Cooee Chihuahua owners- I need to pick your brains!

[sleepysox]

We are going to see a 7 month old chi on Sunday, with a view to buying it. Woohoo! I'm so excited I hardly slept last night!

If it all goes well, and she's the right dog for us, there's a few things I'll need to buy and I want to make sure I buy the right things.

I've researched insurance, food, harnesses etc, but I need help with the smaller things. I've also got a list of questions I need to ask the seller.

What's the best :
grooming brush (she's got a short coat)?
gentle shampoo?
chewy toy?

What are the absolute basics I'll need initially?

Hope someone can help

Who is selling him/where did you find him?

Am I being subjected to questionning by the dog police?

What does it matter? Why do you need to know? Can't you just answer my questions?

Are you automatically assuming she's from a) a puppy farm b) a breeder c) stolen?

The lady I'm buying from is a friend of a friend whose going through a traumatic personal time (through no fault of her own) and realises she doesn't have the time to invest in a dog.

In case you want to know our circumstances- DH works from home every day, I work part time and we have fields, woods, heathland galore very close by to explore with a new doggy member of our family.

Hopefully I've proved my credentials enough here to show I'm going to be a responsible owner.

I'm not automatically assuming anything. That's why I asked. 7 months is a difficult age for a dog, many of them end up in rescues or being sold at that age. That's why I asked. That's all.

Also what would be wrong with buying a dog from a responsible breeder?

I've never had a Chi, by all accounts they're snappy, bossy little buggers. Not my cup of tea at all.

Pups in general will need:

A Kong
Something for teething/chewing like a nyla bone
I use a flea comb to comb out my dogs, but any brush/comb will do. Ask you pets shop
Animalogic white dog shampoo is good, as is their conditioner. My dog has sensitive skin and is fine with this, it's also good at removing rotting crab flesh and grass stains from white dogs.
The usual lead/collar/bowls/bedding/crate etc.

Crate training would be useful.

Questions to ask would be:
How is recall?
How is the dog with other dogs on and off lead?
How well does the dog walk on a lead?
What diet is he/she on atm? (it's best not to switch diet immediately, it can upset their tums)
Is it house trained?
Is it crate trained?
Where does it sleep on a night? A dog used to sleeping with it's owners would find it difficult to adjust to being shut away from the family overnight, although it's not impossible to retrain, you will end up with sleepless nights.

Thanks so much for your answers. I appreciate you taking the time to reply to me.

Your first post gave me the impression that you were thinking I'd not done my research and was going to get her from a puppy farm etc.

When I mentioned breeder, I meant irresponsible breeder, those who breed their dogs often and when the bitches can't have any more litters they palm them off on a rescue- they are tonnes of these dogs in one particular rescue I looked at.

I've always wanted a chi, and in doing my research I've made friends with 2 chi owners who invite me round to cuddle their dogs. They seem very docile as long as they are treated like dogs not babies and so don't become affected by small dog syndrome.

Apparently she's crate trained, house trained and good on lead, but I haven't asked yet about recall.

Thanks again for replying to my post and I apologise for misinterpretting your post.

The main reason I asked is because we are currently fostering a 9 month old pup and he is a total nightmare outside of the house. A complete angel inside the house, but outside of the house it's as if his main purpose in life is to cause me and himself stress, misery and serious injury. I would bet my last £1 that this is the reason he ended up back in the pound at such a young age.

He was better yesterday but the day before that he drove me to tears (and a sprained ankle and shoulder) on his walk and I was counting the hours until his long term placement came up. After yesterday I feel slightly better with him, especially now I have time off after my holiday and know I would have time to do some training with him.

Many people sell on their pets at this age because they haven't trained them and can no longer manage them, of course they don't admit this to potential buyers, because they want to recoup as much of their costs as they can. Too many of these pups end up being sold on again and again until (if they're lucky) they end up in rescue with some serious separation issues and a total lack of training.

Haven't got chihuahuas but have got Yorkies so same size.

You say she's a short coated one? So you'll be best with a soft bristle brush while she's a puppy, mine have very long coats so need different.
Shampoos, I use Johnson's baby shampoo for their faces & puppy shampoo for their bodies. You can get some good ones cheaply in TKMaxx, much better selection than Pets at Home. If you want to go luxurious there's places like Petcetera online. You shouldn't need conditioner like mine. A useful thing though is one of those quick dry towels, a people's one, believe Poundland stock them now for £1 but zi got them from M&S for £5.
Chewy toys, just get smallish ones, the small Nylabone is good. Don't get hide chews, not really good for them. If you get squeaky toys, I find the soft toy ones are best, or latex. Not rubber as they chew bits off.
Good luck, she sounds lovely. I like chihuahuas, met quite a few at ring raft classes. Full of life, very affectionate & the ones I know are not in the least snappy.

Ring craft, flipping auto correct!

Doinmecleaning that sounds like a complete nightmare. How's your ankle and shoulder now? Are you able to rest up at all?

The lady I'm buying from seems very clued up, but I shall find out on Sunday. We're all going to the park with the dog as part of the 'getting to know you' process, so hopefully that'll show up any difficulties.

Aquelven thanks for the detailed grooming info + chew toy info. I already have an organic baby shampoo and a pure bristle baby brush- will they do?

The microfibre towels sounds like a good idea, I'll have to get some of those too.

What's ring craft?
Good to know the chis you've met aren't snappy either.

The shampoo & brush sound fine.
Ring craft is training for puppies, or grown dogs, in how to behave in a show ring, so they feel happy mixing with others, ie not scrapping with the dog in front or taking offence at the judge when he tries to feel their twiddly bits, or snarl at him when inspecting their gnashers.
It basically involves walking round in endless circles with other dogs, standing still when told etc, but it does teach them to be confident with other dogs & people & to pay you, the handler, lots & lots of attention instead of sniffing other dogs bums or other more interesting stuff.
It's usually really friendly & not so intense as obedience training.

Thanks for the reply.
Showing a dog sounds like it's a real skill. I didn't realise so much went into it.