I got to see the difference a REAL heart-and-soul breeder makes. All the Chihuahuas I'd ever been around previously were snappy, ill-tempered, nervous, shaky little dogs. I took a friend of mine and her four year old daughter to Dollywood one day a few summers ago and while I was waiting for them (the natural results of a very big lemonade in a very little girl
), struck up a conversation with a woman and her husband who had two adult Chihuahuas and five wee little puppies. I'd never seen Chihuahuas like this in person; they looked just like the ones in photographs in old, old encyclopedias. They didn't shake or squint. They looked around at everything with interest and they were FRIENDLY! I commented on the difference in their dogs and the woman grinned and thanked me and explained that they had been breeding Chihuahuas for twenty years, breeding for the old-type (which were very much healthier), temperament and sturdiness. In the conversation I learned that they start taking the puppies out to socialize before they will allow them to leave with their new families. After my friend and her daughter returned, it was a real revelation to see what happened. Those dogs and puppies started wriggling and tail wagging and weren't happy until she sat down on the bench and played with them! I'd never seen a Chihuahua that
wanted to be handled by a child, let alone have a child handle her pups! We sat there for at least a half hour and those dogs never once showed any nervousness or ill temper. They finally got tired from playing and fell asleep.
That's the dramatic difference a
real breeder makes.