Chihuahua owners advice/info please

polos26

polos26

Jessie
Feb 8, 2007
687
0
#1
Hi, I have finnally found a breeder and a puppy that I fell in love with and she will be arriving November 2nd.

She will be almost 12 weeks when I get her and I am wondering if any of you have any words of wisdom for me. Anything that you can tell me from your experience with your Chi will be greatly appreciated, I am specially scared of the whole potty trainning situation as I've never had to do this myself.

Thank you very much! and here is a pic from my baby:

p.s. she is also nameless at the time, so if she strikes you as (insert name here) let me know too! :P
 

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#2
She's so cute!!! Congrats on your new baby, you must be anxious to get her!! Don't worry too much about potty training, just use positive reinforcement, lots of small treats when she has been good, when she potty's on the carpet don't get her in trouble, just clean it really well and try and get rid of the odour...we bought a Spot-Bot Pet for such occasions and it works amazingly!! are you going to crate train her? I never did, not that i'm against it, I'm just a big softie and love having the puppies in bed with me, but crate training makes it alot easier to potty train them. Good luck with your new puppy!!
 
#3
she's a cutie! her color reminds me of paprika - that just struck me, so i thought i'd throw that out there.

chis are such loveable little critters, but are notoriously difficult to potty train. my lucy is almost two, and she still loves to do her business on the carpet...almost daily! our breeder litter box trained her, so that's what she uses, and it works well for us - but i'm not sure if that's what you'll be doing. let's see...chis are very fragile, esp. when they're little, so handle her gently and don't let her jump off of high counters/shelves/etc. be very careful if she's around little kids or larger dogs, too, since she might be accidentally stepped on, and that could be disastrous. they also love to be warm, so if it's below 70 degrees where you are, i'd consider taking her shopping for t-shirts and sweaters asap. old navy has really cute puffy jackets (and halloween costumes, too!), american apparel makes wonderfully soft t-shirts, and petco and petsmart are all-around great for dog clothing. keep in mind that she'll grow out of this stuff in a few months or so, like just a kid :P


i can't imagine life without a chi now! good luck!
 
#4
Awwwww! She is beyond precious!! You didn't mention how many lbs. her parents were or how big you expect her to get, but obviously the smaller she is, the more care you will have to take with her fragile lil' self. I'd definitely focus on puppy pad training her, but it really depends on your work/home situation. How much will you be home with her? Do you have a totally fenced yard so that you could install a doggy-door? House or apartment? All of this makes a difference, but puppy pad training would work in any of those situations. Crate training works for some dogs, but not all. I would highly recommend a crate anyway for times when you are going to leave her at home. She will need a place to feel safe, and also it will protect your home from her messes and destruction.

My chi is 8 lbs and she's not like your typical tiny 3 lb chi. She loves the outdoors, isn't scared of anyone or anything, and likes to go outside in cold weather. She LOVES her stuffed squeaky toys, loves to play with our 18lb cat, and of course loves to snuggle under the covers with us.

For names, I prefer simple names that end in the "e" sound. Bebe, Mimi, Lucy, etc.

Congrats on your new baby!
 
#5
I am planning on crate trainning her. She will be around 4 or 5 lbs full grown.

Oh-oh, I am getting worried about the potty situation, someone else that I know has 2 chis says they still have 'accidents' as well!! My boyfriend will freak out if this is the case with our baby...:sad:
 
#7
Congrats on your new Chi!!!!!! They are the best dogs. We found ours when he was about 3 1/2 months old. Someone just left him on the door steps of the Animal Hospital. I have to say he was VERY easy to potty train. He only had a few accidents. I think who ever had him crate trained him. He was sleeping in our bed with us after only a few weeks. He has never had an accident in our bed even when he was a puppy. I am very lucky that I have always been able to bring him with me to work. His walk schedule is. My husband takes him out for a quick pee before he goes to work at about 5:30AM and he comes back to bed. I take him out before we go to work at about 8:30AM. I take him for an afternoon walk around 2-3. Then he will get another very short walk when we get home from work at 6. Then his last walk is at 9PM. He usually poops 2-3 times a day.

I feed him in the morning before work and again when we get home. He is not a big eater. I mix wet and dry and add a little ground white meat turkey.

He loves to sleep under the covers. He also LOVES to be dressed.

One thing about small dogs they tend to have bad teeth. Make sure you have them cleaned yearly. My Chi has had to have 4 teeth pulled. He is 9 years old.
 
#9
Congrats on your Chi. She's adorable!! My Chi is going to be 3. He was very easy to potty train. He is trained to go potty on puppy pads but he doesn't poop much on it. He'd rather go outside to do that so I take him out 3 times a day. I don't know how much your Chi will weigh but mine isn't a fragile dog. He's 6lbs & he's always playing with my parents dogs which are 15 & 20lbs. He also loves to play with 4 of my cats which are bigger than him. I've found that Chi's get VERY attached to their owner. My Chi loves other people but when someone gets too close to my face or he thinks they're hurting me, he will growl. He loves being held & he sleeps under my blankets with me every night. They love to be warm & cuddled! The only trouble I have with my Chi is if he hears me in the house but he isn't with me, he may lift his leg because he's mad (he used to chew stuff). He really is like a child to me. You're going to love having a Chihuahua...they're the best!! Enjoy :biggrin:
 
#10
polos26 said:
I am planning on crate trainning her. She will be around 4 or 5 lbs full grown.

