A great many people have met Itzl and have often commented on how well-behaved he is. Part of it is his own temperament, and part of it is his genetic breed predisposition, but the bulk of it is training. Itzl has been trained far beyond what pet dogs need as training.

I've raised and trained many dogs in my life, pet dogs. They've all be medium to large sized dogs - mutts, mostly, of Beagle, Irish wolfhound, Cairn Terrier, German Shepherd, standard Dachshund (the smallest dog I'd trained), Bulldog, Collie, Sheltie, or Bull Terrier breeds, and only one prior Chihuahua. The Chihuahua was when I was 8 years old, and it died very young, so barely counts.

Most of the training methods are similar for all the big dogs. There's no special accommodation needed to train them once you've considered and accounted for their breed tendencies. Terriers and Dachshunds dig. Beagles, Collies, and Shelties run. German Shepherds, Beagles, Terriers, and all bulldog breeds chew. Irish Wolfhounds walk lots and lots with bursts of running, then they sleep. Chihuahuas are almost always afraid because they are treated like big dogs when they aren't I've never had a Maltese or Yorkie or toy poodle or Pekinese, but they, too, suffer from being fearful because they are treated like big dogs in their training.

Most people get it when training big dogs. There's a lot more room for mistakes and big dogs have the ability to overcome the fear a mistake in training can spark. Little dogs live long lives by remembering forever those things that scared or hurt them, so a training mistake with them can take a very long time to overcome. You have to be ultra-observant when training little dogs, and you have to reinforce - over and over - that you are trustworthy. You can swat a big dog in training and she'll overlook it, may even mistake it for playfulness. Swat a little dog and he'll be terrified of you for months or even their entire lifetime. Move fast around a big dog, and he just watches (or thinks you're playing). Move fast around a small dog and she'll think you mean to hurt her and be terrified for weeks or years. Yell at a big dog and she'll hang her head and be repentant. Yell at a small dog and he'll cower and run away, and it may be days before you coax him out from under the sofa.

Once you adjust for their size and temperament, small dogs are easy to train. Their little walnut sized brains can hold an amazing amount of information and once you have their trust, they are eager to please and learn quickly.

When training little dogs, let's go over the DO NOTs first.

DO NOT move fast around a little dog.

DO NOT tower over or come from above a little dog's head.

DO NOT swat at a little dog.

DO NOT raise your voice at a little dog.

DO NOT train your little dog in the rooms where you expect him to sleep or play or cuddle or be indoor toiletted - generally the bedroom, living room, and bathroom.

Each of these DO NOTs will terrify a little dog, and once a little dog is scared, that's the end of your training session. They will not listen or learn anything after they've been scared. The best (and probably only) thing you can do once you've accidentally scared a little dog is to stop and praise the dog, pet or cuddle her, or do something you know she loves doing. Change the situation, leave the site where you were training, go to another room - one you've established as a safe room or place for the little dog, a place where nothing but good happens. Don't leave the house because then the little dog will associate the Bad Thing with the entire house and be afraid of going home again.

Now, for all of your DOs:

DO train a small dog on something at least knee high for you, waist high would be better. When I trained Itzl, Xoco, Rhapsody, Rafferty, Drooly, Maya, and Heike, I started their training on top of a desk with me sitting in a chair. I was still taller than them, but we could make eye contact easily and they could hear and learn their cues faster and easier. Once they learned them, I stood, then I moved them down to a bench, and finally, I taught them on the floor. But they had to start high because they needed to be easily in reach and able to see and hear well. I taught them hand and sound commands at the same time so as their training platform was incrementally lowered, everything but the height remained the same. A desktop or bench top also creates a finite training surface where you and the dog can concentrate on the commands. "Down" is a very hard command for a little dog to learn - when they are sitting, they are already "down" if you're towering 5 feet or more above them, but if they're chest high, it's easier to demonstrate "down" than if you have to sit down or bend way down. "Jump" is also easier to teach if they're jumping from a desk top to your arms than if they're trying to jump (let's use Itzl, he's 6" tall and I'm 5' tall, making me 10 times his height) 8 times their height. Can you jump 8 times your height? I didn't think so. So why expect a little dog to jump 8 times their height? Give them a little help. Champion jumpers like Papillions, terriers, and toy Poodles may eventually be able to jump that high, but Chihuahuas and Yorkies and MinPins may seriously hurt themselves jumping like that.

