chihuaha question

[tinksmama]

I have a new 7 week old pup, she's awesome- a chi cross w/pekingese- a bit over 2 pounds, short fur- my question, is it true chis shake for no reason? I'd heard this, but she shakes when we go out to potty, I think she hasn't been on grass before this, thought maybe the chill, kinda' cold and rainy- so I put her sweater on now... she likes the adventure out there-
but when she eats, she gobbles,kind of looks defensive over her bowl (never bitey,still friendly) and shakes,a LOT while she eats- usually stops shaking a couple minutes afer she's done, I have a theory, she was the smallest pup, and there were a LOT of rescue dogs going through this house(all well cared for) but I noticed when we picked her up, the pups were eating out of one large bowl of kibble- could this be b/c she had to fight her way to the dish? I think she might have been bottom dog of the bunch-though she's plenty feisty,and is well socialized
don't know if i should be concerned or not- it's only been a day,and she's assimilating well to our house in every way- no anxiety behaviors at all-

[JennSLK]

It could be because she's too young to be with you. A pup should never leave the mom untill it is 8 weeks old. Smaller breeder should be even older

[tinksmama]

well,their mom stopped nursing them by 5 weeks, and didn't want them near her, so after 1 1/2 weeks of eating on their own and shots, we got her- thanks!

[PoodleMommy]

Im sure with time she will stop.

I have a toy poodle and when we first got her at 16 weeks old she shook ALOT.

It took a few weeks, but she stopped.

Make sure the puppy is warm enough when you go outside as small dogs can get cold very quickly.

With a dog who weighs so little you also have to be concerned with blood sugar level it can drop very quickly if they get too excited, we used KARO syrup in water to combat this until she got her weight up.

Good Luck

Elissa

[dr2little]

Chihuahua's do shake for seemingly no reason. They shake when they're excited, anxious and yes when they're chilly. I've never met a Chi who doesn't...and I've owned 5 myself and trained many more. I do take extra precautions not to allow them to get cold, both of my current Chi's,
Tia 15 years old and 3.4 lbs., and Tinker 8 years old and 1.3 lbs "vibrate" frequently!

[Cassiepeia]

So true.

There is always a reason for it, but sometimes we humans aren't aware of it (ie: we aren't paying attention lol ) so it seems like it's for no reason.

Cass.

[Swiftwind]

My Chihuahua shakes a bit. She shakes when she's cold, nervous or for other reasons.

Originally Posted by Cassiepeia

There is always a reason for it, but sometimes we humans aren't aware of it (ie: we aren't paying attention lol ) so it seems like it's for no reason.

Cass.. what about when they shake on a mild day, and they're in a stable environment, not sick, or nervous/excited.. just lying on their bed? I wouldn't know what to say about that. I can't come up with an explanation for her shaking then.

My mum's partner tells me that dogs don't feel the cold (because of their double coat), and that Abby doesn't shake because she's cold. That annoys me a lot!

[tinksmama]

Thanks for all your replies,it makes me feel a lot better! After reading more yesterday on chi's and crosses, I felt bad,worrying she was chilly, so now when I take her out to pee,I carry her blanket,and immediately wrap her back up, it's less than 50 degrees here still,and raining! Also using a sweater, but she doesn't like that..
I also added an extra blanky in her crate,and this a.m.,she ate,and went right in there and cuddled up with her bone,till she stopped-so I guess, I'll just work with her- thank you all! Other than this, she's remarkably well adjusted,and is so funny!

[Cassiepeia]

Originally Posted by Swiftwind

Cass.. what about when they shake on a mild day, and they're in a stable environment, not sick, or nervous/excited.. just lying on their bed? I wouldn't know what to say about that. I can't come up with an explanation for her shaking then.

I have no idea. I'd say she may actually be cold even though you don't think it's a cold day. They usually have less body fat than we do, so it wouldn't surprise me if they felt the cold much easier than us.

Originally Posted by Swiftwind

My mum's partner tells me that dogs don't feel the cold (because of their double coat), and that Abby doesn't shake because she's cold. That annoys me a lot!

Ack! My mum, dad and step dad all believe that to some extent too. Some people just have no clue.

Cass.