Chihuahua tips and facts

Getting a chihuahua is really a wonderful thing. But please do your research before just rushing out and buying one. Chihuahuas are a very loyal breed. They are loving, but tend to prefer one or two people out of a family rather than loving them all the same, and in my experience, they prefer adults to children. They are not guard dogs but make excellent watch dogs. Being the smallest breed of dog, they are very brave. They will stand up to a very large dog not even realizing how small they are. They do tend to bark alot, they have a tendency to shake, which is normal. They may shake when they are happy, as well as when they are scared or cold. Most chihuahuas are very much lap dogs and love to be with "their" person. Chihuahuas love to burrow under the covers and snuggle up as they do get cold easier than other breed of dogs. They are finicky eaters and do not like to potty on the papers when the papers are already soiled. They like it clean when they go or they may tend to potty "off" the paper spot. Chihuahuas have a mind of their own but are such a sweet dog that you will be glad you got one. Here is my website link where you can find out more about chihuahuas.http://www.barking-chihuahuas.com

A Bad Day for Shorty

Yesterday as I got up, I got my dogs out of their kennels like usual, and by this time, they are ruff and ready....zip, zipping around the house from being so excited to get up. Shorty wasn't so zippy though as I soon discovered that he had a horrible case of diarreah. Poor dog !!! He must have really excited to get out ot that cage for sure. I ended up taking it completely outside and washing it out, spraying down all his bedding with the water hose before I could even wash them. As I worked outside getting all that done, I came inside and found a large spot right in front of the couch where my hubby sits. Oh my goodness. As the day went on, the little guy felt much better and things went back to normal. I had given him some chicken breast the day before, but just a very little. Guess that's going to stop now as I don't want to go through that again. WHOO !!! I guess I will watch what extra I give him from now on. No, I think maybe better, he is going to be sticking to his dog food and that's it.

Do my dogs realize how lucky they are?

Day after day, my cute little barking chihuahuas are comfortable in the fact that they can sleep all day, eat when they want and have the run of most of the house. They have their own little indoor kennels at night with several soft blankies inside. My chis are extremely lucky indeed. I have seen other dogs in the neighborhood who wander around carelessly from house to house, I have also seen dogs tied up on a chain, howling all day. Some dog owners cannot keep their dogs indoors all the time, however, chihuahuas are so small that they need to be in at least part of the time. Mine are always indoors and I am trying to get hubby to build a kennel outside just for them to be able to go out every once in a while (without my carrying them). I look at my chis and wonder, do they really know how lucky they are? They are living the life of luxury....lol

what a beautiful day

What a beautiful day it is today. The weather is just right to be outside doing whatever life offers. I got the flea medication put on my dogs and they seem to be great. No more scratching. Yippeee!
Now, I got the house all spiffed up, dogs happy and the rest of the day is about rest. Think I will go and check out some of my favorite sites http://dogster.com
http://squidoo.com
http://wahm.com

Belly bands and what do they do for my dog?

Belly bands are a simple way of saving your furniture. Belly bands are great. It's a simple way for you to attach a pad inside and velcro around your chihuahua's private area so that when he decides to lift his leg to pee, it goes into the pad, and not on your furniture. As my Shorty dog got to be an adult, he stopped squatting to pee. He started lifting his leg. However, not only was he missing his papers and pee pad on the floor, he then started lifting his leg on my walls, on my big screen tv, my new end tables, and anything he decided needed his marking. We had to replace all the doors in the area where he had his pee pad. This meant replacing the bathroom door, my daughter's door, all the wood baseboards and this wasn't funny. It is costly. I soon discovered my end tables had been peed on. Those were washable, but it was getting to the point of ridiculous. I went to the pet store. Searching for an answer, I bought the doggie diaper. It only slipped off. He is such a little guy that he managed to get out of it.
I went to walmart and bought newborn preemie diapers and to no avail.
So, I searched some more and came up with a solution thus making belly bands. They work so well that I can now rest and not have to worry when I am working that he is able to lift that leg and it all goes to the pad inside the belly band. What can I say, he's just a male dog and he's doing his thing, only now, it's not destroying all my things. That makes me a happy camper indeed !

making my dog napsacks

Today has been a very busy day. My poor chi babies are watching and waiting for me to finish sewing so that they can sit on my lap. I made 2 new dog napsacks today and put them on my website at http://www.barking-chihuahuas.com
I also ran to the mail box to mail off a dog napsack and a couple of belly bands. My dogs were so excited to see me come back home, just like I had been gone all day or something. Aren't dogs wonderful? They are always happy to see you. Now that all my chores are done for the day and I am sitting here with my laptop, my babies are happy and guess what they are doing right now? SLEEPING !!!!!!! those crazy dogs of mine.