DO use a mix of treats, praise, cuddles, and toys to train small dogs - with a heavy emphasis on praise and cuddles because their tummies are too small to rely on treats. In fact, in my experience, many small dogs get full quickly on treats, even when you use the smallest soft treats you can find and cut them in half or even in quarters. A half of a single Vienna Sausage, sliced thin and each slice cut in quarters or half an ounce of cheese (the kind that comes individually wrapped in sticks), is more than enough treat for a puppy weighing less than a pound (you can make it crunchy if your puppy is a crunchitarian by nuking those sliced Vienna Sausage quarters on a paper plate until they are crispy - usually 15 - 30 seconds on High). I relied entirely on praise with Itzl because he turns his nose up at most treats and he got full on treats he did like so quickly that the training session was over before he'd learned anything. Praise, however, he adored.

DO approach your little dog during training (or most times, actually) from the side or from below. Start your movements below their nose and raise your hand up. Once they've learned what you want, you don't have to be so careful to start low and go high. If you accompany the movement with a verbal command, once you're training them on lower levels or the floor, they will pay more attention to the command than the hand hovering threateningly over them.

DO teach your dog the right behavior before you punish for the wrong. If your dog snatches food off the table (first of all, small dogs can't get on the table unless you've left them a way to climb up - since you want your dog to be willing to climb, you don't punish him for climbing up on the table), your first step is to teach the dog food manners away from the table. "Leave it" and "Take it" are great commands to teach about food, so if you're sitting at the table with your little dog in your lap, she won't be stealing food off your plate or jumping up on the table to snatch food off other people's plates. He won't know it's not socially acceptable behavior to snatch food off the table; all he'll know is that this isn't his food. Because Itzl is a service dog and lots of people want to give him treats - so many that he'd be waddling if he accepted them all (this is assuming he even likes the treat offered) - I've trained him to take food from just a select few people and from a select few dishes. This is so if I'm ever not able to care for him, someone else can feed him. That's why he will only eat or drink out of footed glass sorbet bowls if I'm not offering it to him. People think that I'm "spoiling" him when I feed him out of fancy footed glass dishes when really, it's his training for his safety, health, and well being.

DO speak softly to small dogs - they hear you very, very well, and love to be whispered to. A soft command gets their attention more than a loud one. Most small dogs, especially when you start training them, are not candidates for clicker training - it's too loud and scares many of them if not done excruciatingly correctly. Later, after they have the basics down and have learned to trust you, they can be clicker trained. Once a little dog is scared of the clicker, it's a real chore to get them unafraid of it.

DO move slowly around small dogs - speed can scare them or over-excite them, depending on their temperament. Once a little dog is scared or excited, they go all drama queen and stop listening. If they get scared, they need quiet time, reassurance, and cuddles and if they get all hyper, just give in and play with them until they're exhausted. Then they'll drink and nap and then they'll be ready for more training.

DO discipline your little dog. Not with swats, shouts, or other large and loud methods, but by time outs in his crate or another room, or ignoring them. Most little dogs crave attention, if you turn your back on them, cover your face or look away from them; that can be pretty harsh punishment for them. A small dog leaping and jumping on you will get the message pretty quick if when they start jumping, you turn your back on them and don't look at the,. Some will get more frantic, but once they are standing or sitting quietly beside you, if you then pet and praise them, they'll learn faster than you expect that if they want your attention, they have to be calm to get it. If your little dog gets aggressive towards larger dogs when you're out walking, turn around and go home. He'll be quick to realize being aggressive is a fast way to end his pleasure outing. If she's pooping and peeing where she isn't supposed to - crate her when you're not home so she re-learns her potty skills.

DO litterbox train your small dog - for varying definitions of "litterbox" - there are those faux grass patches for dog pottying, and the potty pads for puppies works great for small dogs all their lives long, and some little dogs like using cat type litterboxes. The reason for this is because small dogs are more prone to accidents when you are gone from home a long time, and small dogs are more affected by weather - a puddle that a big dog barely notices can soak a little dog up to his knees. Ankle deep snow could completely engulf a small dog. Having an indoor toileting area for your small dog will keep everyone happy.

DO give your little dog tasks to do. If your little dog yaps at the doorbell, train her to come find you instead, then sit by the door. If your little dog gets excited and bouncy and yappy when you come home, teach him to fetch a toy and bring it to your favorite chair or a play spot. Use whatever bad habit or annoying trait your dog has and turn it into something useful. Little dogs want to be useful. When you don't give them tasks, they will make up their own - and you may not like what their devious little minds think are Good Things to do. Much better if you decide what is good and useful and train them to that than to let them decide all socks must die.

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