Any chihuahua owners here?

[leavingtime]

I'd be interested to hear of your experiences of owning a chihuahua pup/dog as I am interested in having one.

No children here now and a quiet household. Most I've known of have had another one as company. Would one be ok on their own?
Are they as wilful as I've read about? Easy to house train?

I'm hoping to get a pup from a calm, quiet chihuahua mum [locally] to hopefully have a good start.

I've never owned one myself, but I'm a dog walker and have had a couple of chihuahuas on my books. In my experience, the following is true:

Difficult to house train.
Noisy and like the sound of their own bark.
Need lots of careful socialisation due to their size.
Very people-orientated and don't like being left alone.

I would also say to treat them as a dog and don't get tempted to carry them around all the time - they might be small but they're clever and can run and play just as much as a bigger breed, just be careful as they can be quite fragile :)

I've a chihuahua mix, a rescue who was never socialised. I love her but she is extremely hard work, loud enough to annoy neighbours, not good with other dogs, etc. If you're going to get one and you don't have experience training dogs, line up a trainer to help you socialize and doorbell train. House training was a breeze with ours but she'll never get over being afraid of people, and it makes having a social life tricky.

We have 2, a 2 year old and a 1 year old.

They have not been particularly difficult to house train or train in general, we found they picked up basic commands and toilet training really quickly, and we were lucky in that neither of them were chewers. We got our second one at the start of the year as we felt our eldest was lonely whilst we were at work.

It ended up being that our newest addition had pneumonia and she had to spend a lot of time at the vets.thank fully she pulled through (she was 500g it was touch and go as we were quite limited with treatment as she was so small) however as a result she hasn’t been socialised because then COVID came and the differences between our two are massive. She growls and barks and puts her guard up with anyone or anything she isn’t used to. She is terrified of anything new and it took 6 months for us to get her out walking. Our eldest in comparison absolutely loves meeting new people and other dogs and would walk for hours quite happily.

However, I won’t lie they can be quite yappy particularly at the windows with people walking Past and whilst they dont need super long walks, as puppies they are actually very hyper! However, we absolutely adore them, they cuddle up to us and are really lovely dogs. in our experience, It’s really important to socialise them, I would definitely suggest puppy classes and even doggy daycare if possible as the differences between our two as a result of Minimal socialisation is huge.

I have a 12 year old chihuahua, she's loud, snappy with kids, terrible at house training, antisocial and a complete diva. However we all adore her and she is the boss even though all the other dogs are way bigger!

I know a couple of great ones and lots of awful ones.

Pros: they like to cuddle under the blankets with you.

Cons: literally devil dogs with psychotic tendencies.

I’ve got two!

They are big dogs in a little dogs body, and can be incredibly stubborn which means they can be harder to house train.

Just because they are small, doesn’t mean they don’t like walking. I can walk the hind legs off one of them and she would still want to play when I get home.

They need a coat in winter as they do feel the cold easily, and they can be feisty with other dogs.

Mine are ok with children as they live with them. One adores kids and would happily sit on their knee and absorb all fuss from her own kid owners to strangers on the street.

The other prefers to be left alone, so If I do get kids approaching, I steer them towards the friendly one.

They can be kept alone (we had one on their own for a year) but they do prefer company. She loves her daughter (adopted not born) and both cuddle up to each other all the time.

Thanks everyone. Maybe chihuahuas would be a bit too full on for me. I would like a quiet, and 'hyper' is off putting. I also like walking so any dog of mine is exercised according to their needs.

I've had a JR x and 2 Cavalier King Charles in the past. I will have a rethink as not able to home a dog until after Christmas.

I've never met a well behaved or well socialised one. They are little horrors towards my dogs, if you get one please meet both parents and socialise them properly.

Just because they are small it doesn't mean they can be aggressive.

I have a large lurcher who is thoroughly terrorised by one that we see on a local walk!

Never owned one but I walk my dogs past a local house where they have four. On dry days they are out in the garden going ballistic, barking & screaming at everyone who dares to walk past their house. On wet days they are all on the windowsill of an upstairs front room where they can see even more so curse & shout louder.

My friend has 2 chihs and a mini schnauzer. The chihs are lovely. Friendly to people and dogs (albeit a little scared/worried by big dogs but that’s understandable) chilled in the house but love a walk and playing ball. Little bit yappy if they hear a noise. Cuddly, sweet, very clever and know lots of tricks.
Great with her children, adapted to the presence of a baby like it was nothing.

The schnauzer on the other hand... absolutely nightmare.

I think a lot of the problem with a great many chihuahuas is not the dogs but the owners.

They're feisty little dogs that need good consistent training but due to their small size many owners want to treat them like babies and try to turn them into handbag dogs, often not bothering to train them at all.

Not surprisingly they end up untrained, frustrated animals that bark excessively.

I've know several chihuahuas, all of them lucky enough to have been owned by sensible people who trained them well, properly exercised them and treated them like dogs and not toys.

As a consequence they were delightful, full of fun and spirit, not aggressive and certainly not 'devil dogs.

As I say, they are feisty dogs, but properly trained and socialised they can be absolutely lovely dog.

I have a small dog (not a chihuahua) whose breed has a reputation for barking excessively. It's perfectly possible to train such dogs to bark less, which I have done with her.

And of course, if a dog is bored it's more likely to yap all day; that applies to big dogs as well as small ones.

