We adopted a male Chihuahua from a local rescue. For the first day or so he was just fine. He was previoulsy owned by a older lady, whose son was killed in Iraq. She could no longer care for the dog. about the 3rd day we had him, he turned into a holy terror; growling, bearing his teeth, snapping at any movement, biting when touched! I have had dogs all my life and have taken many obediance courses. But, no matter what I try, remains aggressive and scary. I am wondering what people think of the pager vibrator type collar for correction. I don't what to hurt the dog, I jusy want to get his attention. Any ideas. I have 2 other adopted rescues, a Greyhound and another Chihuahua (female). The problem dog is fine with the female Chi, but is unbelievably aggressive toward the Greyhound.

Hi Luce,

sounds as though the first few days he was merely finding his feet in all new surroundings ....

I note you say you're well up on obedience courses etc., but what methods have you specifically tried on him?  There are a wide range of methods used to 'train obedience' and some have greater success than others.

Re a vibrating collar, TBH I should think that if anything this is very likely to backfire as far as getting his 'acceptable' attention goes.  First IMO you need to establish whether this aggressive behaviour is fear based and, if so, what is/are the main fear(s) i.e. new surroundings, noises, other dogs, you or people in general etc.

I would recommend you get back onto the rescue centre where he came from and establish more re his background and also what his behaviour was like in the time the rescue centre had him in their keep.

This sounds as best a very troubled dog and IMO until the reasons for the behaviours are fully and correctly established it would be counter productive to advise on what is the method best suited to turning this behaviour around.

If the rescue centre is unavailable until Monday, then in the meantime I would largely ignore this little dog from a training POV and keep him segregated from the others to avoid any possible problems.  Don't put any pressure on him to conform or accept anything, simply put down food, allow out to relieve himself and of course ensure he has access to fresh water and a comfortable bed/basket or duvet.  IMO less is more in this situation until such times as you are better informed of his previous character both with his original owner and the staff at the rescue.

ETA:  I would also recommend that he be vet checked to rule out any possible medical conditions which can often be the cause of behaviour such as you describe but would need professional veterinary assessment and possibly if health check is all clear then the intervention of a professional behaviourist depending on the outcome of further talks with the rescue.

best wishes, Teri

It's a breed I own (along with the Collies), and I've never had a nasty one.  IMO the collar would not be a success with this breed.  When I read aggressive, and then saw the breed, I was surprised.  Sounds like a very fearful dog really.  Unfortunately I think the older lady caused this.  Mine get treated like dogs, and a lot of pet Chi owners don't do this.  I've never owned a nasty one, and whenever I meet one that is questionable, the owner has the "don't touch my little dog, you'll hurt it attitude", and the dog has been conditioned to be snappy.
Hopefully someone on CD that has experience with Ian Dunbar type training, can come up with a solution for you.