Have you ever wondered, "can a Chihuahua be a service dog?" It may surprise you to learn that despite their small size, Chihuahuas make excellent service dogs. Service dogs provide critical support to individuals with disabilities, so it's important to know how exactly can Chihuahuas fill this role.
Can a Chihuahua Be a Service Dog?
Yes, Chihuahuas can be service dogs. They are alert, agile, and caring, which qualifies them for emergency tasks such as seeking help for epilepsy or assisting the deaf. But, Chihuahuas must be handpicked since some can be too aggressive for the job.
A Chihuahua is best suited to be an emotional support dog. They have social skills, which can help people suffering from depression or anxiety.
Chihuahuas also warm up quickly to their host family, ensuring loyalty. Even without training, they help lessen stress after a hectic day. Before we get into the details, let's discover how to train a Chihuahua to be a service dog.
1. Chihuahuas Can Guard You
This will be surprising initially, but service Chihuahuas can help their owners by guarding their things. Chihuahuas are naturally loud when people move into their territory. Before strangers can even knock, you’ll hear their bark first.
Chihuahuas are also biters. Studies show that they can bite even trained vets. Any thief that invades their owner’s space can expect a painful bite from them.
However, untrained Chihuahuas are known for biting friends and strangers. Being a Chihuahua guard dog means channeling aggression on the correct targets. This is how you can train your service Chihuahua to help you and your home further:
Play Dress-Up
Roleplaying is part of a guard dog’s training experience. In your case, have a friend wear a mask and gloves. Stuff their clothing with cushions and cover their bodily scent with perfume. This will fool your dog into thinking they’re a different person.
Have your friend make constant eye contact with your dog. Chihuahuas will see this as a taunt. Make them run, and your Chihuahua will bite at them. That probably answers the question of "can my Chihuahua be a service dog".
Caution: Be varied with the clothes and keep behaviors the same. You want their behavior to be the trigger, not the clothes!
Train to Bark at Will
Barking is your dog’s first line of defense, and they use it to prevent people from coming near them or whatever they protect. You can control this power by teaching them the bark command.
Here’s how you can redirect your Chihuahua's barking:
- Let them sniff a treat
- Place your pleasure between your fingers
- While your pet stares at your pleasure, say, ‘Speak.’
- Could you give them satisfaction when they bark
- Repeat until they can follow the command without treats
Note: Remember to teach them the ‘Quiet’ command once they’ve mastered it. ‘Speak,’ and ‘Quiet’ go together. Reward them every time they don’t bark until they figure it out.
Expose to the World
Chihuahuas need to be able to distinguish friend from foe. This makes social exposure important. Go out with different people weekly.
Have them bring their dogs if you can too! This will help them figure out how friendly animals act.
2. Chihuahuas Can Stay Alert
Can a Chihuahua be trained to be a service dog? Yes, because Chihuahuas are great for listening to cues for people. Dogs have a naturally acute sense of hearing; humans can only hear below 20,000 Hz, while your pet can handle up to 65,000 Hz.
They can hear things you wouldn’t typically hear from even farther distances, making them very effective as hearing aids for the deaf.
They can hear telephones ringing, boiling water, and your doorbell. They can even use their hearing to protect their carers from pests like rats or stray animals!
Note: It is possible to train your dog for the job. However, it requires training for many individual sound cues. Leave the movement to a professional dog trainer for efficiency.
If you do wish to train your pet yourself, your dog has to satisfy the following:
Invest in Pup Fitness
Hearing dogs have to be ready to respond to all kinds of situations. As such, they need daily exercise and a balanced diet.
Feeding your Chihuahua no more than ½ cup every day is ideal. You should also plan to walk your Chihuahua for 30 minutes at most each day. This will keep their legs and hips healthy.
Work in Sound Exposure
Chihuahuas must be exposed to all kinds of sounds to eliminate their fear later in life. This will make it easier to train later on. In particular, watch for their reactions to these specific sounds:
- Horns
- Fire alarms
- Car engines
- Boiling water
- Smoke detectors
Go outside for at least 30 minutes a day with your Chihuahua. Let them absorb and remember the sounds.
Teach Obedience Training
All hearing dogs need to be trained with basic commands. Train your Chihuahua to learn ‘Sit’ and ‘Stay’ for starters. These obedience commands will help prime your dog for future tasks.
For either command, do the following:
- Keep your pet still and tell them to ‘stay.’
- If they don’t move, give them a treat
- Tell them to sit
- If they lower their hind legs, use a pleasure
- Use the commands alternately until they are mastered
Note: It’s highly recommended you use a clicker. Adding a sound cue will significantly help your pet with rewards and is also a good aid for people with disabilities.
