My New Puppy

S

sblordita

Cathlete
Hi everyone :) I posted a question to you guys earlier about little chihuahuas, and how many of you have one. After hearing all of your inputs, I was certain that I was going to get a chihuahua, but I had almost decided that it would be best to wait. I was looking at the chihuahua rescue sites, as well as some breeders, and I couldn't quite make up my mind. I kind of had my heart set on a teacup, but the prices were outrageous, they are a huge commitment, and looking through the rescue sites broke my heart :(

Well, there were two little teacups in particular that I had been eyeing for a week online. I kept posting pictures to all of my friends, just because I was in love and had to share. I had made the decision to not go for a puppy now, just put myself on a waiting list, and I could or could not buy a puppy from future litters. Well, a dear friend of mine decided to give me a belated birthday present, and he bought me one of the pups! I guess my decision was made right there, huh?

Well, I picked her up on Friday morning. She is such a joy!! There were, and are, a few concerns about her... and next time i will definity go to the breeder and meet them and the dogs, no matter how far away...if that's the route I decide to take. I received her D.O.B AFTER I picked her up from the airport, and found out that she was significantly younger than I had been told... I couldn't get mad, because I was relieved! I thought there may have been something wrong... There are a few more things I'm a little irked by, but overall, it doesn't matter. She's my responsibility now, and I'm not going to let someone else's stupidity determine how much love she gets. bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

Teacups are definitely a commitment!! At this age they are by far more fragile than and nearly as dependent as a newborn. The only difference is that they can eat on their own, but that doesn't mean they always will. They are prone to low blood sugar. I dont think my little girl has a problem, however, I'm not taking any chances. And chihuahuas have those little soft-spots on their head... gotta make sure she doesn't bonk herself. Fortunately, my family is so in love that she has 24-hour care. As a matter of fact, my parents, who are NOT animals lovers, are sneaking in my room at various hours of the night to watch her, and are seriously asking if she will stay when I leave. My Dear Boyfriend stayed home with me for 2 full days just to lie with her, because he was concerned that she was too young to leave her mama! I have a fantastic family :)

Sorry to ramble on so much...I just had to share her with everyone :D.

For all of you animal lovers, I do have a related question. I have been doing some research on animal nutrition and homecooking your animal's food. It's something I thought about a long time ago when my older cat started becoming fat and lacking energy.. he has has horrible dandruff, too :( With this little girl here now, and so fragile, I was seriously thinking about it again. Do any of you have any experience with this? I know to some it seems ridiculous, and I'm not talking spending my whole day making animals treats, but truly balancing out their nutrition with the kind of food they're suppose to have to give them what they need.

Well, I'll stop this huge post now. I'll post pictures as soon as I get my picturetrail acct. up and running :)..

Thanks again!
Sara
 
Hey, Sara, why haven't you e-mailed me! I'm so pleased you have your Chi. They are lovely and i can't wait to see pictures. Remember my e-mail address [email protected]

I'm sure you will give she will get all the love she deserves.

My Chi still has a soft-spot on his head, though clearly not as soft as when he was a pup, but you should still be careful. Bless her. You have lovely family who love you and her (got a name yet?). As is said to you before, this breed are gorgeous, naughty (very) and so loyal that its scary. Mine follows me everywhere, just to make sure i'm around. I know its scary but... he sleeps with me at night. He has a "pit" where he sleeps, but he normally comes into bed with me and burrows himself deep down in the covers (hense my e-mail address icklemoley!). They really are just like moles! They love love love the heat and mine can be found sun bathing in just a single ray of light! Summer time he's lying around on his back warming his private parts i'm sure when i'm out! Anyway, you have my e-mail, i hope it all works out for you. Good luck.

Wayne.
 
I am a breeder of Pomeranians and I talk to alot of breeders out there and they all use differant things when feeding puppies, I was told once that homemade food is the best for dogs but from breeders who have alot of dogs they like to use natural food they sell in local pet stores, I personally like to use Nutro max and my dogs love it better than Iams. There are so many good ones too choose from. you can also call a vet and ask them their oppinion. Also you can e-mail breeders what the recommend on feeding toy dogs.
 
I used to feed a raw diet, but not a cooked diet. Ian Billinghurst's Give Your Dog a Bone. Nowadays though they are so many wonderful dog foods out there. Wellness Puppy food is excellent. Candidae is also excellent. Just remember, you get what you pay for. Make sure to read the ingredients. Chicken (or another real meat) should be the first ingredient. Stay away from corn or wheat based foods. Here are the ingredients for Wellness:

Deboned Chicken, Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Rye Flour, Menhaden Fishmeal, Whitefish, Ground Brown Rice, Ground Millet, Canola Oil (preserved with Rosemary, Vitamin C & E), Flax Seed, Amaranth, Dried Peas, Dried Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Whole Apples, Whole Blueberries, Whole Clove Garlic, Alfalfa Leaf, Yucca Schidigera, Probiotics (Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus), Prebiotics (Inulin, Fructose), Glucosamine, Chondroitin Sulfate, Beta-Carotene, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate (a chelated source of Zinc), Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate (a chelated source of Copper), Copper Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate ( a chelated source of Manganese), Sodium Selenite, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid.

I would not use Nutro because they are studies that indicate the Taurine levels are too high and not good for long-term use with dogs.

If you are interested in articles on socialization, let me know. Especially if your pup was taken from the litter under 8 weeks of age, she/he might need some extra socialization. Mother and littermates teach the pups man behaviors up until 8 weeks which is why it is better to have them stay with the litter until that point.

