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Training does seem to be the Chihuahua's one weak point. That's not to say they are not intelligent enough to learn, because they are. However, this animal is driven by strong territorial instincts. This results in wetting around the house to mark territory, and females seem to be no better than males in this respect. This means you must be absolutely diligent when commencing potty training, and be sure to thoroughly clean up any accidents so your pet isn't drawn back to that spot. Some owners find a litter box or Wee Wee Pads helpful.
Chihuahuas do actually take well to obedience training, and can learn to follow commands given consistently. This may actually be of some help with the potty training issues many owners face. Agility training also seems to appeal to their mindset, and there is nothing so adorable as the sight of one of these little mighty mice racing around the course at full tilt.Due to their affectionate and gentle nature with humans, these toy dogs also make wonderful therapy dogs, brightening the atmosphere during nursing home visitations.
Chihuahua - Dog Lover
Because Chihuahuas eat such a small amount of food, it is essential that the food they do eat is packed with nutrition. There is less margin for error with a small dog's diet than there is with a large dog. Since small dogs eat less, they have fewer opportunities to nourish themselves. Some foods that humans enjoy eating can be toxic to dogs. Chihuahua owners should avoid feeding their dogs foods that contain chocolate, onions and garlic.
Even small amounts of these foods can result in severe illness or death. Dog food recipes all include cooked meat, starches, and vegetables. Chihuahua owners can easily prepare dog food in their own kitchens. Making your own dog food ensures that your dog's food is fresh and safe.
Chihuahua - Dog Lover
The biggest health concern is presented by Chihuahua's unusual head. While puppies of most breeds are born with an opening in the bone at the top of their skull, it closes with maturity.The dog's opening, called the molera, is meant to remain open all of it's life. This means that you will always need to have some care for your Chihuahua's head, but this almost never presents a problem unless the opening is unusually wide. An exceptionally wide molera at birth could be a sign of hydrocephalus (aka water on the brain), and though very rare, it's worth examination by a vet.
Chihuahua - Dog Lover
The Chihuahua has quite a good temperament. They make excellent companion dogs, and are very courageous, lively, proud, and most of all, enterprising. Many people enjoy their Chihuahua's for a lot of different reasons. While they are extremely affectionate they are also incredibly smart and may even be affectionately known as manipulative. There are just a lot of overall good qualities of a Chihuahua, but there are some qualities that may not be right for you.
Chihuahua's both demand and give affection to anyone who they trust. They are bold in the way that they will move quickly to see what is going on, but will swiftly move to avoid any actual action. They can also be very strong willed, intensely loyal and will become very attached to their owner if treated correctly. In fact, it may turn to jealousy in certain instances. This is especially true with small children. Often when a dog is bonded to an owner with children they may snap at the children or bite them if the children tease them. Overall, the Chihuahua is not recommended for small children. They are also extremely suspicious of people who they do not know at all, because of their incredible bond to their owner.
Chihuahua - Dog Lover
Grooming a pet Chihuahua is fairly straight forward. The breed comes in two varieties; Smooth Coat and Long Coat. The smooth coated variety is a breeze to bathe and dry, and even though the long coat carries more hair, it is still fairly easy to maintain as long as you take care to comb through the fringes and the skirt at the rear. You can bathe as often as once a week if you wish. Toe nails and ears do need to be checked more regularly on this breed. Because they do not spend the amount of time running around as other breeds, they don't have the opportunity to wear their nails down, so keep them clipped. Ears should be cleaned out twice a month with a cotton swab dipped in a little alcohol.
Chihuahua - Dog Lover
Chihuahuas come in two different coat types: smooth and long. The smooth-coated Chihuahua has a smooth, shiny coat that fits close to the body with a ruff of thick, longer hair on the neck. The hair on the head and ears is thinner, and the tail is furry.
The long-coated Chihuahua has a soft coat that's flat or slightly curly. On the body it's almost as smooth as that of a smooth-coated Chihuahua, but the ears have a fringe of hair, and the plumed tail spreads out like a fan over the back. He also has a ruff on the neck and longer hair called feathering on his feet. The hind legs are also covered with long hair that resembles pants and that's what it's called. On the stomach is longer hair known as a frill. Besides coming in two coat types, Chihuahuas are found in a range of colors and markings. They can be solid colors such as black, white, fawn, chocolate, gray, and silver as well as tricolor (chocolate, black, or blue with tan and white, for instance), brindle, spotted, merle and a variety of other markings. Shades can be very pale to very dark for all the colors.
Chihuahua - Dog Lover
Chihuahua is different from any other dog are the fact they are so small and tiny and there is no other dog in the world as small as they are. The second things that sets them apart is their physical features, they have big huge eyes and large erect ears. These dogs are considered breed able dogs but there are certain standard you have to follow before you can breed a dog. The American Kennel Club or AKC only recognizes two types of Chihuahuas in the breeding process.
The AKC will acknowledge the long coat dog and the small coat dog. Most of the long coat dogs have very fine hair and yet others may have long fuller coats. The Breeding standards in general don’t have to be specific height but the dog’s physical proportions determine the weight. Most Chihuahua’s can range anywhere between 6 and 10 inches and those are the dogs on the smaller side, some can even grow to be 12 to 15 inches.Chihuahua in the AKC show dog competitions cannot weigh any more than 6 pounds; smaller dogs are acceptable but no more than 6 pounds. There are larger dogs than can be a little heavier but the AKC may not recognize them, but that is not to say that they are not purebreds. It just means that they cannot compete in the dog shows. Chihuahua - Dog Lover