Oh-oh, I am getting worried about the potty situation, someone else that I know has 2 chis says they still have 'accidents' as well!! My boyfriend will freak out if this is the case with our baby...:sad:
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My adult Chi girlie is 100% reliably litter box trained and my 5 month old Chi girlie is 100% housebroken as long as she is given the opportunity to "go" outside every other hour or so.

Both of my Chi's are in their own HUGE large dog sized crates with their bedding, food, water, toys, and a doggie litter box. When BF and I are gone all day (we both work 10 hour shifts with an hour drive to and from work) the pups go potty in the litter boxes. My adult female ONLY uses the litterbox and will never go potty outside because when I originally got her, I lived in an apartment with no yard thus, she only learned how to use a litterbox.

All in all though, we have ZERO accidents (fingers crossed) in the house. My adult Chi is hilarious though, she will be all the way on one side of our house, run into her crate to jump in the litter box to do her thing and then runs out again to play...she is like a cat!

Chi's (especially shorthaired ones) LOVE to burrow under the covers with you! My adult is a shorthair and she is always shivering if it is below 70 degrees! My puppy is a longhair and it was 50 degrees out the other morning and she could not have cared less. As another poster said, they become very very attached to their owner and even in a multi person household, they will strongly attach to one person but will still love attention from everyone.

As far as your BF goes, hopefully he will not freak out too much because you both need to remember: The Chi is a BABY and just like a human baby, they WILL make mistakes and that is how they learn. I can guarantee your pup, no matter how diligent you are, will have accidents because it is a baby. Just be consistant and do not ever let your pup out of your sight, because the split second you do, it will have an accident on the floor.

Chi's are the most loveable little creatures and I wish you the best of luck with yours. Feel free to PM me for any info or training tips :P
 

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#12
kristie said:
My adult Chi girlie is 100% reliably litter box trained and my 5 month old Chi girlie is 100% housebroken as long as she is given the opportunity to "go" outside every other hour or so.

Both of my Chi's are in their own HUGE large dog sized crates with their bedding, food, water, toys, and a doggie litter box. When BF and I are gone all day (we both work 10 hour shifts with an hour drive to and from work) the pups go potty in the litter boxes. My adult female ONLY uses the litterbox and will never go potty outside because when I originally got her, I lived in an apartment with no yard thus, she only learned how to use a litterbox.

All in all though, we have ZERO accidents (fingers crossed) in the house. My adult Chi is hilarious though, she will be all the way on one side of our house, run into her crate to jump in the litter box to do her thing and then runs out again to play...she is like a cat!

Chi's (especially shorthaired ones) LOVE to burrow under the covers with you! My adult is a shorthair and she is always shivering if it is below 70 degrees! My puppy is a longhair and it was 50 degrees out the other morning and she could not have cared less. As another poster said, they become very very attached to their owner and even in a multi person household, they will strongly attach to one person but will still love attention from everyone.

As far as your BF goes, hopefully he will not freak out too much because you both need to remember: The Chi is a BABY and just like a human baby, they WILL make mistakes and that is how they learn. I can guarantee your pup, no matter how diligent you are, will have accidents because it is a baby. Just be consistant and do not ever let your pup out of your sight, because the split second you do, it will have an accident on the floor.

Chi's are the most loveable little creatures and I wish you the best of luck with yours. Feel free to PM me for any info or training tips :P
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OMG I cant stop looking your chi's! They are adorable! They look really happy together! Can I ask, do you keep them in their crates while you are gone? Or just while they are puppies? I find out I'm my unit management will let me have a puppy on monday...
 
#13
They stay in their crates whenever no one is home to watch them. They do not mind it at all though. I think they mostly just sleep and chew on their toys. Whenever I have been gone all day, they are super excited to see me but their crates are still pretty neat without toys being destroyed or anything and no food or water is spilled. They always go potty in the litter box and they never "miss" the box so their bedding stays clean. Even when they are out when I am home they will go into their crate to nap and then they come back out. I think it would be cruel to leave them in there though if they did not have a litter box because Chi's can not hold it for the twelve hour days I am gone. They never show any signs of freaking out or separation anxiety either. I just :heart: my Chi's!
 
#14
kristie said:
They stay in their crates whenever no one is home to watch them. They do not mind it at all though. I think they mostly just sleep and chew on their toys. Whenever I have been gone all day, they are super excited to see me but their crates are still pretty neat without toys being destroyed or anything and no food or water is spilled. They always go potty in the litter box and they never "miss" the box so their bedding stays clean. Even when they are out when I am home they will go into their crate to nap and then they come back out. I think it would be cruel to leave them in there though if they did not have a litter box because Chi's can not hold it for the twelve hour days I am gone. They never show any signs of freaking out or separation anxiety either. I just :heart: my Chi's!
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Wow that is fantastic to hear. I was feeling bad that I would need to live her alone for 6 hours, 4 days a week, and my partner was worried if we let her roam she would trash our house. But if they are happy to stay in their crates, that sounds like a good solution.
 
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