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Chihuahua-Land
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Do you breed any other breed of dog other than the Chihuahua? Are your puppies house broken? Do you sell Teacup Chihuahuas? Are your puppies registered with AKC? Let me explain: To be registered AKC, the parents MUST be AKC registered. Some of our pets aren't. All of our pets are registered CKC; some are also AKC, Worldwide, UKC (United Kennel Club), APR (American Pet Registry). We chose CKC for our primary registry because of the overwhelming number of breeders that "only" use CKC; CKC's unilateral acceptance of documented pedigrees; and the good customer service. So, unless we have a reason to do otherwise (or there's no other option), your puppy will be registered with CKC. http://www.ckcusa.com What is a (reindeer) deer Chihuahua? Some folks prefer this look, although it does not represent the "Chihuahua Standard". My Chihuahua seems to have two sets of teeth... is it a canine or a shark? Seriously, Chihuahuas (all toy breeds) often retain their baby teeth. Check for extra teeth at about 5-6 months of age, have them removed at the same time as the spay or neuter. This Baby Teeth thing... I still have questions. FYI: As we remind all of our new owners: When Chihuahuas start losing their puppy teeth (teething), it is very possibly several things may happen also: One or both ears may drop, possibly to some mystical rythm (left down, right down, left up, etc.). Potty training will be totally forgotten. Both of these anomylies last 2-4 weeks... then generally everything goes back to normal. But... it's unlikely that you'll have "tumbleweeds" blowing across the living room... (unless you're a breeder). TEACUPS, TEACUPS, TEACUPS. How come you don't have TEACUPS? They is no such thing! WE do, as does every other breeder, have Chihuahua pups that we think will be in the 3-4lb or 4-5lb range. At best, we describe these as "tiny" when they're two weeks old, simply because they're smaller than their siblings and growthwise - seem to be on the small Chihuahua track. "Teacup" is a marketing term... it is a cute name used to sway your dollars... that's it. p.s.: our Chihuahuas have Xray vision and can fly! Do the puppies have all of their shots? What is an Applehead, Appleheaded, Appledome, Apple-dome, Apple Chihuahua? My Chihuahua is "HONKING"! What do I do? Seriously, this is a trachial spasm, sometimes referred to as a "Reverse Sneeze". In my experience this has always been non-serious and easily stopped by putting your (A)finger in front of the dogs nose, (B) gently pinching the dogs nostrils together, (C) attempting to do either A or B. But... it could be serious... I'm still trying to sort it out, but it could be a "collapsed trachia" and vastly more serious, potentially fatal... although, I've only known this to affect Yorkies. Best answer: Ask a Vet that knows Chihuahuas. ('cause if your Vet isn't familiar with Chihuahuas, there could be lots of expensive tests!) What health problems do Chihuahua have? Hypoglycemia is often just a puppyhood concern. Hypoglycemia is most easily prevented by making sure that your Chihuahua puppy is eating. Chihuahua puppies can be finicky eaters or simply more interested in playing rather than eating. We keep Nutri-Stat on hand for emergency situations. Sugar water (very sweet) works in a pinch! Apply to the gums if your Chihuahua is unconcious. Recovery should be immediate, but call your Vet! PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR CHIHUAHUA PUPPY'S EATING HABITS! I suppose the next more common problem in luxating pattella... a knee problem. While this may require surgery for advanced cases, often it may not require any action whatsoever. I only know of one Chihuahua puppy that we bred that has been treated for luxating patella. In other words, a very low occurance (and we no longer breed that Chihuahuas' mom). Beyond this, most problems are not an issue of the breed, but issues of life (and chance), not withstanding that some breeders may have a higher than normal incidence of a particular genetic trait. I'm looking for a Chihuahua for my 6 year olds' birthday. Which will be more fun and make him laugh, the black or black with white spotted chihuahua? Want a good present for a six year old? Those "Crash Test Dummy" toys from Mattel... available at Walmart... now that's a cool toy!!! The same is true for a 2, 3, 4, and 5 year old. It's easier on the puppy, less complicated, and often cheaper. We meet you at the airport. We do charge $50, but that's mostly 'cause we get a Vet signed Puppy Health Certificate to double check puppy health. But, I suppose we do ship. We charge $300. We've done it once to Oakland, CA. The experience was very good and I'd probably be okay doing it again. You keep talking about "SOCIALIZATION", so what about it, smart guy? It about this time you should consider Puppy Classes. I recommend this because it's an organized event that you must attend every week (or whatever). Having a couple of friends over to the house is not the same as "getting out with your dog"... a chihuahua will simply decide that its world ends at the front door of your house... Chihuahuas love to be with YOU... you just have to reinforce that "acceptable" behavior is being nice to strangers too... As with ALL training... positive reinforcement... I recommend verbal rewards... but treats work too... the best reward is your