male chi

Question
MY MALE CHIhuahua is about 4 and has become nippy and growls at me. How do you control that? I love him but he gets so angry which he never did before

Answer
Hi Linda,

Is your Chihuahua four years old?  He has no prior history of nipping and growling?  Have there been major changes in the household?  A new baby?  New people living in the residence?  A new pet?  Is your Chi neutered and have you recently had him examined and had any blood work done?  Any noticeable medical symptoms that are recent?

If there have been no major changes, I'm concerned that this could possibly be a medical problem.  Many times dogs that suddenly exhibit cranky behavior and become aggressive are found to have a condition called hypothyroidism which is simply treated with a synthetic hormone.  The condition is diagnosed based on symptoms, examination and blood work where a dog's thyroid level is checked.  People use to think this was a medical condition for just older dogs, but dogs as young as four and even two have been diagnosed. Just recently one of my own Chihuahuas was diagnosed as having a very low thyroid level and has been on the synthetic hormone for five weeks now.

Get back to me with answers to the above questions if you like and I'll keep my eye open for any reply from you. Evidently, your question wasn't sent to me through AllExperts when you originally sent it in and I'm just now replying as I was just now notified about it.  

Jo Ann