I am sure there will be other people here to give advice. To start, I do not think a harness should be left on all the time. Perhaps if it were not left on all the time he would not chew it? Or use a collar?

My dog can't wear a harness for the same reason.......he chews them off. You should switch to a collar and doing so will give you more control of your dog. It's not possible to have good control of your dog with a harness.
I'd also suggest you work with obedience training since he seems to still have some issues.

I'm showing a link to my favorite collar for my dog. You may want the pet store help you size it but it's very easy to slip on and take off once you get the right fit. It's not a collar you want to leave on your dog once you get home from a walk so it should be removed afterward. It fits loose enough so that it slips over the head, but will tighten by a pull on the leash if you need to get your dogs attention.

If you want a collar that you can leave on full time then buy a regular buckle/snap collar. My dog became an expert of slipping out of buckle collars and the only way to prevent it was a collar buckled really tight.........something I didn't want!

Gizmo is one lucky dog to have you as loving owners!

Here is a link that might be useful: collar

I learned a very valuable lesson when I brought home an abused Shepard/Lab about 17 years ago, she is not in doggie heaven (bless her).

Anyway, her issues were many, and I consulted with numerous trainers and did all sorts of research. When I was going through a very difficult time, one trainer asked me what I was doing, and how long I was doing it to correct behaviors. I told her, and she instantly said "if something your are doing is not getting the results, or working, why are you repeating it, you need to do something else, not all dogs are the same."

That one sentence brought into focus very quickly what I needed to do to bring her around, and I did. After all of our experiences, I had a wonderful companion for about 14 years.

You and your dog need help. Chihuahua's are a very temperamental dog, and they will easily rule the roost if their humans don't know how to handle them. This is a very bad thing for any dog, but especially this breed.

I suggest you research Chihuahua personality on Google, consult with breeders, and call the rescue facility where you got the dog and tell them that you need help. They should be able to refer you to someone who can help. If this is not an option, Google "Chihuahua rescue leagues" in what ever area you are in. Lots of times they offer free advice or charge very little to help out in these situations.

You are to be commended for taking in this dog. From my perspective, I would say you need to start from "square one", and treat the dog like he is a 3-4 month old dog, gradually making necessary corrections along the way for the next 9-10 months.

Good luck!

SG

My guess is the corgi side of the mix is coming into play as much as the chihuahua side.

Here is a link that might be useful: corgi

"Chihuahua's are a very temperamental dog, and they will easily rule the roost if their humans don't know how to handle them. This is a very bad thing for any dog, but especially this breed."
I have to disagree with SG.I have Chis and have had for years.I don't think you can lump ALL chis into the same category any more than you can any other breed.Some are more difficult than others when it comes to housebreaking and training.Just like kids,they all have different personalities.I have dealt with the full spectrum! Most personality problems are due to their owners and what they allow them to get away with,just like any other dog.:)
I do agree that you should be using a collar instead of a harness and I do leave the collar on all the time.My youngest little Chi hated the harness and would chew it off.She wears a collar all the time now with no problem.

Sounds like you have a wild one on your hands.
Since your pup has had a tendency to bite, you should be considering a couple of things.
Once call the place your got your pup from and ask if they have training classes, you will want to consider positive reinforcement clases - they are best with dogs who have "issues". When you walk your dog, make ceratin you go out the door first. Put your dog in a sit stay position at the front door, and wait until he calms down before going out the door. You go out first, have the dog wait for you or whoever is walking him so you can close the door safely. You dog should be walking next to you or behind you not in front of you sniffing every bush. If your dog is going out the door first and walking in front of you, the dog is thinking it is the boss. Not you. Your dog needs to learn to respect you and biting is no form of respect. Until the dog can sit quietly on the sofa with you all, no sofa time. All this and more like sit stay and leave it should be covered in class. This will make dealing with your new little addition much easier. Kudos to you for getting a rescue.
Now for the harness. Some dogs take a bit longer to adjust to things. Put the harness on for while and once the dog starts chewing on it, correct him and give him something else to chew on like a treat filled Kong. Keep doing this. At night I would suggest taking the harness off, until things get quieted down a bit.
PS - sounds like you are doing everything else correctly. The more wlakies the better, and if you can switch routines and not go the same walking route it will help. Good luck

Of course, Mazer made an excellent point: excess energy in dogs often shows itself in destructive behavior. Dogs need real exercise, like long walks and active play sessions. Opening the back door and letting them out doesn't cut it.

