[Mischa]

I've been talking to Crazy Kian's owner/dad/pack leader and I got to thinking: Are there any tips, training techniques, information, items such as toys, etc. that you wish you had known or had before and only learned later that could have helped raise your V? Or is/was there an issue right now in the teenage years or adulthood you wished you had focused more on when they were a puppy?

For me, I'll be honest although this reflects poorly on me (so don't judge! ), when I had my chihuahua, I wish I had socialized him a lot more than I did. Chihuahuas in general aren't too friendly to begin with towards strangers, and I wish that I had taken him out to meet a lot more people when he was a puppy.

 

[Lisa]

I really wished we'd worked more on leash walking with Catan. Now he's so much stronger than me and walking him is such a chore but we're working on it.

 

[fiona long]

wish i could find a toy that lasts more than 1 day. have tried everything most good quality pet shops sell and have nothing!! bailey destroys it all!

 

[sarahaf]

Agreed on both leash work and toys. We've relied on the easy walk harness, but even though the harness allows us to control her, she still wanders back and forth a lot. Loves toys for a day, then bored and looking to steal our stuff. Also with socialization--I think her single biggest behavior problem (besides stealing/destroying our things) is fear of strangers (humans). She barks and even occasionally snarls (only did the latter with a man who has a very unusually loud voice--it jangles us too--and a vet tech who startled her trying to put an id around her neck). I want to work more on that to be sure she won't develop more serious fear aggression.