Chihuahua owners

[Blueberrymuffin40]

Any chihuahua owners? Looking for experiences.

[Wolfiefan]

Nope. Only ever met one that didn’t want to rip my dogs’ face off.

[Thisnamewasnttaken123]

I have two.
A boy and a girl.
Very lazy dogs they sleep alot during the day will happily lay by your side dozing.
Very loving.
Total lap dogs.
The only downside is my boy that barks at other dogs, he has little dog syndrome where he thinks he has to bark at any dog he sees.

My female on the other hand doesn't bark at other dogs at all and is much better behaved all round really. The breeder I got my female off of said how she much preferred females and I agree.
I don't think I would be without a chihuahua again they are great lap dogs, although in future I would only have a female.

[Thisnamewasnttaken123]

My female is also really friendly with anyone she just wants cuddles, if you don't pay her attention she goes up to you and stands up on her legs with her paws up and watches you until you will look at her, it's her way of asking for attention.
She loves everyone.
She isn't yappy, she will only bark like most dogs if there is someone at the door but wont bark for long.
My advice would be to socialise them but really that's a good idea for any puppy.
My girl was so tiny that she was even scared of the wind when outside at first.
When they haven't had their injections even just taking them for a carry outside is good for them.

[2ndMrsdeWinter]

A male Chi owner here.

He is an absolute joy - brilliant with small children, loves everyone who walks through the front door and is as willing to walk for 2 hours as he is for 30 minutes.

Like others said, early socialisation is a must. He only barks at people approaching the front door or strange dogs who bound up to him when he’s on his lead.

I can’t imagine my life without him - he is the perfect companion and I love him dearly.

[Workinghardeveryday]

I gave male 3 year old. Up until about 5 months ago unless he had been walked and run around for hours hyper when we sat down on a night for a good hour. Maybe all puppies do that?
They do need lots of exercise like other dogs.
Very arrogant even though brought up like a normal dog and not a prince!
Easy to train, very easy with tricks. Took a couple of years to stop him crapping on a night! Very hard to house train. Still does it now occasionally.
Barked for 3 weeks straight on a night when he was put to bed, was awful.
Tends to be very loyal to one person in the house , very timid but will growl sometimes but wouldn’t have the bottle to bite 🤣

[TaraR2020]

Not me, but I have couple of close friends with them you I know well.

Both boys.

One definitely has small dog syndrome! But he's still very loving, sleeps a lot, been fine to leave while at work. Voices his opinion without hesitation. Needs a firm hand still even in his later years as he's always had a tendency to want to dominate and rule the roost. Keener on women than men.

The other is also very loving but very timid and been easy to train.

[Howmercurialislife]

I have two males one almost 4 and one 8 months.

Like others have said they are very sleepy, mine are not fond of the thought of walking but once they are our they love it. They are both are curently asleep on my legs!

My eldest is the most loving boy, with adults and children of all ages. He loves nothing but a good fuss and will sit with you for hours.

The youngest is lively and playful as you would expect for a puppy. He's a bit more vocal than the older one and we are working on that when out and about.

Chihuahuas get a really bad press imo. Mine are lovely, gorgeous boys. We often get, oh they dont look like Chihuahuas. Oh they are not barky and snappy like Chihuahuas.

They are clever little things and learn quickly. I just love them!

[XelaM]

Haven't yet met a truly friendly one (maybe I have been unlucky). I have been doing my nails in a salon that had a Chihuahuas running aroud off lead and that (although very cute little) boy was a vicious little monster! He barked and growled non-stop in a really menacing way and bit my legs every time I was getting up from the chair at the salon

[XelaM]

A Chihuahua*

[TheThingsWeAdmitOnMN]

Ears that need their own postcode or a denture stand?

[TheThingsWeAdmitOnMN]

But this...

[Crammingitallin]

@Wolfiefan My chihuahua nearly had his face ripped of today it wasn’t your dog by any chance was it?

[Howmercurialislife]

@XelaM that's a shame and you have been unlucky.

They are not everyone's cup of tea I know!

[Wolfiefan]

@Crammingitallin that’s awful. I’m so sorry. Is your dog ok?
Absolutely not mine. Mine are giant breeds and so I’ve taken extra special care with socialisation and training. They are really well behaved and hide behind me if anything does kick off. Managed a careful hello today with a reactive dog who ended up wagging its tail when mine were quiet and polite with it.
I think the issue we have had with chis is so many people with really small dogs don’t see aggressive etc behaviour as an issue as the dog is so small. Very rarely meet a lovely, friendly and sociable one. I’m really wary.

[welshdaisy]

I have a chihuahua cross. He is so lovely and is a great asset to our family. He was attacked by a bigger dog that ran up to him off lead and now is a little nervous and wary of other dogs. Having said that, he loves my parents dog and my next door neighbours dog. He's fine with people he doesn't know, but will initially bark if someone knocks the door. I wouldn't be without him. The only thing with mine is that he's really sensitive to certain foods. He can't eat just anything and treats upset his tummy too. We have to be careful with what we feed him. I suppose any dog can suffer so that's not really relevant I guess

[LEMtheoriginal]

God they are little bastards ! Thats why i love them . They are tiny, but all dog. They do suffer from issues due to selective breeding though a

[Blueberrymuffin40]

That's what scares me... Bigger dogs. Thanks for the positive. I'll be getting a female had bad experiences with males of other breeds.

[Blueberrymuffin40]

Do you pick them up if a big dog comes over or is that the worst thing to do?

[OohKittens]

This is my boy

[osbertthesyrianhamster]

My mother has a one-year-old female and she's absolutely adorable. She's quite clever. Rather lazy, which is good for a nearly 80-year-old owner (don't worry, the dog will go to my sister or me if and when our mother passes away and she knows us both well), and not a big barker.

[FourteenthDoctor]

My nan had chihuahuas. Vicious fuckers they were. Pretty sure they are in the top few most terrorising dogs

[Blueberrymuffin40]

@OohKittens

This is my boy

Beautiful thank you for sharing

[Blueberrymuffin40]

@welshdaisy

I have a chihuahua cross. He is so lovely and is a great asset to our family. He was attacked by a bigger dog that ran up to him off lead and now is a little nervous and wary of other dogs. Having said that, he loves my parents dog and my next door neighbours dog. He's fine with people he doesn't know, but will initially bark if someone knocks the door. I wouldn't be without him. The only thing with mine is that he's really sensitive to certain foods. He can't eat just anything and treats upset his tummy too. We have to be careful with what we feed him. I suppose any dog can suffer so that's not really relevant I guess

So sweet thank you for sharing.

[Blueberrymuffin40]

Bet its hard to not wrap them up in cotton wool and let them be dogs.

[Blueberrymuffin40]

@osbertthesyrianhamster

My mother has a one-year-old female and she's absolutely adorable. She's quite clever. Rather lazy, which is good for a nearly 80-year-old owner (don't worry, the dog will go to my sister or me if and when our mother passes away and she knows us both well), and not a big barker.

That's good to hear apparently chihuahuas are meant to be barky suppose it's the luck of the draw.