My original point, though, is I think it is questionable and maybe even dangerous to leave a harness on a dog.

Well all some good pointers. Last night I went to take off the new step through harness I fixed to fit. I put a special brass hook that you push the little nib with the thumb and it opens under spring backpressure like curved scissors so that there is a small opening between the blades to slip into a ring or take off. Because I have stiff arthritic hands it was difficult to get the snap open to remove the harness. Also the 6 foot leash snap is hard to get on and off. HoneyBear has little patience and turned taking my hand in his mouth and pressing down. I lifted him with the leash up onto the bed and put him down on his side like Ceasar millan does and he bit me in the process growling all the while. I had a small bloody spot but not bad. Wife has been bitten about three times so far and drew blood but not serious. Well any way I wrestled the little guy down and held him down for a few minutes till he calmed down. When he was calm I petted him and reassured him. I managed to take the harness off with little problems then. I held him and slid him down off the bed.

This morning he had to go out so wife had me get up to put on his harness. He had come around to my side of the bed the night before and wanted to be petted and cuddled more than usual so I think he was worried that maybe I was mad at him. I petted him and sent him to bed which he did. Well I got the harness and tried to get him to step through to get it on. He fussed and acted like he wanted to nip me but didn't and I spoke authoratively to him. With my fumbling around with the fittings it didn't help. But I managed to get it all on and wife took him out. I need to find some easy to handle hooks and such for the harness and leash. These are just too hard and I think HoneyBear senses the frustration and it upsets him too causing him to want to bite.

I have contacted the pound where I got him and she said maybe we should call Ceasar Millan, ha. Well I think we can handle the problem by finding better equipment. He has improved dramatically since we first brought him home and is a very loving dog but he can't handle pressure very well. we think he may have been abused before we got him..don't know who would abuse a sweet little dog like him but maybe he might have bitten someone who slapped or hit him. He looks a lot like a smaller Corgi and weighs between 15-20 lbs. His head is a cross between Long haired Chihuahua and corgi. He is colored white body with brown and then small spot of black. Has tri-color head. Very cute little dog but not as easy going as our sweet little Maltese mix blonde and apricot color. She was adorable and never met anyone she didn't like. She passed away March 8th this year in my arms of heart failure we think. She was near 16 or 17 years old and we had her from the same pound since she was 5 or 6 years old. She spent much of her life in my lap. If you want to see pictures of my dogs, Pipsy and HoneyBear check my website: http://www.angelfire.com/la/latchhook/ about halfway down the page. It is my latchhook website I put up back in 1997.
Thanks
Paul

Here is a link that might be useful: The Latchhook Page

What a cutie! He looks like he might be part Papillion.Does the shelter know for sure he is Corgi and Chi? Sounds like you are making progress.

I think you're right that some of the problem is him sensing your frustration and pain while you're trying to harness him.
Do you not want to use a collar? If you want to continue with the harness, why not leave the leash attached to it all the time? I assume you're taking the harness off during the day?
I don't know what type harness you're using but the link below shows one that is supposed to be easy to put on.

Be careful with the alpha roll since there's a fine line in knowing when to use it. Work instead on making your dog sit and then reward him with his favorite treat.......my dog's is cheese! Anyway, try the reward system when it comes to putting his harness on so that he sees it as a 'happy' time vs a fearful/anxious time.

One thing you can try to make the snap easier is to go to a hardware store and check out the different snaps available. If you find one that is easier for you to open/close you can take it to a shoe repair shop and have them sew it on to your leash.

Keep up with the obedience work, and you & the wife staying in control, and I think he'll shape up.

BTW, it's also possible there's some Jack Russel in his bloodline.......may be where the strong independence is coming from!

Here is a link that might be useful: harness

Thanks. The vet and the gal at the pound said they thought he had long haired chihuahua in him but they were probably making an educated guess. One thing for sure is the Corgi bloodline. That is the only time I took him down and that was for biting. We are trying to fix all his problems with love when he is in a calm state. We don't show affection when he is wound up but mainly ignore him then.

