How Can I Make My Chihuahua More Friendly? (Solved & Explained!)

Chihuahuas tend to pick one person that they like and everyone else… well, let’s just say that your Chi can be a little rude about company. You can train them out of this, with a little patience and some introductions.

Start off by leading your dog to a visiting friend and telling them to sit. When they do, give them a ‘good dog’ and a treat and then move on to the next person. When your dog is a little more used to them, your friends can also toss them treats and this will help immensely for socializing your dog.

You can also walk them close to dog parks, and after 2 to 3 walks ‘close’ to the park, you can try bringing your dog inside. Make sure any introductions are carefully controlled by you and the other dog’s owner, and before you know it your little one will start making friends!

For the remainder of this article, we’ll talk about Chihuahua traits and what you can do. Find out why your Chi seems so angry, how to make them less aggressive, and other useful tricks – the details are waiting for you below!

How do I socialize my Chihuahua?

Socializing your Chi is all about getting them to spend more time around other people and animals. As such, you can start off with more frequent walks and consider a little time in dog parks. Here your dog can make new friends, with careful introductions by you and the other dog owners, and this will help immensely.

You can also invite your friends over and arm them with treats. When your dog barks at them, tell your dog to sit, and when they sit quietly down then you can let your friend give them a treat and hold out the back of their hand for your dog to sniff if you feel it’s safe.

You can also purchase socialization training if you don’t have the time or if your efforts are going poorly, but don’t worry – your dog will get there. Some Chis can get a little codependent, so socialization will definitely help to calm them down a little and make your dog less abrasive, and more independent.

How do I stop my Chihuahua from being aggressive?

Get yourself a metal can and fill up to the halfway-mark with pennies, nails, or other items that will make a noise when you shake the can. Put a lid on top and some trats in your pocket and when your dog starts barking or acting aggressive in other ways, simply shake the can and tell them to ‘sit’.

When your dog complies, give them a treat, and repeat this whenever your dog goes overboard with their aggression. Over time, your dog will learn that they are safe with you and that this extra show of force is not required – just be patient with the process and consistent with the shaking of your can!

How do I get my Chihuahua to like strangers?

Chihuahuas are very picky about who they like, using picking one person and merely tolerating the rest (at best). You can combat this by giving quick introductions when friends arrive. Take your Chi from person to person and tell them to ‘sit’ when you introduce them.

When your dog does, give them a treat and some praise, and your friend can also give them a treat to help things along. Oftentimes, this is all it takes to get your dog used to the fact that new people will sometimes visit and that you consider them to be safe.

How do you train a stubborn Chihuahua?

It’s all about patience, consistency, and getting their attention. Chis are notoriously stubborn and often ignore commands, pretending that they don’t hear them. You can combat this with a can halfway full of pennies to shake when you want them to pay attention.

When they stop barking and look at you, tell them to sit and reward them with a treat when they do.

When training them, use this technique to make them sit for short periods, extending the time slowly before they get their reward. This will ‘correct’ them when they misbehave in a friendly way and training will become much easier.

Why is my Chihuahua so aggressive?

While it’s commonly believed that these dogs don’t know that they are little, they certainly do and they try to make up for it in fierceness. When a Chihuahua has a ‘fight or flight’ situation, many of them seem to choose ‘fight’ and they can be wildly aggressive.

They’ll bark up a storm and they’ve been known to jump in and nip someone from time to time as well! The only way to combat this is patient, consistent training.

Tell them to ‘sit’ as a form of time out, but always reward that with a treat. Eventually you’ll calm down their behavior, with every new training trick moving you one step closer to an obedient little buddy!

Why is my Chihuahua so angry?

Your Chihuahua isn’t angry, but rather they are overcompensating for the fact that they are tiny, but intend to be heard! Chis are famous for their tempers and believe it or not, they are quite aware that they are little, they just don’t intend to let that fact slow them down.

The best thing that you can do is to give them a little socialization training, which basically amounts to more time around other dogs and humans, and teach them at least some basic commands – such as ‘come here’, ‘sit’, ‘stay’, and ‘up’ and ‘down’.

The more that you teach them, the more comfortable they’ll feel with you as their ‘alpha’, and this will help to dampen that nasty little temper that comes up when your Chihuahua doesn’t know what to do or feels threatened.

Why is my Chihuahua so disobedient?

When your Chi is being stubborn, it often means that they haven’t been trained as well as you might think. What you need to do, is to start carrying a pocketful of treats and whenever your dog does things that you like, you give them a little treat.

It seems minimal, but your dog learns to associate certain behaviors as being ‘treat worthy’ and thus as ‘making you happy’. Over time, they’ll adopt these habits into their daily routine and before you know it, your stubborn little friend will become well-adjusted seemingly overnight!

Why does my Chihuahua growl at me?

If their body language is relaxed, rather than wound up like a spring, your dog might be asking for more affection.

That said, this is the exception rather than the rule, and growling generally indicates that what you are doing has a negative association for them (such as a bath or vet visit) or they might even have a health issue that’s not readily apparent.

When Chis are sick or injured, growling is quite commonly done as a way to tell you that they hurt or that being touched hurts, so it’s a good idea to bring them in to the vet for a checkup as one of the first things that you do.

If they are in good health, then patience and treats will be a good idea for the next few days to help your Chihuahua start building up positive associations with you so that they will relax a little and be much friendlier where you are concerned.

Why are Chihuahuas so scared?

It’s not always fear, though it might look that way. Chis can show fear-type reactions to a number of stimuli, such as being cold or even low blood sugar.

Aside from this you should also remember that some Chihuahuas are quite clever – if you are bathing them frequently or doing other things that they don’t like, then they are looking for certain cues and preparing to bolt if they see them.

So, go to the vet to rule out blood sugar or other health issues first and after that, start analyzing your surroundings and behaviors to make sure that your dog isn’t getting ‘cues’ from you that are alarming them.

Why is my Chihuahua so clingy?

If you live alone with your Chihuahua, they can get a little codependent if you aren’t careful. This is especially true with Chis that were weaned too early, as didn’t have enough time to socialize with their littermates.

To combat this, a little time in the park around other dogs and having friends over for careful introductions (and lots of treats) can help your dog to broaden their social horizons and rely on you less for all of the attention needs.

Kevin "Ken" Davies

My name is Ken and I’m one of the staff writers at Petloverguy.com. I’ve cared for pets most of my life starting with hamsters, turtles, and snakes. Then moving up to parakeets, guinea pigs, and even ducks.
I currently live with two yorkies and a chihuahua mix.