My Chihuahuas Are Barking !

I happened to have company come over this afternoon and low and behold, my darling chihuahuas decided to act like my bodyguards. Sometimes chihuahuas like to show others that they are big and bad, but the only thing bad about mine are their barks! All the while barking, they are all wagging their tails. I finally got them settled down a bit, but that is one of their true characteristics. Chihuahuas are great little dogs.  They don't seem to like visitors coming over to my home, however, if they are approached correctly, and with time, they warm up fairly quickly. Socialization is very important while they are growing up to get them used to alot of people being around. And no matter how many times I tell them to stop barking, they love to have the last word.

Bella The Barker

As of late, Miss Bella has been using her vocal chords alot....she has discovered that if she barks at something, things happen. She not only has a deep bark for a small puppy, but it's loud as well. She started all this when the other dogs would be looking at something outside and barked at something they saw, Bella barked. Heck, I even noticed times that she would just bark because she heard them start in....even without seeing what it was. Next thing I knew, I would be in the kitchen doing the cooking and there she was, barking at me. I look down at her to see what all the barking was about, and it's just her, wanting attention....or more...she smells the food and wants me to give her a taste..isn't she funny?

teaching chihuahuas not to bark SOOO much

Can you teach your chihuahua not to bark at every single movement someone makes? Well, let me tell you about mine. My teen daughter who lives in this house and they see every single day is barked at by my chi's at every chance they get. When she comes home from school, when she goes somewhere and comes back in, and even my husband gets "the bark treatment" when he comes home from work. I don't know why this is. When they see me coming or even getting out of my car, they will NOT bark at me. Perhaps this is because they instinctively know where their food is coming from? I don't know. Whatever the reason, I decided to try something. Now, I love my chis and I would NEVER EVER hit them.One day they even started to nip at our family friend, who they have seen many times and this had to stop. So, a couple of days ago, I took a rolled up newspaper whenever they started to bark at the family members coming in the door, I tapped it on the table and said NO, and they instantly stopped their barking. Just tapping that rolled up paper on the coffee table did the trick for me. What also works is an empty paper towel roll. They don't like the noise of it. So, if you have BARKING CHIHUAHUAS like I do, and they tend to bark alot, you might just try this. Please do not scare them with it too much though. Just a tap or two on the coffee table does the trick. Try it and see.