praise... A "chihuahuas for dummies" book is a pretty good resource... Educating yourself is an admirable human trait. What do you consider the best age to get a puppy neutered (or spayed)? In general, neutering should be done BEFORE the age of maturity, which is about 8-9 months in a Chihuahua. I can't recommend this enough. This will help your puppy maintain its "happy go lucky" self, instead of developing that "James Dean - teen angst" nature. Ask your Vet! Okay... enough about the Chihuahuas!!! Let's say I just want to "borrow" one of your photographs (or other original work) from the website? ... if you choose to steal Chihuahua photos and portray them as your own puppies, I will take great interest in seeking remedy. What lawyer is not going to assist for $50,000 per item??? When are your next puppies due? As you see, it can be a lengthly undeterminable time. Therefore, we announce "births" as opposed to "breedings". We just hate the idea of everyone waiting around on "maybe's". We instead send out birth annoucements to those that have sent in contact information. This gives those interested a chance to let us know that they're still interested... and everybody else a chance to "see cute puppies" via Puppycam. Plus, we KNOW the sex, possibly the coat and we have some idea as to the color. How can I get put on the Waiting List? Because of the length of time involved for Heat cycles, gestation and nurturing, we prefer to discuss actual, as opposed to "maybe", puppies. We do send out birth annooucements and we do keep track of your previous emails, so we are very good about getting puppies to those who are still truly interested. I found some grammar errors, many mis-spellings, improper use of a word on throughout the website. Should I point those out to you? I'm always interested in making the website more goodly. Hey, I've been noticing that some of the FAQ's look like stuff that you've simply copied from the Guestbook. Are you really that lazy? I live in (fill in your home town here), close to the (fill in someplace that we've heard about here) area and I am interested in purchasing one of your pups but I am concerned that I will not be able to bring my pup outside to use the bathroom and Really do not want to have a dog that is paper trained or litter box trained. Is it ok to bring such a small dog outside to use the bathroom when the temp is (fill in something that seems cold to you here) degrees and will I be able to train them to go outside in such cold temps? Our dogs are outside trained. The rule of thumb should be "If I had to pee really, really bad... and it was the only place to go... how long could I stand outside in my bare feet"... Then apply this to your Chihuahua. If it's zero... then what??? maybe 30-60 seconds... if it's 10 below... then screw it... i'm using the pad... inside. Chihuahuas DO infact have hair... just use good judgement... and remember the reverse is true during the summer... all living things can die from heat. It seems like I've answered this question in the guestbook... more eloquently... but hopefully you get the idea. My chihuahua is 4 months old. His ears finally "stood up" about two weeks ago. This morning I noticed that one is now floppy again :( Any ideas why this happened? Will it perk up again or did he damage the cartilage in his ear somehow. ... generally speaking, don't do anything to a Chihuahua's ears... it often won't help... and may instead damage them. Our breeding pairs have no relationship to each other. As we don't breed for show, we have no desire to risk genetic health to focus on a particular trait. We have no interest in risking the need to cull genetic mishaps. We ARE very concerned that our Chihuahua look like "Chihuahuas", so we do pick breeding pairs that, while unrelated, have great Chihuahua characteristics... thus, sorry, no deerheads. We, like you, purchase dogs from breeders. We understand your concerns. We are sympathetic to your concerns. Okay... but wait a minute! Mable and Silky are related to Sterling and Scarlett... how does that work? You are related to your grandparents too... and for that matter, you are related to your great grandparents... BUT, hopefully, great grandpa didn't have sex with anyone... except great grandma. Well, there was that time during the big war, but, he didn't know if he'd come back alive... ( a nod to F. Scott). I am thinking very seriously about one of these dogs! The only problem is time away from home during the day. What beautiful dogs you have!! We are very fond of the long hairs. Optimally, I suppose less than 4-6 hours would be preferred, maybe 8-9, but, more than that I would really ask you to rethink your need to have a dog. It would be unfair to the dog. Aside from potty training issues, boredom will be a problem. Potty training requires a certain consistency from you on a regular schedule. A young puppy shouldn't be expected to have the muscular control to hold its bladder and/or bowels for extended periods. For any period over 4 hours, I think it's best to setup a cage with a bed and a litter box. The mistake that might be made by the new owner is to shirk the responsibility for maintaining a structured environment when at home. In so far as boredom is concerned, sometimes more than one Chihuahua is an answer. In all cases, the fact you're coming home tired after a long day at work is no excuse for not properly training and socializing your Chihuahua. If you're not