3. Chihuahuas Can Give Emotional Support
Can a Chihuahua be a service dog? Yes, but they're best suited as emotional support pups. Emotional support dogs may not strictly be service animals, but their psychological benefits can't be ignored.
As it turns out, Chihuahuas can be great emotional support dogs because of their size and friendliness. Their friendly nature allows them to notice when their owner is upset. Research shows that dogs know when their owners are upset.
Another reason they’re great support animals is that petting a Chihuahua relieves stress and keeps owners focused and happy. However, there are more ways that a dog can provide emotional support:
Through Play
Going out for a walk with a dog isn’t just exercise but a bonding moment. When you play with your Chihuahua, you’re boosting their health and your relationship with them. Explore outdoor games like tag, fetch, frisbee, tug-of-war, and chasing bubbles.
Note: You can also do these and other games indoors, especially if it’s hot out.
Be careful to only play for 30 minutes a day. Please make the most of your time by spreading it out evenly. You can play for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 more minutes during the evening. Leave the afternoons for naps.
While Hiking
Surprisingly, Chihuahuas are competent hikers. They are lightweight, meaning they can resist rough terrain, and traveling with a Chihuahua can be a peach.
However, as with all small dogs, you need to keep a few things in mind to ensure your dog’s safety:
- Prepare first-aid kits. Have bandages and gauze ready for wounds during the trip
- Go to the vet for a checkup before the hike. Check for bone and muscle-related conditions
- Be sure to have your food for the trip. The risk of eating foreign materials on a hike is too significant
- Use harnesses over leashes. A harness distributes pressure more evenly. This reduces the risk of broken bones when pulling
- If possible, bring another friend with you. Setting up everything can take time, and having an extra hand during emergencies will help your support dog greatly
In Vacations
Emotional support Chihuahuas are great for long trips and are easy to carry and doting towards their owners. Most airplanes will allow you to take Emotional Support Chihuahuas as long as you have everything ready for the long journey.
Bring a spacious cage for your Chihuahua during the trip. You want to train your Chihuahua for this cage, similar to their crate training.
Note: Do your research on hotels if you want to go to another country/city. Some may refuse emotional support animals, so pick one that will take yours in.
4. Chihuahuas Are Natural Obstacle Detectors
People typically think no when asked can a Chihuahua be a service dog, because these pups are overlooked for service roles because of their small size.
But don’t underestimate a Chihuahua. They are more capable of tasks than you think. One of the more surprising ones is guiding people. Ironically enough, their size means nothing escapes their gaze, and they can spot gaps along the road, obstacles, or even traffic cones.
They are also blessed with extreme focus, which boils down to their predatory nature. However, the role has steeper requirements for Chihuahuas. Aggressive dogs can’t be detectors because they might pull their owners or bite strangers.
Chihuahuas as service dogs should exhibit traits such as calmness, perception, and attentiveness.
Calmness
Chihuahuas are joyous creatures but can be calm when performing the job. Calmness is needed from them because they might get rattled by new stimuli or even attack neutral strangers.
Perception
Chihuahuas should be able to figure out if their owner’s having a hard time. Preferably, the guide pet should understand the ‘Come’ and ‘Heel’ commands.
The ‘Come’ command helps your owner bring your Chihuahua back in line, and this is useful if they are pulling too much while walking.
The ‘Heel’ command helps keep your dog near your feet to prevent pulling. When hiring a guide dog, ask if the pet knows these commands.
Attentiveness
Many Chihuahuas are attentive, but few can stay alert to their owners. Often, when they get bored, they start being destructive or noisy. If your Chihuahua does neither for extended periods, it means they’re great for the role.
Here’s a video of a Chihuahua being a good guide dog. Notice all of these traits in action:
Note: Be sure to get certification for guide dogs if your country requires it! This will allow you to take your Chihuahua to places that require paperwork. For the best results, remember to hire dogs from a certified company.
Caution: Don’t pull your Chihuahua while they’re guiding you. They are small and can develop bone problems from being pulled too often.
5. Chihuahuas Can Detect Changes in Blood Sugar
Can a Chihuahua be a diabetic alert dog? Yes! Diabetes can be tricky to handle because you need tools to detect low blood sugar levels. Thankfully, your Chihuahua can detect changes in blood sugar for you way before things get worse.
You won’t need to pinch yourself for blood samples, just pure pet magic! They can work perfectly because they can smell your saliva. Blood sugar changes often affect your saliva’s scent very subtly.
