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Once your dog knows basic cues like sit, down, and stay in a quiet room, daily training often slows down. Returning to the same simple repetitions can lead to boredom for both you and your dog. Moving to intermediate skills helps bridge the gap between basic obedience and a calm, well-managed household routine. These next steps focus on building self-control, improving home management, and keeping your dog mentally active during normal indoor hours.

Building steady patience with distance and duration

A basic stay usually happens right in front of you for a few brief seconds. Moving beyond that baseline means adding small increments of time and physical distance without increasing stress. Start by asking for a stay on a comfortable rug. Step back two steps, pause for three seconds, and return to deliver a reward directly to your dog. If your dog remains steady, gradually increase the distance by stepping around a corner or brief line of sight, returning almost immediately.

Avoid changing both duration and distance at the same moment. If you step farther away, keep the duration short. If you ask for a two-minute stay, stay close by. Keeping a notebook near your primary training spot helps you track what your dog handles comfortably. Recording small details like three steps away or ten seconds of waiting prevents pushing too fast and breaking the dog’s focus.

Establishing a go to bed cue for quiet moments

Teaching your dog to travel to a designated mat or bed on cue provides an invaluable home management tool. This skill keeps your dog out of busy high-traffic areas during dinner preparation, heavy cleaning, or when visitors arrive at the front door. Select a light, portable mat so the routine can transfer easily from the kitchen to the living room or even outdoors.

Begin by standing near the mat and tossing a treat onto it. When your dog steps onto the bed, say your release word and reward again. Gradually add a clear hand point or spoken cue before throwing the reward. Over several short daily sessions, wait for your dog to lie down on the mat before rewarding. This setup transforms the mat into a predictable place where calm behavior is consistently reinforced.

Practising gentle cooperative handling at home

Routine grooming, home health checks, and gear changes run much smoother when your dog actively participates in handling. Cooperative handling breaks daily care into tiny, voluntary interactions. Instead of holding your dog firm to wipe muddy paws or check ears, build a predictable pattern of light touches paired with rewards.

Work on one body area per session to build steady comfort:

  • Rest your hand lightly on a front paw for two seconds, then reward and release.
  • Gently touch the outside of an ear, reward, and step back.
  • Place a hand on the collar without pulling, then deliver a small treat.
  • Lift a rear paw briefly off the floor, reward, and set it down.

If your dog pulls away or shows tension, stop the step and mark that threshold in your routine records. Lower the criteria for the next session by touching for a shorter time or moving your hand closer to a neutral spot like the shoulder. Keeping handling predictable turns necessary care into a low-stress habit.

Adding simple indoor search games to daily life

Mental work burns calm energy without overexciting your dog before family downtime. Simple indoor nosework builds confidence and encourages slow, deliberate problem-solving using natural instincts. You do not need special equipment to set up effective scent games in a standard living space.

Start by placing three open cardboard boxes or plastic cups on the floor while your dog waits in another room or behind a baby gate. Hide a piece of dry food under one cup or inside one box. Release your dog with a consistent cue like search or find it. Step back and let your dog explore at a natural pace. When the food is found, offer quiet praise and reset the game in a new room layout. Over time, you can hide items behind chair legs, under folded towels, or on low shelves to keep the game engaging.

A lot of owners seem to overlook the importance of having their Chihuahuas spayed or neutered. When you are busy looking at puppies trying to find the one that's right for your family, it's easy to forget about future issues like spaying and neutering. Unfortunately, this results in a large number of Chihuahuas growing up without getting fixed. The fact is that there are countless reasons why you should spay or neuter your Chihuahua.

Fixed Chihuahua

Some owners are still stuck in the mentality that spaying and neutering is bad because it causes pain and unneeded stress on Chihuahuas. While there have been incidents of infections taking setting in after the surgery, they are few and far between. The American Humane Society states that fixing your dog is one of the best decisions you can make regarding their health and well-being. Most professional veterinarians will also agree that spaying and neutering is a safe, healthy procedure that owners should have performed on their canines.

Is Spaying and Neutering Really Necessary?