prepared to take on the responsibility of properly raising your Chihuahua, then be responsible enough to resist the urge to buy a new puppy. We just purchased a black long haired chihuahua and are totally in-love with him (Sammy). He is going to his first vet visit today due to we think he has kennel cough. We will keep you posted. Love your site. Ahhhh... You purchased your puppy someplace else! Kennel Cough covers a whole host of virus infections. Rather, it covers almost any ailments that cause your dog/puppy to cough. A dry, hacking, persistent cough. It's something like a "common cold" in humans. If treated it's cured in 2 weeks, left untreated it could take 14 days!... That's just cheap humor... in reality, Kennel Cough can be VERY debilitating! Go to the Vet! Get some antibiotics. Keep your dog/puppy (and anything it licks, slobbers or snots on) away from other dogs. Kennel Cough can last for months! It can be serious. Generally, it just noisy and frustrating... and if you don't know what I mean by frustrating... treat a dog with Kennel Cough... it's a Zen thing... ...uhhhhh, I got a bunch of questions... For starters, my newly acquired 13 week male puppy is (Kids, leave the room) humping my 5 months old female puppy. Can he get her pregnant? I've put him in a pen with a peepad to keep them separated. Is 3ft x 5ft big enough? What's a good book? (Brian says "If you've been through the guest book, you will know that I've done serious editing here") Is she in heat? Do you know how to tell? If she's not in heat (estruses), then she can't get pregnant. With the possibly exception of a week or so after visible signs. Which is to say, if there's been no heat, there won't be puppies. There are very rare instances of copulation outside of the heat cycle, but again, this is unlikely. BUT... a this is a big BUT... don't let them tie... because, and we've all seen the Jurassic Park movie, Nature will find a way... Peepads inside the pen are a workable idea if you're not available to do formal potty training. For instance, you're away from the puppy for 6-8 hours. As there's no "training" with this practice, the results may not be as good as formal crate training. Maybe, maybe not. What I mean by this is: Ummmm, YOU're NOT DOING anything. Training is about instructions (commands) and rewards (physical or emotional). We recommend crate training... always... but this does mean much effort on your part, certainly for the first week, maybe two, maybe three weeks. And patience. And love. And resolve. Biggest failure with potty training: too much freedom too quickly. It's all about "tough love" at the beginning.... then you get to reap the rewards for their entire life. Neutering: generally between 5-6 months. Certainly before (sexual) maturity, which is about 8 months. I think the best book is "Chihuahua for Dummies". Primarily is because it has specific details about Chihuahuas. I was just at a Barnes and Noble book store... and there's this "new" Animal Planet (endorsed) book on Chihuahuas. Problem is (are) that it's the same rehashed vague crapola from the 1940's Chihuahua book. For that matter, it's just like the Laborador book with the exception of the picture. Okay, that's not exactly true... but it's damn straight mostly true. Other than that, I like "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. There's some very insightful information about Chihuahua in this book... although, the writer referred to them as "Mice", when he really meant "Chihuahuas.". My child has asthma and contact allergies to some animals. We are considering a chi because of their reputation as not aggravating allergies and asthma...do you have any info or advice for us? I've heard about the thing that Chi's are supposed to be good for people with Asthma... Possibly an Amish folk remedy. As I have neither, it's difficult for me to comment. Yes, both long and smooth coat shed. Generally all year long instead of seasonally, so there's not an "all at once" situation. I think that makes it a little either to deal with. With regards to allergies, I did have someone in the Chicago area ask if it would be okay to come here an visit, just to see if they were allergic. I agreed, but they ran into scheduling difficulties and it never happened. You might consider trying that kind of "test" with someone local. (Assuming it's not too dangerous - healthwise) My child has asthma and contact allergies to some animals. We are considering a chi because of their reputation as not aggravating allergies and asthma...do you have any info or advice for us? I've heard about the thing that Chi's are supposed to be good for people with Asthma... Possibly an Amish folk remedy. As I have neither, it's difficult for me to comment. Yes, both long and smooth coat shed. Generally all year long instead of seasonally, so there's not an "all at once" situation. I think that makes it a little easier to deal with. With regards to allergies, I did have someone in the Chicago area ask if it would be okay to come here an visit, just to see if they were allergic. I agreed, but they ran into scheduling difficulties and it never happened. You might consider trying that kind of "test" with someone local. (Assuming it's not too dangerous - healthwise) With regards to asthma, I have had one person said it improved, one said it made no difference, and one say his child was much better (less attacks). |
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