And congratulations!

Colleen
 
Hey Wayne!! I was waiting to get my pictures downloaded this evening so I could send you pictures along with my e-mail. Then, this morning as she was sleeping in my lap, I was at the computer, and I just decided to share with everybody... I had planned on e-mailing you as well, but figured I'd wait until the pictures were ready :D She's so adorable, and I really want more pictures of yours. I shared them with my family, and they Louis and Pepie are wonderful :) I hung the one of you holding them up at work on my corkboard of cards and pictures :). Hope you don't mind ... you're all famous.Ill definitely e-mail you some pictures!

As for a name, we are all calling her Bimba. IT is sort of a shortening of "Bamina" which is little girl, or baby girl, in Italian. (My mom is Italian). I call her Bimba Chi... just because it sounds cool. I didn't intend for that to be her name, but everybody's using it, so it may just be one of those things that sticks.

And her loyalty is already showing through. She follows us everywhere! I had to buy her a baby playpen so that we could let her sleep in there and move around a bit :) . Oh, and one of those microwavable heating pads, too. She LOVES it!



Sara
 
Hey, thank you Colleen. The Wellness food does look good, and has a lot of great ingredients. For so many years I fed my cats the cheapest cat food I could find, well, mostly it was my mother's doing :) but I never knew any better. I figured they were all the same. Now, of course, I know better. Just like people... it's the difference between living on cheetos and living on veggies...

I would LOVE socialization articles. I want her to be comfortable and happy with people... She will be in my house for awhile longer .. I'm not going to start toting her around until she's older, so I don't want her to become wary of strange people.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Sara
 
One thing you can do when she is strong/healthy enough, is put her in a backpack and carry her around to places. It is kind of like a Catch 22 as far as socialization. The prime socialization period is until 16 weeks but yet the dogs do not quite have all their shots by then and are suceptible to diseases. Our Vizsla puppy is 10 weeks and we've taken her to: outdoor cafes, outdoor malls, friends houses that you know are safe, go to places you don't see a lot of dogs. Usually if ou are carrying the puppy (and something as cute as your little teacup!), people won't say anything. We even took our pup into Sears and Nordstroms. So far, she has met about 50 people in the two weeks we've had her.

The best book I can think of and cheap is Super Puppy by Peter Vollmer. You can get it under $10.00 at www.dogwise.com.

You might also want to look for a good, safe puppy socialization class in your home town. We go to the same facilty two times a week for puppy play and socialization but it is strictly moderated as far as shots, disinfecting, etc. Here is the website info: http://www.therightsteps.net She has great articles on socializing and puppy problems as they start to grow, chew, etc.

Also try:
http://www.dpca-breedered.com/superpuppy.htm
http://www.dpca-breedered.com/educate_pups.htm
http://www.dpca-breedered.com/battneurostimulation.htm

Basically you want to introduce your puppy to all different kinds of sights, sounds, people (big, tall, small, male, female, children, hats, beards, sunglasses, canes, wheelchairs, kids on bikes). The more things you can introduce, the easier time she will have as an adult.

Colleen

PS We put the backpack on "backwards" and the zippers just below her neck and head and help support her. That way she can see what is going on and people can come up and pet her.
 
Yes, carrying her around is exactly what I wanted to do. I even wanted to bring into work some days (the entire office LOVES animals). I didn't even realize that they had puppy socialization classes, so I will definitely look into it. I don't want her to be like my kitties. The day we picked her up in Salt Lake, we had no choice but to carry her around. The attention she received was phenomenal!! Everybody wanted her. But, like you said, she is more suceptible to diseases, and it frightens me.

Even my own cats (indoor and clean :) )aren't allowed in my room for another week or two. I am going to start getting them acquainted by keeping her in the playpen (with a top on!) and letting my cats come near... My cats will feel less threatened that way, and poor little Bimba less frightened. I must say, though, she is pretty fearless! The only thing that scares her is listening to somebody cough!

Oh, and it's funny, but we bought two things to carry her in... a little lunch cooler, slightly bigger and firm so we could put a little blanky in there for her if we're carrying her around for long periods of time... and a little fanny pack. It is the perfect height, and not overly big so she's not flopping around. It sounds silly, but the best things aren't made for pets :) The "lunch box" is in the process of modifications right now... we're putting a piece of pet-bag type netting on the sides, so if we have to close it up on her, she's alright. I really want one of those carriers that look like baby swings... where her legs poke through and she's completely secure and it straps behind your back... but I haven't found anything small enough :( I really wish I knew how to sew at this point!

Thanks for the sites! I'll definitely check them out :)

Sara
 
Hi Sara,

Congratulations on your new puppy!!! Isn't it great to be in love!!

Regarding your question about feeding. First of all, I'd recommend talking to your vet and also try to get some opinions from other Chi owners and breeders. Different breeds (or individual dogs) can have different needs.

A good book on the subject is "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats", by Richard H. Pitcairn.

I did some homecooking for my two dogs a few years back for a couple of months. I have a Boxer and a Boston Terrier. I did it mostly because the Boxer had developed some skin problems that can very often be related to food allergies, and due to the fact that I had a hard time finding distributors in my area of high-quality dog foods.

In my case, the homecooked diet went well for the Boxer and not so well for my Boston. She just didn't seem to be thriving on it. Currently, I'm feeding both dogs Old Mother Hubbard dry food and I give them homecooked "treat" meals every once in a while - like Mackeral & Macaroni. They're both doing well on that.

Hope this helps.
 
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