You can’t detect these changes yourself, but your service dog can. Here’s how you can make the most of their abilities:
Prepare a Sample
Use a non-invasive glucose detector to track your blood sugar with your saliva. When it hits 70, get a strip of paper with your spit and place it on an inverted, stainless steel bowl.
Ensure the room is clean and free from foreign scents like garbage or even air fresheners. Mixing up scents can make training harder.
Note: You can also use dental cotton to keep the sample safe and place it on top of said bowl.
Go on Smelling Exercises
Have your Chihuahua smell the sample, then give them a treat. Afterward, tell your dog to stay and move the bowl further away from them. Have them sniff each time you move the bowl, and do this at least 3-4 times.
For the 5th time, get the bowl out of the room. Make them find the sample and give them a treat. Do this daily until they no longer need treats to find your samples. You can also hide pieces behind obstacles to test their mastery.
Note: Use fresh samples each time you move the bowl if possible. You can also use a clicker.
Be Physical
Petting and staying close to your dog will help them notice your scent further. Place your pet on your lap and let them lick you.
Once you’re confident, recheck your blood sugar. Bring your dog close if the detector hits 70. Give them a treat if they come near you and sniff at your face.
Note: Keep your dog clean to help them focus on your scent. Don’t forget to take your meds!
6. Chihuahuas Can Sense Violent Episodes
Chihuahuas are also adept at sounding alarms when someone has a seizure or panic attack, letting family members know what’s happening and even point to where emergency kits are. They can do this due to their heightened sense of smell, which can detect the chemicals people emit just before a seizure.
They can even point to where emergency kits are if you have them. One good reason why they’re able to do this is the smell. Dogs have approximately 300 million olfactory receptors and can detect the chemicals people emit just before a seizure.
Aside from barking, they can also perform other ‘warning actions.’ People need to recognize these signs to ensure their loved one’s safety:
- Pacing
- Licking
- Restlessness
- Facial pawing
- Relentless tail-wagging
Any combination of these signs around your loved one should be taken seriously.
Seizures can happen within seconds. Take advantage of the extra time your service dog buys you by doing the following:
- Prepare towels to deal with vomiting or drooling
- Clear ground zero of any obstacles or hard/sharp objects
- Turn them on their side to keep their head from hitting the ground
Keep your Chihuahua far away from the owner until the seizure stops. This prevents them from getting hurt. And, let them get close only when they’re alert again. Don’t forget to reward your pet each time they detect a seizure.
7. Chihuahuas Can Smell Allergens
Chihuahuas aren’t limited to smelling seizures. They can also discourage owners from going near specific allergens. This is a valuable ability because people are sometimes unaware of what they consume.
If you’re allergic to peanuts, you’ve likely eaten some by mistake and got sick. Luckily, dogs can lock on to certain scents with enough training. You can train an allergy-alert dog on your own! Here’s how you can do it:
Consult your Vet
Before training your dog, consult your vet. Check to see if they’re allergic to your allergens. If they have the same triggers, hiring an allergen-detection dog is best.
You can also have them trained by professionals instead. Remember that it’s better to invest in prevention than cure.
Give them Treats to Smell
Treats are among the first things your dog smells in life. When training your dog, make them familiar with their treats first, and this helps contribute to their feeling of safety at home.
Owners are recommended to keep multiple treats for variety and urgency. For example, when treating your dog for noise anxiety, you can give them a special treat they’ll like. This will speed up your dog’s recovery.
Each dog can distinguish between different treats reasonably quickly. Let your dog smell each one and get a Chihuahua service dog vest ready for them!
Play Finding Games with Treats
You can start small and use food puzzles like Kong Wobblers or Snuffle Mats. These puzzles will prepare your pet for more demanding games. From there, up the difficulty by doing the following:
- Let your dog smell the treat
- Use the ‘stay’ command
- Go behind a wall and place your treat out of their sight
- Come back and tell your dog to ‘find it'
- Reward them for finding the treat
Once they understand what ‘find it’ means, bring anything you’re allergic to and repeat every step. You can then say ‘find it’ to make them smell your food. They will be excited and start wagging their tail if there’s an allergen.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, the answer to the question "Can a Chihuahua be a service dog?" is a resounding yes. Despite their small size, Chihuahuas possess a wealth of qualities that make them well-suited for various service roles.
From providing emotional support to guiding and detecting changes in blood sugar, these little dogs demonstrate remarkable abilities that can significantly enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities. So, start planning on seeking a Chihuahua service dog for sale, and discover the incredible impact this dog can have in your life.
