Chihuaha acting weird

Question
I've had my chihuahua for 6 months now, and she's always been playful and hyper.

For the last 2 days she's been barking and screaming when I tie her up outside, when normally she would just cry a bit and then forget it.

I thought it was because of the fireworks that would go on that scared her, but now just today, she's very shy and seems to want to be secluded.

She wanted to stay in her cage when I let her out and normally she's ecstatic to go outside.

So I thought I'd close the cage so she would stay outside and get better, but she just found a little place under our plants to sit and she just curls up there. I tried to get her our but she looked like she was going to bite me so I backed off. I can still pet her and everything but when she was curled like that she didn't want to be touched..

I thought she got better when my dad came home, she became ecstatic again but then it just died down and now she's just shy and not wanting to do anything other than just curl up.

I was thinking this might be rabies but I don't see any bites on her anywhere, and I'm really hoping it's pregnancy instead of rabies.

Were going to take her to a veterinarian tomorrow, but can you give me and advice about what's wrong with her?

Answer
Hi Hector,

Thank you for writing to me about your Chihuahua of only 6 months.  I apologize for the delay in responding.  Somehow your email went into my spam folder and was just discovered today.  Thank you for your patience.

By now, you will have visited your vet and hopefully will have some answers to your questions.  If however, you don't, you might want to have your vet run a blood panel, including for the thyroid.  Sometimes when the thyroid is off, emotional changes can occur.  

Something happened to your puppy when she was outside that traumatized her.  She is such a small dog that I would strongly urge you to not tie her up outside where wildlife, larger dogs, larger cats and mean children can torment and threaten her.  Dogs are pack animals and it is very lonely and scarey for them, especially small dogs, when they are isolated from others.  I am not udnerstanding the reason for her being left alone outside, where she is exhibiting stressed behavior.  Best to take her for walks and play with her supervised when outside.  This will not only bond the two of you but will give her much needed exercise.

If this behavior continues, please ask your vet about putting her on some melatonin and perhaps a perscription medication for anxiety.  If your Chi is screaming, she is extremely panic stricken.

Sometimes vaccinations can cause behavioral changes as well so be sure that you do not cluster the shots but give them spaced out one at a time.  Also ask your vet for dead vaccines rather than live ones.

Your dog is much too young to become pregnant.  She is a baby and much to young to safely carry puppies.  Additionally, there are so many Chihuahuas that die every year in kill shelters, lonely and terrorized, because there just aren't enough homes for them.  It would be socially responsible to spay your dog (which prevents certain cancers) and rescue a Chi in need.

I hope that your vet has helped you to find solutions to this problem.

Best Regards,
Shelley Davis