Chihuahuas and other tiny breeds

[milos_mommy]

Today I was thinking about some chihuahuas I've worked with and loved, and have been wondering if a tiny breed could fit into my life.

Since we'd likely rescue, I could always go for a larger individual, but I do find the appeal in a really small (under 10 lb) dog!

I'd mainly be interested in chihuahuas, Pomeranians (but have trouble with the barkiness), toy poodle, and papillon. Right now chihuahuas are probably the main interest.

How are they around bigger dogs, safety-wise. I'd definitely separate when unsupervised. But if I have a big dog, especially a much heavier dog, would I need to worry about stuff like the little guy getting stepped on or trampled over? What if the big dog tried to play in a reasonably gently way? Basically...how fragile are they with other dogs?

What about with kids/toddlers? Again, obviously always supervised, and I STRONGLY encourage my daughter to be gentle and remove her as fast as possible if she isn't, but sometimes she'll pat our big dogs kind of roughly. If a future child gave a rough pat or two to a tiny dog would it hurt them (I don't mean hitting, but the way you'd playfully pat a lab or something).

I'm sure plenty of people have tiny dogs and babies, I've just never had a dog that small before and might be kind of nervous about how fragile they are.

Also, how cold of temperatures can they tolerate??

 

[HayleyMarie]

My parents have a 3lb Chi, they also have a 80lb Bouve and a 30lb Scotty. And they have no issues. I would say that if the larger dog *cough Pan Cough* is clumsy and has no body awareness then it might be an issue. Panzer has to be reminded once in a while to calm down when it comes to being around my parents chi, but its usually not an issue.

At my parents place in the morning all three dogs will go barreling out the door together screaming their heads off across the deck, down the stairs and onto the lawn, and never had an issue with that either. BUT my parents dog watch out for her.

I would say for a 3lb chi, she is very hardy. I and my parents don't really worry about her getting hurt. The bigger dogs are also very gentle when it comes to play time.

She is a long haired chi and my parents live in a pretty cold climate in the winter, she does ok. But a jacket is usually needed.

 

[pinkspore]

Ru weighs about 6 lbs and I'm not terribly worried about him getting trampled by dogs with body awareness. He gets run over occasionally but mostly just gets annoyed. He makes absolutely certain the bigger dogs know he is there and will defend his space as much as necessary. I would worry about a large clumsy dog, or one with little body awareness.

One of the issues we have regularly is that the cats think he is the best toy ever. Ru likes to sleep under the covers in bed. The cats like to attack moving lumps under the covers. The cats all outweigh Ru by at least double. They also thoroughly enjoy slapping him, which mostly just sends him from play mode into berserker mode. Nobody has gotten hurt from any of this.

Ru also likes to burrow under blankets on the couch. Not sitting on him can be a challenge. Ru hates being sat on.

I think the biggest issue with kids is the possibility of them stepping on falling on a tiny dog. There are certainly more and less sturdy itty bitty dogs, I don't think I'd be too worried about Ru with a toddler as long as he had safe places to rest. I might try to convince him that his crate is way more comfortable and awesome than the couch if I had little people flinging themselves all over the place, but I wouldn't worry about a kid petting him too hard.

Ru is very nearly hairless, and would prefer not to live in anything less than triple digit weather. He ceases to exist below 75 degrees and lives on a heated bed on my couch. In a sweater. Under a blanket. I'm told that most tiny dogs aren't quite this lizard-like. We live on the beach in California and actual cold weather is something that happens to other people.

 

[Romy]

Have you looked into powderpuff chinese cresteds? They'd be small and poofy and snuggly like a pom, but a lot less inclined to be barky. They're also pretty sturdy for a small dog, and getting a coated one you wouldn't be dealing with the skin maintenance of a naked one.

My cousin has chis and they are lovely. One thing I've noticed with chis and children though, is the kids want to carry them EVERYWHERE and dress them up. Her dogs are usually seen in tuxedos, and tutus. :rofl1: Luckily they tolerate it fine, but their daughter is older than 7 and she's very gentle with them. You'll probably have to run interference a lot between a toy dog and a toddler.

 

[Laurelin]

I think it depends on the dogs.

I am certainly much more careful with the papillons than with Hank and other dogs. The paps are 8ish lbs.

I know a lot of people that make tiny dogs + larger dogs work but I also have heard several stories of the tinies being hurt or killed by other resident dogs. I know someone whose border collie killed their chihuahua by running over it. I also have to be careful around more prey driven dogs with the paps whereas Hank does not trigger that kind of thing in other dogs.

With kids my neices are overall pretty good. Mia is not kid safe but Summer does ok. I still have to watch that they don't hurt her by squeezing too hard or patting her too hard. They do much better with Hank (21 lbs)

If I wanted a really big dog + smaller dog, I'd go with something a bit sturdier than a pap or chi.

 

[Stingr69]

Paps are not good with larger dogs. The labs seem to be worse but there are plenty of other dogs out there that will look to test them. Mine do not react aggressively to any other dogs but the converse is not true at all. We got a big stink eye from a substantial looking British Bulldog yesterday and I was a little worried. Paps have a fine bone structure so they can be hurt easily. One rough incident and it will be over.

They have a single coat so they can not tolerate temperature extremes. They are not "outside dogs" at all.

Hope this helps narrow your search.

 

[Laurelin]

My paps really don't like other dogs much at all. It took about 3 months before they decided Hank is mostly ok. Mostly.

Hank is only 21 lbs but very rough and it's been a bit of a feat to get everyone getting along.

 

[Dekka]

Schen isn't exactly tiny. Cresties can come in tiny though. He is only 6 months but he is far more delicate than I am used to with terriers of the same size. He is 12+ inches high but weighs maybe 12 pounds.

They are fun and delightful though. I recommend people looking into them The ones I have met are very stable and friendly. Great dog manners and quite forgiving.

 

[~Jessie~]

I have no problem with my chihuahuas around larger dogs. Rory is only 35lbs, but size has never been an issue. I've never considered mine fragile- my smallest is less than 4lbs and my largest is 7lbs. They get out of the way fast.

Mine have all done well with Nora so far. We call Zara "mama dog" because she's SO good with babies. I obviously heavily monitor and control their interactions, but Zara doesn't care if Nora pulls her or pets too hard. Emma lately has been giving her lots of kisses. Chloe lets her pet her when it's gentle (which means me holding Nora's hand and doing the petting!). They have all done so well, I honestly couldn't ask for better!

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

Honestly, I probably won't have a larger dog with Tango ever again. Izzy literally put a hole in his skull with a warning nip and that was the most horrifying night of my life at the E-vet.

He's ok with larger dogs, especially ones who know how to play with toy breeds. However, I'm always there if we're visiting with another dog. If I'm at home, I really would like to be able to relax a little and it really wasn't possible after Izzy's accidental injury.

Tango is a hearty little dude and I take him hiking but I would't say he's sturdy. Of course, he's only got three legs and he's willowy for a chihuahua. I also worry about him with toddlers. Dog safety will be drilled into future-child's head because Tango has a low grabby-hand tolerance.

He's used to clothes and really does need a coat for anything under 50* outside. Inside, his preferred temperature is at least 70 so he sports a sweater most of the time from October - March.