Confidence is taught, one small win at a time.

01How Chihuahuas learn

Chihuahuas are quick, observant learners. They repeat what works for them. Reward-based training, also called positive reinforcement, uses that: you mark the behaviour you want with a word like “yes” or a click, then follow it with something your dog values, such as a tiny treat, a game or attention.

UK welfare organisations and professional bodies recommend reward-based methods and advise against punishment, shouting, “alpha” techniques, spray collars or physical corrections.1 For a small dog, the case is even stronger. A dog that is easily lifted, cornered or loomed over already has plenty of reasons to feel unsafe. Punishment suppresses warning signals like growling without removing the fear, which makes a bite more likely, not less.

Training that suits a small dog

• Tiny rewards. Pieces the size of a lentil. Use part of the day’s food allowance.
• Short sessions. Two to five minutes, a few times a day. End while your dog is still keen.
• Get down to their level. Sit or kneel rather than bending over.
• Train on the floor, not on tables or furniture they could fall or jump from.
• Watch body language. Lip licking, yawning, turning away, a tucked tail, freezing or whale eye (showing the whites) mean “I’m uncomfortable.” Give space and make it easier.

02Building confidence

Confidence grows from experiences that end well, chosen by the dog. That’s why we keep returning to four paws on the ground. A Chihuahua that is scooped up whenever something new appears never learns that the new thing was harmless, and it can’t move away if it’s frightened. A dog on the ground can sniff, retreat, watch and approach again, and every time it chooses to approach and nothing bad happens, it grows braver.

Practical ways to build it

• Let your dog set the pace. When it meets a new person, ask them to ignore the dog, crouch side-on and let the dog come to them. Treats can be tossed gently, not offered from an outstretched hand.
• Pair scary things with good things. If your dog worries about the hoover, start with it switched off in the room and scatter treats near it. Build up very gradually. This is called counter-conditioning.
• Give them a safe retreat at home: the den is off-limits to children and visitors.
• Teach a few “confidence behaviours”: touching your hand with their nose, settling on a mat, and “find it” scatter games. These give a worried dog something to do.
• Advocate for your dog. It’s fine to say “please don’t touch him, he’s learning” or to step off the path to let a large dog pass.

03Socialisation

Puppies have a sensitive period for socialisation, roughly from three to twelve or fourteen weeks old, when new experiences are absorbed most easily. Good breeders begin this before puppies leave home, and you continue it from the day they arrive.

Socialisation means calm, positive exposure, not overwhelming a puppy with everything at once. Aim for many brief, pleasant experiences of:

Before vaccinations are complete, you can carry your puppy to watch the world and invite healthy, vaccinated dogs you know to visit. Ask your vet when it’s safe to go on the ground in public places. Well-run puppy classes are often open to puppies after their first vaccination.

Socialising a rescue adult works the same way, more slowly. Start where your dog is comfortable and build up.

04Gentle toilet training

Toy breeds are often slower to toilet train. Small bladders fill fast, accidents are small and easily missed, and many small dogs dislike going outside in cold or wet weather. None of this is stubbornness. It needs a consistent routine.

1. Go out often. As soon as your puppy wakes, after every meal and play session, and at least every hour or two at first. Adults new to your home benefit from frequent trips too.
2. Go with them. Stand quietly in the same spot. When they go, say a cue word like “be quick”, then praise and reward immediately, outside.
3. Supervise indoors. Watch for sniffing and circling, and take them out straight away. When you can’t watch, use the den or a small pen.
4. Handle accidents calmly. Never scold or rub their nose in it, which teaches them to hide from you to toilet. Clean with an enzymatic cleaner to remove the scent.
5. Plan for weather. A coat, a covered area of the garden, or an umbrella over the toilet spot helps a reluctant small dog.
6. Night-times. Young puppies usually need a trip out during the night for the first weeks.

Expect progress over weeks to months, with relapses during cold snaps or changes in routine. Sudden accidents in a previously trained adult can signal a urinary infection, so see your vet.

05Lifting and handling safely

How you pick up a Chihuahua matters for both their body and their trust. Falls from arms are a common cause of fractures in toy dogs.

• Teach a cue such as “up?” before lifting, so being picked up is never a surprise.
• Children should sit on the floor to hold a Chihuahua rather than stand.
• Respect a dog that moves away when you reach for it. Practise “up?” followed by a treat, and lift only briefly at first.

06Vet visits, grooming and muzzle training

A dog that accepts being examined is safer and less stressed at the vet, and it gets better care. Build handling skills a few seconds at a time.

Handling desensitisation

1. Touch a paw briefly, then give a treat. Repeat a few times, then stop.
2. Over days, build up to holding the paw, then touching a nail with clippers, then trimming one nail.
3. Do the same with ears, lifting the lip, gently restraining in your arms, and looking at the eyes.
4. Practise on a non-slip mat on the floor, and later on a table with you supporting them, as a vet would.

Many practices welcome “happy visits”, where you pop in for a treat from the receptionist and a weigh-in, with nothing unpleasant happening.

Muzzle training

Every dog benefits from being comfortable in a muzzle, because any dog in pain may bite, and a vet may need to use one in an emergency. A dog that already loves its muzzle won’t have a frightening experience added to a painful one.

1. Choose a well-fitting basket muzzle that lets your dog pant and take treats. Fabric muzzles that hold the mouth shut are for very short procedures only.
2. Show the muzzle and reward. Then put a treat inside so your dog pops its nose in voluntarily.
3. Gradually build the time the nose stays in, then fasten the strap for a second, then longer.
4. Practise in short, cheerful sessions over a couple of weeks, and occasionally afterwards.

07Confidence alone: a separation pathway

Chihuahuas often attach closely to one person and can become distressed when left. Signs include barking or howling, scratching at doors, toileting, refusing food or drooling while you’re out. It’s far easier to prevent this than to treat it, so start in the first week.

If your dog is already distressed when left, don’t just leave it to “get used to it”, which usually makes things worse. Arrange cover so it isn’t left beyond what it can cope with, and speak to your vet and a qualified behaviourist.

08Barking

Barking is communication. Before you can change it, work out what it’s for:

• Alert barking at sounds or passers-by: reduce the triggers (frosted window film, a radio), then teach your dog that a noise means “come to me for a treat” and thank them for telling you.
• Fear barking at strangers or dogs: increase distance, then use counter-conditioning. Never punish it.
• Demand barking for attention or food: don’t reward it, and reward quiet behaviour generously.
• Boredom barking: more enrichment and exercise.
• Distress barking when alone: see the separation pathway above.

Anti-bark collars that spray, vibrate or shock teach a dog nothing about why it shouldn’t bark, and they can increase fear. Electric shock collars for cats and dogs were banned in England in 2024.2

09Getting expert help

Dog training and behaviour work is unregulated in the UK: anyone can call themselves a trainer or behaviourist. Look for someone on the register of the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC), which lists practitioners who meet set standards of knowledge and use humane methods.3

• For puppy classes and everyday manners: an ABTC-registered Animal Training Instructor. Ask whether classes keep small and large puppies apart for play.
• For fear, aggression or separation problems: start with your vet, as pain is a common hidden cause of behaviour change, and ask for a referral to an ABTC-registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist.