark at everything bark at everyone meanwhile her relationship with other dogs is complicated she's very dominant she has to like go up to every dog to sniff it and I'd say 70% of the time she will bark at them and yet the simplest things she'll be terrified and run away from quiet originally a rescue pup Allison's traveled the world with [Music] Ivonne but what's thrown this chah is the arrival of Peter two years ago okay come on go on I've prettyy much you know given up trying to pick Allison up just simply because when I do she either runs away Allison come on come on or alternatively she'll cower down and you know a head will drop and the tail go between the legs come on she'll look like she's really freaked out by [Music] it girl confused and also a little anxious well at least is out of the coffee table Ivon and Peter are desperate for Victoria's help as much as we do love Allison it is kind of driving us [Music] mad Chihuahuas are the world's smallest dog breed and when you're small like that everything around you must seems so big I think that's one of the reasons why Allison's displaying such chaotic Behavior [Music] hello oh hello little thing oh have a good smell that's it this is called Data Gathering dogs have around 220 million Cent receptors in their noses we have about 6 million what do you smell there we call her our problem child she barks she's anxious she's scared she's hugely antisocial much of the time she picks fights with dogs that are much larger than her very possess bit by a husky recently she got bit by a husy I'm surprised she's even here she doesn't trust me at all can I see how what she does when you oh mhm yeah Allison come here [Music] weighing no more than6 with a maximum height of 25 cm the only thing big about chihuaha is their personality generally they're loyal intelligent playful and extremely vocal but they're also prone to anxiety and can be suspicious of strangers if they aren't properly socialized to find out what's making Allison so fearful Victoria wants to observe her daily routine come come Allison Ivonne is putting Allison into the bedroom whilst they do some chores oh baby Allison does not like being on her own [Music] because this is a basement flat she's barking at people as they're going past look at that tail quivering dogs do that when they feel a little anxious maybe a bit angry eventually Allison's welcomed back into the living room they're free then again maybe Freedom's overrated she came out of the bedroom and then went right under the [Music] table this dog is really conflicted Alison she wants to engage but she just doesn't have the confidence I feel like she just doesn't trust Peter and Aon very much but the thing that makes Allison the most anxious is going for a walk even just getting ready can be traumatic walking is a headache she hates the leash she'll pee on the floor so I now will just only do it outside and she'll scream like a banshee and sure enough oh yeah she doesn't like it doesn't oh look at that's a shake off huh every step of the way Allison's looking decidedly nervous she clings to the wall that's her safe Zone mhm even dogs she can't see can Inspire full-blown [Music] panic hackles on her her back mhm should I do something to make her St take her away that's the best thing get her out of the situation and remove her how many times a day do you walk her I pretty much don't walk her for the sake of walking her I feel like it would be a chore if I had to do it regularly be honest with me how much do you not walk your dog maybe once or twice a week once or twice a week Victoria's face s it all as does Allison so you'll walk her when it suits you yes do you see that do you see this face yeah okay what about you though I don't walk her at all genuinely that's punishment for me are you embarrassed walking Allison yeah yeah I'd say so it's just I mean she's not really a man's dog she's a she is a man's dog but this isn't the only bold claim Peter's making he's also convinced a dog this small doesn't need walking the size of the flat for her is is big and so she runs from one side to the other and runs around the garden which she does um then you know it seems like a fair amount of exercise it be interesting to ask Alice and what she thinks oh I would love to ask her a lot of questions that's good now cuz you've got a trans later here perfect yes for a healthy heart joints and muscles your average chihuaha needs a daily walk of at least 20 minutes this will release pentop energy meanwhile not getting their daily workout can result in boredom and yes even [Music] anxiety which is why this dog trainer is giving these two some Stern words Allison is conflicted she doesn't trust you she's UND stimulated because exercise is more than just walking that for her is absolute wonderful mental enrichment is giving her information about her environment it's releasing a chemical called dopamine into her brain makes it feel good right so what you're going to see is a KnockOn effect there's going to be less reactive Behavior there's less barking there's less being H because when you are very small and you are living in a very big world they're having to negotiate all the time desperate for Mom and Dad's understanding Allison's behavior is a cry for help sometimes we don't do enough and I feel you need to do more we get dogs because we love them because we want them as companions but we also have to fit into their lives you're absolutely right we have been lazy you know we have been lazy about it I didn't even think about the impact it was having on her not having that stimulation and so if you're ready to work and you promise me that you will continue the work after I've left that you will especially walk her then we can get going well I promise to walk her for sure this one here is lazy even lazier than I am oh ion you better walk up but the first thing Victoria wants to tackle is Allison's relationship with Peter I would love you to be able to pick your dog up without her running away from you that'd be nice let's get down on the ground she does like her food so we can use that to motivate her at the heart of this technique is allowing Allison to feel she has some control over the situation she does like to do things on her own t terms it just makes her feel safer so I want you to avoid moving towards her mhm because you're a big guy and when you lean down it's that's too much you have a piece of food in your hand could you just call her to you Allison Allison Alison okay and bring her into you and show her where that treat is and with the right hand and pick her up can you give her the treat that's it while it's a small step for chihuahua