The benefits of having your Chihuahua spayed or neutered far outweigh the disadvantages. With that said, there are a few special circumstances when you may want to avoid having the procedure done. If you plan on breeding your Chihuahua at a later date, then you obviously wouldn't want to have them fixed. Of course, this is a big decision that shouldn't be made lightly. Breeding a Chihuahua will require a great deal of time and money, both of which are difficult to come by in today's fast-paced world.

Another instance where you might want to avoid spaying or neutering your Chihuahua is if your veterinarian advises against it. If your Chihuahua has a compromised immune system, is too young or old, or if they have some other underlying health condition, a veterinarian may advise against spaying or neutering. However, contrary to what some people may believe, there's no such thing as a dog that's too small to fix. Always follow the advice of your veterinarian to ensure the safety and well-being of your Chihuahua.

Spaying and Neutering

Spaying and Neutering Saves Lives

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), approximately 5-7 million animals enter animal shelters each year, and a staggering 60% of these animals are euthanized (3-4 million annually). It's a grim statistic that's only made worse when owners neglect to fix their pets. As a Chihuahua owner, you can do your part to lower these numbers by having your Chihuahua spayed or neutered.

Having your Chihuahua spayed or neutered will prevent them from breeding, which in turn will help deal with overpopulation. Even if you don't plan on breeding your Chihuahua, the hormones set off by a female in heat is a powerful attractant to unfixed males. It's all too common for family Chihuahuas to away from home in search of a mate, which is why you need have yours spayed or neutered.

Neutering Helps To Prevent Males From Running Away

If you've owned unfixed male Chihuahuas or other dogs in the past, you are probably well aware of how eager they are to run off, especially if there's a female in heat nearby. I guess you could call it mother nature's dating service, as it brings the male and female together to propagate the species. Unfortunately, though, shelters and rescues throughout the country are overrun with far more puppies than they can handle. Neutering your male Chihuahua will eliminate their instinctual desire to roam the neighborhood in search of a mate.

With the desire to roam now gone from your male Chihuahua, there's less chance of them becoming injured from other cars, dogs, people or getting into poisonous chemicals. This alone should be reason enough for you to get them neutered.

Neutering Reduces The Chance of Prostate Cancer

As lesser-known benefits of having a neutered Chihuahua is the reduced risk of developing prostate cancers. Each year, thousands of male dogs die from this horrible disease. While having them fixed doesn't completely eliminate their risk of developing prostate cancer is does significantly lower it.

Studies have shown that prostate growth is directly linked to the amount of testosterone a Chihuahua produces; therefore, the more testosterone a Chihuahua has, the higher the risk of developing prostate cancer. Having them neutered removes the testosterone-producing testicles, which lowers their chance of developing this cancer.

Chihuahua Run Away

No More "Territory Marking" On Your Furniture

One of the biggest complaints owners have about male Chihuahuas is their instinctual behavior that results in them lifting their back leg and and peeing on the sides of furniture. Even if they are potty-trained, they may still have the desire to mark their territory on your furniture. Behavior such as this simply can't be tolerated in the house, especially if you want a clean home without the dreaded smell of pee.

You must understand that male Chihuahuas, or all male dogs for that matter, have the instinctual desire to mark their territory because of the testosterone hormone. By neutering them, their testosterone levels decrease significantly, which should curb their desire to pee on the sides of your furniture, walls and other areas inside the house.

Spaying Eliminates Heat Cycles

Female Chihuahuas go into their heat cycle about once or twice a year. During this time, they will be more sensitive, territorial, and they will bleed. Caring for a Chihuahua in heat requires extra care and attention. By spaying your female Chihuahua, however, you will eliminate their heat cycles altogether.

The truth is that these are just a few of the many benefits of having your Chihuahua spayed or neutered. If there's one reason that draws you to fix your Chihuahua, it should be to help control the population of Chihuahuas that end up in shelters.

*In the words of the famous Price is Right host Bob Barker "Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered."

References:

https://www.avma.org/Pages/home.aspx

http://www.americanhumane.org/animals/adoption-pet-care/caring-for-your-pet/spaying-neutering.html

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/why_spay_neuter.html

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/spayneuter-your-pet

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