Did you see our little Maltese? Isn't she a sweet little gal? When she left us I wasn't sure I would want another dog...but I ran across HoneyBear and knew that I could love him and saw that he needed lots of love and a calm atmosphere to live in. When the winter snows come on we have bought a used treadmill for the basement to walk him on and get rid of that excess energy.
We will continue working with him and plan on placing him in a great local kennel for a few days of socialization with other dogs and people during Thanksgiving holidays.
Paul

Youre dog may have been traumatized (not beaten).

I adopted a 4 month old Shepard/Hound 2.5 years ago that everyone thinks was traumatized at this early age, and I am still dealing with her issues. Prior to this dog I had a Shepard/Lab that was beaten to death before I came along, I got her when she was 9 months, she lived to be 14.

Looking back, I think reversing physical abuse is less challenging than reversing mental abuse. For me, typical training techniques simply do not apply to my girl traumatized. I've had to take very small baby steps making corrections, with a very soft touch. She has made huge improvement, but still has a way to go. Of course, the Shepard in her makes things all the more challenging.

You might consider consulting a behaviorist, this may save you tons of time and frustration, and help both you and your dog. The facility where you got the dog may be able to refer you. You can also Google various dog behaviors to educate yourself. IÂve done this tons of times, and it has helped me immensely.

One way to detect if your dog was hit often, is to simply pet him, preferably when he is laying on the floor, or a situation where you must bend over to do the pet. If the dog instantly, severely pulls back (usually his whole body), he was probably beaten.

Good luck!

SG

Two things I have noticed is when I come upon him and am standing over him he will roll over on his side and cower..even after months of loving and cuddling he will still do this though maybe less pronounced these days. He just chewed up another harness this morning right after wife had taken him out and I was sleeping in. The second thing my wife noticed is the minute she picks up a broom he scoots into hiding.

She is just about to give up on him I am afraid because he has nipped her several times and now cannot put the leash on or off without teeth showing and threats of biting. I know he wants to be a good dog but he has this negative harness and collar thing. When he was found it was without collar or leash or harness and he was running down the freeway near town so I think he probably chewed through his restraint and took off. When it is on and we take him out he is completely fine with it or on walks. It is when he is quiet and lying around that he chews it up. Yes he gets lots of pork and beef rawhide twist chew sticks..he loves them but he still eats harness. Don't know what we are going to do. Been thinking of a choker type collar for taking him out but wife is fearful he will get loose and maybe hit by a car when they are out walking.
The saga continues.
Paul

I definitely would get a collar/harness that you can put on easily and take off easily. The more often you repeat the on and off, the more your dog will accept the process.

I would not leave him alone/unsupervised with the harness on. If he is chewing on it in your presence, then you tell him no and make him stop.

If he is not supervised, he should be in his crate with no harness, nothing to chew on, in a safe zone.

You have obedience issues that need work, the biting, the touching. I would suggest a group obedience class to work on some basic traning, it helps you establish a relationship with dog and leader and follower. It also gives you and the dog controlled time together with strangers and other dogs. great socialization.

I think he was worried that maybe I was mad at him.

You are projecting your feelings on to the dog. Dogs don't think that way, and it will make it harder for your dog to accept you as pack leader, if you are worried about how he feels. Your dog feels what you feel, if you are worried, your dog will be worried. If you are calm and confident, your dog will be calm and confident.

I have a Yorkie Poo who does the same thing with his collars. No matter what kind we get, we have gotten the ones that supposedly can not be destroyed, but he did it anyways. He always seems to manage to get his mouth lower on them (almost like a snakes mouth) and chews thru them. Maybe if you were able to move the harness lower down on his chest it would help out alot. I seen others suggest that possibly a collar. A collar works out well with my little guy as long as I remember to take it off each time. Training might work for him as well. The link below should help out with the training so you do not have to attend a class every week in person. In my personal experience though the collar works out best. My Yorkie Poo went thru about 2 harnesses before I finally got a collar. So hope this advice helps out some.

Since you've had the dog for awhile and he's still threatening, biting and snapping at you and your wife, I suggest you seek out a behaviorist to help you.

If you really feel you aren't able to handle retraining the dog then start talking to rescue groups ASAP to see if they can take him. If you want to continue working with him, then ask some of the groups for referrals to dog trainers.

I think the right person can probably turn him around but at this stage of your life you need a dog you can enjoy and not fear. Also, since you mentioned you have arthritis, I worry that one of his bites may lead to an infection in either you or your wife.
If you decide to adopt again, adopt from a group that uses foster parents so that you know the dog's personality ahead of time.