it's one giant leap for mankind I'm so unused to to holding though to really create a bond between these two Alison look what's this Peter needs to Master One More step so when you do that this time I want you to say pick up pick up cuz we're starting to teach her a cue so when she hears that she knows oh I'm going to get picked up mhm Allison you want it it's okay that's it good pick up you got it good well done beautiful see she's much more comfortable with you and after a while you won't need the food so as she jumps up say pick up good well done very good well done Alison I want you to work on making your voice a bit lighter okay very good very good okay pick up after 2 years of struggling to connect with his dogist pick up very good well done Peter now has a queue that is already making a difference I'm quite excited her jumping up on to me I've never had that bond with her pick up good girl good girl so practice this with her just a couple of times a day and hopefully you'll have no problem picking her up and she will not run away from you fantastic good girl the bigger challenge is helping Allison oh oh and her parents feel more positive about daily exercise oh this walking is going to be fun Peter I assure you it is you're going to love it if you say so after 8 years of almost nonone it begins with swapping her collar for a harness which for this pint-sized Pooch will be much more comfortable she's not great with body handling so we have to make this a pleasant experience for her as you put the harness on Ivonne pet is going to be feeding her treats maybe just put her on your lap there you go that's it all right and then you feed her as the harness goes on so lovely do you have any more treats on you Peter I do okay can you feed her a treat as you put the lead on that's it there we go Ready for War this is so simple I just I can't believe we didn't think of it sooner I'm making it really easy for you to take her out for a walk with chihuaha and humans already feeling more relaxed oh look at you look so happy the next challenge is negotiating London's busy [Music] streets how's the harness working it's a lot better because the pressure isn't on her neck anymore good she seems quite comfortable in it yes I didn't realize that the lead on the collar was an issue for Allison now we have the harness and it's so much better come on alisen this way also never miss a chance to reward good behavior even just with praise mhm so for example if there was a scary noise or a scary person and she doesn't react tell a good girl okay always give her feedback for when she's doing well but most of all this needs to be a daily ritual I mean she's quite well behaved actually giving Allison a chance to use those 220 million scent receptors in her [Music] nose making her feel more relaxed and less anxious Victor has been quite strict with us and rightly so we have been lazy walking the dog each day is going to be fine put it down on the ground Peter it's your turn here you go my time to shine hey it is totally your time to shine the lovely romantic walk with your manly manly dog it was really nice to see Pete actually walking Alison because he never does that it's not like she's a fast Walker a bit like you really she's quite slow but she seems to enjoy it I did enjoy it I kind of surprised myself actually I'll do it first thing in the morning when I wake up I mean you know there's nobody around so it's fine the final step is giving Alice in a safe place so there's no need to hide under the coffee table come on come on come on the answer a day bed with a roof close to Mom and Dad and as you can see she really likes it she does I mean literally she's closed her eyes sleeping look at [Music] her even better it's poor mul with this bed I feel like that there's going to be this growing sense of security that she'll have and safety it can be a place that she can go into and feel snug and that you can take with you this is just a note of caution don't ever make her bed a place to go for punishment all right I think it's great cuz we have been feeling the disconnect so it's going to be really nice to see her closer to us I love it when want to play C together we thought we were great parents but Victoria has shown us um where we're going wrong when I first came here I saw a dog that was a little conflicted didn't trust you very much now hopefully you'll just have an easier life with her but you have to walk her yeah it's just all about now doing the things that she's told us to do and I really think that that will make a big difference good luck I will see you again great forward to it you're welcome we are definitely going to take more responsibility for Allison because we love [Music] her over the next few weeks Ivon and Peter work hard to be better parents I wish this was how how it always was but to make sure they're really putting the time in guess who's back hello hi hello fretty girl how are you very well you yeah I'm very good thank you how's it been going it's been going great I take her out she can run for like an hour and not be tired she just loves it and the walking is a de-stressor both for you and for her I see the bed has remained in place how's that been going she loves it so much I do see a big difference from when I first came here to now that she's much less Barky she's much less stressed it's reduced her stress and as a result it's reduced our stress as well which leaves just one question can you pick her up you just want to play that's your problem you don't want to be picked up you just want to play I love that well [Music] done oh that's such a win it's really lovely to come here and not have a Chihuahua that's scared Allison seems so much happier and I think your lives are going to be so much easier with her I'm so pleased to see how confident Allison's become Ivon and Peter have put in a lot of work and you can really tell the difference it just makes me very happy thanks for watching if you love it's me or the dog and want more dog training tips and tricks visit my official site positively. comom and if you're interested in learning more about becoming a dog trainer check out the Victoria still Academy links to both sites are in the description I'll see you online

Channel: It's Me or the Dog

Views: 114,550

Keywords: It's Me Or The Dog, It's me or the dog victoria stilwell, it's me or the dog tv show, it's me or the dog watch online, victoria stilwell dog training, it's me or the dog animal planet, victoria stilwell, me or the dog, me or the dog usa, dog training, puppy training

Id: SvQ25qNBxO4

Length: 19min 47sec (1187 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 26 2024