ahh what to say about chihuahuas. see that crown that hiding the little horns...those belong to a chihuahu thats EARNT them
there some common things with chis that ive noticed through the years.
they LOVE to ehar their own voice, while some chihuahuas dont bark much, all of them, when they do seem to have this "oo im so special, i made that big sound" look on their face. nd when they do bark, FORGET the Yippy myth, these dogs may be tiny but they have BIG voices, my 3lb males bark is stronger than the 30lb cockers!
they are EXTREEMLY inteligent, there one of the few breds i honestly feel are little people in fur coats, they not only learn tricks extreemly quickly, they learn how to use their training against you, they will find ANY and ALL loopholes in their training and i swear you can see them laughing at you when you fall for their own little sneaky tricks.
They are STUBBORN, there the kind of breed that asks WHY? why should i fetch that ball, why shoudl i sit for you.
They bond STRONGLY, many chis will pick their favorite person, when that persons not around someone else will do, but when that person comes home, the other people can forget it. many chis love everyone, but all of them will have a prefered person for cuddle time.
they CAN be hard to housebreak, persistence and repetativeness is 100% key with chis,
a bell on the collar helps you avoid puppy squishing, but they actually learn very quickly how to use your feet like weeve poles
health concerns, watch for treacheas, retained baby teeth, bad teeth, luxating patella, and heart murmurs. corn allergies are also common in the breed. Hypoglycemia is a risk with any small breed, feed often and carry nutircal on you especially during the first 6months of the puppies life, after 6 months MOST chis will get past the risk, some however will also be prone to hypoglycemis attacks.
find a breeder who checks for knees and heart, preferably elbows and eyes too.
puppy shoudlnt come home till 10-12 weeks for best development and NEVER walk on a collar with this breed, a harness is MUCH safer.
because the breed is so small, they are extreemly transportable! ours LOVE to go down to the sail boat with us and all 3 chis take up little room on the boat. a single chi would be the perfect companion for an outdoors man, many LOVE to hike, they can walk alot further than many think and for when their tired and your not (which will be rare) a small front carrier worn like a backpack is handy, they are the perfect sixe for taking cannoing with you as thier petite stature wont damage the canoos center too much
mine love camping and they keep my sleeping bag rather warm on those chilly nights.
most chis love to burrow, give them extra blankets if you crate, and if you have clean warm laundry out, plese check for a sleeping chihuahua before putting away lol
UNDERWARE IS NOT SAFE in any home with chihuahuas...just be aware of that one!
personaloty wise, my male is MUCH more attatched to me than the females are, males seem to be snugglier, while females tend to be a little more outgoing (of course this is not THE RULE but seems to be a trend i myself have seen over the years) however if you have your chi spay/neutered there shouldnt be much else in terms of a personality difference.
They think there 300lbs though, and same sex "strange dog" agression seems to be common in un"fixed" chis. chis are very pack orientated, as said, prefering their own over other breeds. they will accept other dogs into their pack but in my house youll see 3 chis curled up together and the cocker kind of off to the side... the ONLY dog agression ive ever seen from my dogs has been when my male was not neutered and he met another unnutered male who began trying to dominate him, neopolian complex kicks in and dodger nips 240lb mastif on nose, mastif is confused and walks away, dodger wins.
they dont realize their size and most will put a much bigger dog right in their place (sometimes with no so good results)
all in all they need plenty of playtime, they can get enough "excersize" by running yound the house, but playtime in the garden or interactive games keeps them metnailly stimulated. and they need an owner who can be sensitive yet still maintain an upper hand on this very inteligent breed.
oh and one more thing, mine are hunters...BUG hunters, they will chase off any butterfly and grasshopper they can find, dont be suprised to see your chi eating a spider or cricket its caught, kinda gross yes, but theres some stipulation fennec fox is in their very ancitent backlines, which would make alot of sence seeing the 2 different animals at play.
they make wonderfull companions.