I am not fearful of him but my wife is beginning to be. He pretty much minds me and I will give him a bit more time to settle down. got a new different type of harness today. May get a muzzle for him in order to peaceably get the harness on. I think he is slowly giving in. When he gets the harness on he seems happy and wants to go out. We just can't leave it on him all the time. I think the muzzle will help.
As last resort might contact a rescue group and see if they would take him..but don't want to really do that.
Paul

A harness can be inhumane if you leave it on all the time. It rubs in places and can really be painful.

A collar is a better choice.

He would just slip the collar right off. We haven't been leaving the harness on him all the time except for at first. On all the harness I clipped of the sharp burnt edges of the nylon. It is rediculous that they would let a product go out with all those sharp edges. Manufacturers got to be idiots and only interested in the money.
Paul

Hi Paul;
I'm going to echo what others have said about a dog behaviorist. I really think it's worth a try to have an expert work with the dog and give you and your wife some tips on how to handle him. It sounds like just this one area needs work (attaching collar or harness)?

Also, I'm sorry for the loss of your Pipsy...she looked like a very sweet little girl!

I think you're confused about the different collars that are available and how they work. If you used the collar I linked to earlier, there is no way he would slip out of it. My dog is an expert at slipping out of regular collars and using a Martingale is the only way I prevent him from getting loose. The Martingale is essentially a modified choke collar and your control of Gizmo will be much easier with such a collar.

If you don't like the chain, there is another style of the Martingale available that uses nylon in place of the chain. This collar is very easy for you to slip over the dogs head, but once you put a leash on it and there is tension the dog is not able to slip it off.

Take Gizmo into a pet store and they will help you in fitting the collar correctly.

I agree with Annz 100% - a Martingale collar is the way to go, it's the only dog collar we use where I volunteer and we haven't lost a dog yet by slipping out of the collar. Then after the walk you could just slide the collar back off of him if you didn't want to leave it on. You could even leave the leash attached to the collar when you take it off and then the next walk, the collar just slips back over his head.

You've gotten a lot of good advice here, especially giving HoneyBear treats before and after he gets his collar on. He needs to associate getting his collar on and off with good things.

It seems as of yesterday, he's chewed up 5 harnesses now. I would really hope you wouldn't invest in a 6th, he obviously hates them for whatever reason and unless you can get them on and off him quickly he's just going to keep chewing them off.

Good luck with HoneyBear and I really hope it works out that you can keep him.

Well we bought a different and cheaper brand that is a bit easier to put on and remove. Wife even took it off and then put it back on to take him out. As far as treats go he doesn't like anything that I can find except licorice whips and can't give him too much of that because it is a laxative and makes his droppings smeary and hard to clean up. I thought he liked Meow mix but only when he wants it not when offered as a treat.Ocassionaly he will eat a dog biscuit broken up but only intermittantly. He is a funny picky eater. He seems to like to go through a burying ritual with his nose and sometimes hides his food but if coaxed long enough he will finally eat it. He growls and snarls at times when we go to remove the food and then generally will eat it. When I put a bowel of fried steak cubed up for him he will dally around for some time before he dives in to eat it. If I feed it to him bite by bite generally he will eat it all then.

We are going to place him in a kennel over Thanksgiving holidays for socialization. Our daughter left her Sheltie there for a few days recently and our son picked the dog up. He said there was a world of difference from when the dog went in and when it left and all for the good. Maybe being around other dogs and handlers who know dogs will help him out. Although, we took the motorhome about 125 miles north to do some chores and he acted just beutifully. Not one negative aspect the whole day. He rode up in my son's lap in the passenger seat and looked out the window the whole way practically except for when my son got tired and put him in the back to eat and drink and then he was back and crawled across sons lap to see out the window. Today he was just a perfect dog. Maybe we are doing something right. We won't leave the harness on him over night though.

