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Calling all past and present chihuahua owners for advice

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I'm seriously thinking of buying a chi puppy and would welcome past and present owners of this breed to share their experience of this breed.

 

How is/was their temperament??..... And the thing that concerns me the most is - did you manage to get them house trained?? I've heard that they are a challenge to convince they need to go outside for a wee!! Did/does your chi go outside to do their business? I have plenty of time and patience to train a dog to go outside, but just how stubborn are they?!

 

Any info most welcome, thanks!

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I am not a Chi owner but I spoke to a long standing breeder/show person of this breed and one of the first things he mentioned was this problem of house training. I also have a friend with two male Chihuahuas and although neutered they are given to lifting their leg in the house, despite being house trained. She has a bitch pup - not sure how that is going. Perhaps some of the reputation may be due to the fact that some owners tend not to treat this breed as dogs, rather as substitute babies but could be wrong.

Maybe you could contact the breed club about this? Link

Kennel Club Assured Breeder links:

Smooth Coat

Long Coat

 

Although being clean in the house is important, don't forget to look into the health of the breed. If you do decide to go ahead, be careful to find a legitimate breeder - these little dogs have been badly overbred by people cashing in on their popularity. Internet dog sale sites are awash with litters. It can be difficult to determine if some of them have come from puppy farms. See here.

Edited by ccit

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I have chihuahua's they are lovely funny little dogs. Mine are very loving, they enjoy nothing better than a knee to sit on and have a cuddle. The downside is yes they are hard to toilet train no matter how hard you try but if you are consistent about popping them out regularly to toilet you can sort it pretty well. They are worth the trouble of being consistent with this. Ours are brilliant with the children too and love to sit on the smallest of knees but children have to be taught to be very gentle because of their tiny size. They are also caged at night and love their beds in the cage which helps with toilet problems. Mine never ever wet or soil their cages. Hope this helps.

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I have a chihuahua, he is loud, exceedingly funny and very friendly with people ( though this is not always the norm of the breed, they can be grumpy ) He isn't treat as a baby and he doesn't wear clothes. He lives with 3 other dogs and although neutered at 6 months old, thinks he is the boss!! His main down fall is the toileting. The other dogs never do a thing in the house and he goes out every time they do, infact he loves it outside, but will still mess in the house even if the door is open if he's that way out. Think the toilet thing is the biggest issue with a lot of toy breeds thb

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My little Tia must be an exception to the rule then!! :hihi:

 

When I got her she had been trained to the silly (well I think they are) puppy pads. We also got our GD a few days later and he was half toilet trained - didn't take him long at all to be fully clean.

 

She, on the other hand, did take quite a while longer. I put it down to the use of the puppy pads by her breeder. We got there eventually though - I mean her going outside - she has never done any of her business in the house - other than when she was on the puppy pads!!

 

She is a people person but likes to pick her people - she loves to cuddle up to you and also sleeps on my GDs back. She doesn't like other dogs - this is more nerves though as when we got them both I had to take the decision on which pup to concentrate on - training wise- and I chose the GD - as he is bigger - but she is still the boss though!! :D

 

Wouldn't swap her for the world - and yes she has a fleece and a coat - due to Chis struggling to maintain their body temperature in the cold weather - but she uses her own 4 little legs when we go on walks and loves it. You just have to be careful and keep them close as they are so small (Tia is slightly under 2kg)and other dogs grabbing them is a constant worry. Although Tia has her very own bodyguard in my GD. lol

 

We haven't had her speyed yet but are doing so this year. We were always going to have her done (to avoid health issues) but need to make it this year as when she has been coming out of her last few seasons she has had a swollen belly and this last time was producing milk.

Edited by foxyflugel

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I have 3!! A white female who's 3 years old,a lilac tri colour male who's 1year old & iv just bought a blue tri colour girl puppy who is 12 weeks old.

They are an amazing breed.my two older ones are brill at going outside.the puppy will do everything outside as long as I'm consistent with it.as soon as she wakes up,finishes playing & after food I'll take her outside.im not bothering with puppy pads & hoping she will soon get the hang of things.

My 3 are great with kids & are like owning cats.the only thing is one is never enough!wgich is why I have 3!as well as a 7 year old Dalmatian.any info you need just ask.just make sure you pick a good breeder.some are bred & bred just for money & they tend to have 3+ females & 2+ males.make sure the pups are kept inside & you get to see mum.visit a few litters too to make sure your choosing the right pup.try & make sure they are full chi too as there's some out there that are chihuahua x jack russel.they look very much like chihuahuas (google chi x jack russel and you'll see what I mean)

The puppy I picked up was infested with fleas,had worms & conjunctivitis. She's ok now but make sure simple things like that have been taken care off & that they have had a vet check!

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Thanks everyone for your replies. I am now the proud owner of a beautiful cream long haired little boy chihuaua. I am absolutely delighted with him!

 

Yes, we definitely need to work on the 'toileting' situation! However, he is the most adorable and loving little pup and I couldn't have wished for a better little dog :)

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So pleased you have got your little chihuahua. Have fun and lots of cuddles.

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Chihuahuas are fantastic, I have 4 now! There's a local dog walker page, several chis on it if you fancy joining us :D

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