She hates my boyfriend

[jaybird616]

Our daughter's Chihuahua does not like her new boyfriend. He is 6'4" so I am sure she is frightened. He does like animals and is trying to win her trust. Any advice besides giving him treats to give her, having him ignore her, correcting her if she tries to be protective of our daughter by dumping her on the floor, putting her in a different room, etc?

[kjd]

Jaybird,

You've pretty much covered the basic advice for meeting a new dog! Patience and consistency in doing all things is important. I am sure your daughter's boyfriend wants to be friends quickly.

Since the dog is protective of your daughter, she might practice leadership skills with the dog. If the dog knows your daughter is the leader of her pack, she will be more apt to be relaxed around strangers.

Your daughter should also get her dog out to meet lots of other people. I'm not sure the size of your boyfriend bothers her. Have you ever seen a Chihuahua with a Great Dane when the Dane tries to get on the Chihuahua's property? It isn't the little dog that turns tail!

kjd