Junebug1961, Pipsy was the love of my life. I have never seen a dog like her in my life. One thing I found endearing was many times during the 9 some years we had her she would be cuddled in my lap with me petting her and then turn and just look deep into my eyes (she had big brown eyes and it was difficult to even see her pupil except in certain light)she wouldn't budge but just look into my eyes. It was almost spiritual. The day she passed away she did that and held my gaze for must have been a full minute like she knew she was leaving and was trying to communicate with me. It was strange but very loving. She never caused one second of trouble. She had some age problems though and we had to diaper her the last weeks of her life. We put a pad in the bed and she slept between us. She slept with us from the second day we had her. She lost all the beautiful hair from her tail. The vet said her teeth were part of the problem but she hadn't been a good candidate for tooth cleaning..and we didn't want to take the chance of putting her out to have the cleaning done. She took heart medicine at the last year of her life. With all the care given her she lived to nearly 17 years which I think was pretty good for her breed. She was never overweight and she loved steak, pork and beef. She ate quite a lot of things. She loved her little harness too and never attempted to get it off and always seemed anxious to get it back on, like after a bath. Boy what a dog. She has spoiled me for life on what the perfect dog should be. First thing she did when I first held her was to stick her pink little tongue into my ear. She loved doing that and I did too. Ha! While rolling down the highway in the motorhome, she would jump up on the couch after getting a drink or food and crawl up behind my seat where I was driving and then slip her tongue into my ear talk about something startling you. Wife would make her come down and ride shotgun which she loved too. She took a trip in the motorhome from Washington clear back to Nebraska and back with a short three day stop in Bountiful, Utah where I was hospitalized for breathing problems. We left there and made it to Ontario, Oregon where wife was sick with the flu and the next day I got it so we stayed at the motel 6 for several days with one of us being well enough to take Pipsy out periodically. When we left there we drove all day and up into the night to get home and only then was Pipsy starting to get cantankerous and wanting to go home. You never saw such a happy dog trotting into our own yard. She almost kissed the ground. We also took a trip down to Arizona to the Mexican border with her. We stopped by the Grand Canyon and she just looked and looked down into that great chasm. There is a pix of her standing beside the Grand Canyon..notice how tightly I was holding her leash.
Also I was called Junebug by my family clear up to my late teens.Huh.

Happy memories. Hoping HoneyBear will wind up like that but I know he will be his own guy and I do love him for who he is.
Paul

Paul, Sounds like Honeybear is improving, and I am sorry to hear about Pipsy.
I had a few issues with my Beagle being 'nippy' when trying to get him off the bed or the couch. We are using a trainer now and he suggested the Nothing In Life Is Free program, which we have been using for about a month now with no other nipping issues. Basically the dog has to 'perform' some sort of task before ANYTHING is given to him, especially food. Even your basic sit is perfect. I would also suggest that your wife takes over the feeding until he no longer shows any aggression toward her. The nothing in life is free is a simple program that works wonders, made me a believer!! We started when he just knew sit and we made him sit for EVERYTHING including petting. I cant tell you the change in him! Give it a try!

Here is the link: http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog_nilf.htm

Thanks for all the advice and it all sounds good! Cheryl we will set down and check out that NILF website together. It looks good.
HoneyBear is just doing great today I managed to put the harness on this morning uneventful even though when it was on I noticed one leg wasn't through the right spot. We lifted him onto the bed and I managed to pull his leg and push it through the right hole and without a lipcurl or anything. It is kind of as if he has been reading all you guys comments. Ha! He has really been doing well of late. He has been running around all morning with the harness and leash on. Although after his next trip outdoors I will take it off him.
Paul

just my take but if your dog was abused then the harness really takes him back--he expects to be abused when it goes on--
our dog that we have had since 5 wks will chew through her harness if it is left on her after her walk--she wears a collar all the time but a harness only for her walk--
she is not very well trained and will pull on her leash...and a collar alone would choke her...

glad to hear that your dog is doing better
if your son has the time and energy, Honeybear may really appreciate more excercise--that should help with the picky eating...
take care and
you might consider the fact that the person who mistreated this dog was a female owner--maybe that is why your wife is getting nipped more...

Well another day without incident. HoneyBear has been being the perfect doggie. No problem putting on or tsking off his harness or leash nor nipping wife. But I put the leash and harness on mostly..sometimes she takes the leash off. Maybe he has finally given in to our being pack leaders. he has really been a loving dog of late. Haven't seen him chewing on the new harness at all. Right now he is laying sleeping in wifes recliner with his leash and harness on. He will have to go out soon so will leave it on for a while.
Paul

Well Honeybear seems to be making splendid progress. I am amazed he is falling into his own niche in our family and he is more loving every day. Haven't seen him chewing on harnesses anymore but we don't leave it on him as much. He is a much happier doggie.
Paul