Every time I tell someone that I have 2 chihuahuas, the over-generalizations come flying.
“Oh the ankle biters”
“Oh they must bark a lot”
“Oh they are so unfriendly”
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
When it comes down to it, every Chihuahua is different. A Chihuahua’s behavior mostly depends on how it was raised and the experiences it has encountered.
For instance, my one Chihuahua generally does not like children in groups. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like kids, but usually when a group of kids come up to him they are loud, grabbing at him and scaring the heck out of him. He reacts by running away. Now if the kids keep pursuing him (and this has happened before), then he’ll get aggressive and start growling.
Does that mean that he is a mean ankle biter? No, it means that he becomes a scared dog and feels like he has to defend himself.
I want to add that he gets along great with children who approach him slowly and wait for him to make the first move.
My other Chihuahua is shy as well but she’ll use her size to hide in tiny places as opposed to barking.
The other day I met a group of the friendliest chihuahuas ever. They were all in my lap, rubbing against me, licking my face. I consider my two to be friendly but they’d never jump in a strangers lap. It just further proved my point that it all depends. You can’t judge all Chihuahuas.
Generally Chihuahuas are curious dogs who prefer to be around one person. It’s been said that they are not family dogs because of their preference but I disagree. It is also said that they dislike other dog breeds. I’d also have to disagree with that but I do believe that they prefer to be around other Chihuahuas.
Jenn Lynn