Oh my babies are so cute when they beg

I feed my dogs in the morning, even before I feed myself or my family. I take sure they have clean water and enough food to get through most of the day. I know how important it is to freely give chihuahuas and other small toy dogs food so they will not have a problem. I make my breakfast, or any lunch or dinner as well, and there they are, looking at you with those sad eyes, acting just like they had never eaten a thing in their whole lives.. oh, how pitiful. As much as you really want to hand them a bite under the table, it's not good for them to eat much people food. Sure, my vet told me that they could have fresh chicken, boiled... they can even eat a little bit of that squeeze-canned cheese, but all in all, our foods are not that good for them as they can cause them to get overly fat. We want to feed them well, but not make them too fat because that is not good for their health...
I know, I know, many a people say that they gave human food to their dogs and they did just fine. That is all good for them, however, they get things that are good for them in their own food, as long as you choose something healthy for them. Something that has the first ingredient being a meat.
Choose their food wisely. And about the sad eyes, well, I still haven't found a way to conquer that one yet.

flea time

Although my chihuahuas are strickly indoor dogs, last night, we noticed a couple of fleas on shorty. He has not been scratching at all. He is white with black spots and his skin tone underneath is pink, so it's pretty easy to spot fleas on him. Now, with the weather warming up here in Texas, I guess it's time to start some flea control. Prissy on the other hand is way too mean to get any fleas. She never gets any. What is good for fleas? Well, I have asked around and I have tried many different methods. First of all, I don't agree with using a flea collar because that basically puts the poison around the neck at all times. I have heard bad things about flea collars so I stay away from things that might not be good for my babies. I have tried over the counter flea drops which do not seem to work either. I believe the best way to control those pesky fleas is by going to a vet or in a petsmart where they have that vet station and looking at the choices you have. For me K-9 Advantage seems to do the best. Talk to your vet and ask their opinion. So get ready, even though you may not let your dogs outside, you can still get fleas.

Feeding your chihuahua

Oh, with all the hype in the news these days about bad dog and cat food, I shutter to think about those poor owners who's dogs and cats suffered from the food. How do you know these days?
Well, thank goodness, my food was safe. What ever food that you choose, you can always go by this fact. Reading the label on the food ingredients to make sure that a meat is always listed first. If it says corn meal first, then you are paying for that. Dogs seems to do better with lamb or chicken listed first but mine do like beef. Beef can be an allergen to them if they are so proned to be allergic. When choosing a dog food, it might be a good idea to ask your vet about it, research it online and ask around about it. Then, follow the guidelines to how much to feed. Overfeeding them because they have those big sad eyes looking at you will only make them gain too much weight. As for treats, there are so many to choose from. I don't feed my dogs any of the nylabone or any chews because I am afraid of them biting off too much and choking. However, I do give them dog cookies. Make sure you keep up on the brushing of their teeth on a regular basis to keep the tarter away. Chihuahuas can get tarter easily.

teaching chihuahuas not to bark SOOO much

Can you teach your chihuahua not to bark at every single movement someone makes? Well, let me tell you about mine. My teen daughter who lives in this house and they see every single day is barked at by my chi's at every chance they get. When she comes home from school, when she goes somewhere and comes back in, and even my husband gets "the bark treatment" when he comes home from work. I don't know why this is. When they see me coming or even getting out of my car, they will NOT bark at me. Perhaps this is because they instinctively know where their food is coming from? I don't know. Whatever the reason, I decided to try something. Now, I love my chis and I would NEVER EVER hit them.One day they even started to nip at our family friend, who they have seen many times and this had to stop. So, a couple of days ago, I took a rolled up newspaper whenever they started to bark at the family members coming in the door, I tapped it on the table and said NO, and they instantly stopped their barking. Just tapping that rolled up paper on the coffee table did the trick for me. What also works is an empty paper towel roll. They don't like the noise of it. So, if you have BARKING CHIHUAHUAS like I do, and they tend to bark alot, you might just try this. Please do not scare them with it too much though. Just a tap or two on the coffee table does the trick. Try it and see.