The Macho Minute is about my dog Macho, a chihuahua I rescued in January of 2010. Macho was rescued from a house in Dearborn, MI where 100+ other Chihuahuas were found alive and another 150+ were found dead amongst garbage piled from floor to ceiling. Due to these living conditions, Macho is very timid at all times. I created the Macho Minute to share Macho's stories and progress, as well as my joy of rescuing a dog who needs extra love and care.



Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Re-training Macho

I've been MIA lately as we've been busy making Macho a better dog!

About two weeks ago, I was leaving the house and Macho was laying on our bed. He isn't allowed to be in our bedroom while we are not home, so I told him to get off the bed. He really wasn't happy about this! I am usually able to say "Off" and point to the floor to get him to get off the bed, but when I did this, he just sat there. I reached down to pet him, and he tried to bite me! Per our dog trainer's advice, I am supposed to growl at him when he is misbehaving, so I did that. Sometimes all I have to do is walk behind Macho and he will walk away because he doesn't like to have his back to you. So I did that, and he turned around and started showing his teeth to me. Clearly, I was not allowing this behavior. He stopped, walked over to my pillow and peed on it! I couldn't believe he did that.

The next day I got home from work and took Macho out as usual. He didn't pee, but since I still have the pee pads out for while I am at work, I thought he just didn't have to go. I brought him in, and I heard him walk down the hallway. He went right into our bedroom and peed on our bed again. I decided it was time to take some action.

Our dog trainer came out for a visit last week and said that Macho is starting to show dominance now that he is more comfortable with us. We have a lot of new exercises to work with him on. However, the biggest is that he is no longer allowed to sleep in bed with us or be on the bed in general! This made us sad because he loves laying in bed and cuddling with us. But I know that it's something we have to do to help him get better and teach him that we are the leaders, not him. The first night he wasn't happy about sleeping in the cage, but since that first night he has gone in the cage without a fight. Last night I laid in bed reading a book, and he went right into the cage and laid there the whole time.

So far the exercises have seemed to help, and Macho is showing less dominance by the day. We're supposed to continue this for a month and then we can readdress him sleeping in bed with us. Let's hope it all works out for Macho!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh no! Hoping that Macho get the point & is able to start sleeping with you again. Our cats let us know when they are unhappy with us, in the exact same way as Macho.

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

keeping my paws crossed for all of you!

The Daily Pip said...

Oh gosh, this must be stressful! My paws are crossed for all of you!

Your pal, Pip

Road Dog Tales said...

It's been too long since we visited the Macho Man! So glad to hear Macho has a yard of his own now! It sounds like you have a super fantastic trainer to help you and Macho. Hope he will be back in bed snuggling with you in no time! Good luck to you and Macho. He is such a cutie pie!

The Road Dogs

Stewey said...

Thanks for the birthday wishes! It was great to hear from you again!
Stewey