My neighbour has one, it’s incredibly annoying, yappy, snarly thing I could quite easily drop kick (joking on that part obviously) they also have two other larger dogs and I have a dog, the Chithing just goes bonkers whenever we, our dog, their other dogs, people, any noise whatsoever is heard. It makes it very difficult to enjoy our garden.

images.app.goo.gl/CdqVwP1QT3Gz69T49
Above is true of 90% unfortunately.

What about cavalier King Charles spaniel?

Small, but a little lap dog

My SIL has one bought for my niece who wanted a designer handbag dog

He’s never been neutered or socialised, I call him the sex pest as that’s all that seems to be on his mind. When he meets out DDog (large breed spayed bitch) he wants to hump her but if she tries to sniff him he tries to bite her. Totally unsocialised, tries to hump the DCs arms etc. I’ve said to SIL to neuter him but she doesn’t want to. I feel sorry for him. Wanders about on an extendi lead growling and barking.

Think about a Pom. Very nice small dogs as long as you socialize well and treat like a dog, and generally healthy.

I somewhat inadvertently adopted two brothers, sickly rescue Chihuahuas, nine years ago. First-time dog guardian.

Amazing, dear, loving creatures. Suoer smart. Stubborn but sweet. Very protective of me but adore other people.

One really doesn't like to go out in winter but both readily trained to disposable puppy pads, which is handy for travel and staying in others' homes.

They love attention and adventure. Easily learn simple tricks. Sleep on my bed. Are ok when I am at work , mostly sleep. Never had a problem with them barking.

I would never kennel them; they are too small. Found a woman willing to do live-in pet sitting when I travel, which is a bit of a pain to have the house company ready upon leaving for a trip, but worth it.

All in all they are delightful little individuals; highly recommend. Many of the so-called issues with chihuahua have never arisen here. And it's handy to have dogs small enough to carry about.

There are two in the informal doggy group we socialise with a couple of days a week.

Those ones are still yappy but the owner wanted to socialise them like any dog, so let them socialise with larger dogs she could already trust and knew.

Those chihuahuas are good with other dogs as a result and don't bite or pester. The worst thing is when owners just pick up their smaller dogs.

Hi,

I work for a rehoming charity and have fostered three chihuahuas over the last year, each for approx a month. I wasn't overly keen on chihuahuas until I had the opportunity to really get to know some and they are cracking little dogs with hilarious personalities. I would definitely consider one when we do get a permanent dog.

I think that the breed stereotypes can become a self-fulfilling prophecy because owners think that's how they are meant to act so put less effort into training otherwise. (e.g., if they are hard to toilet train I will just accept they are never going to be fully toilet trained. Or, small dogs are yappy, i wont bother to train mine to stop barking).

I currently have a pair (3 years and 5 years) staying with me. They were from a hoarders house, the owner was unwell and they never got walked or taken out in the garden. The only time they are vocal on walks is when they see another dog close up but this is due to the lack of socialisation and this has already been improving over the last month (with rewarding them for being quiet whilst a dog is at a distance). These girls don't bark any more often than other dogs we've fostered but it is surprisingly loud and shrill when they do bark which gives them the yappy reputation.

I would call them anything but hyper! I'm working from home and they sleep/snooze under a blanket in their beds (or on my lap) most of the day. They will have little short play sessions with one another but only for 5 to 10 mins every few hours. They have also started playing with toys, which is adorable, and they will play for again maybe 10 mins a couple of times a day and then they are zonked.

They weren't toilet trained when they arrived but with regular opportunities to go outside and treats when they toilet outdoors they are already making an effort to hold it.

The other one we fostered was a puppy (and I was very very tempted to keep her, if we'd seen covid coming then we probably would have).
She was an incredibly affectionate, bright and gentle puppy. We put loads of effort into socialising her and starting her training whilst we had her and she was super bright and easy to train. She was not at all yappy, in fact she only made any vocalisations when playing. And even as a three month puppy I wouldn't have said she was hyper, she would have zoomies a couple of times a day like all puppies.

So what I'm saying is, don't rule them out because of concerns about them being hyper, they don't need much exercise compared to other breeds so as long as they are getting what they need and some play sessions they shouldn't be constantly hyper and demanding activity.

And they are not difficult to train, it's just knowing how to do it. Dogs Trust have got lots of advice for training all the basics you might need for whatever breed you do decide on :)
www.dogstrust.org.uk/help-advice/training/

Best of luck :D

I think that the breed stereotypes can become a self-fulfilling prophecy because owners think that's how they are meant to act so put less effort into training otherwise. (e.g., if they are hard to toilet train I will just accept they are never going to be fully toilet trained. Or, small dogs are yappy, i wont bother to train mine to stop barking).

@PetPositive Absolutely spot on.

I have a chi.

Mine has not been easy to house train and can be very stubborn; sometimes I do wonder if he’s just thick!

With regards the yapping, he rarely ever barks - only if there’s someone at the door (which I’m happy with anyway).

He’s calm and good with kids of all ages and equally enjoys long walks as he does snuggling.

He’s a great little dog and he truly enhances our life by being in it. We feel very fortunate to have him. It’s not the breed I would have ‘chosen’ but we found it impossible to adopt due to the age of our kids at the time. However, I’d get another like a shot.

The few I have met have been bark snappy things.
What are you looking for from a dog?
I would suggest looking at the Endangered British breeds as may of them are excellent pets but are endangered as there is no money to be made in breeding them often due to small litter sizes
www.thekennelclub.org.uk/getting-a-dog/are-you-ready/vulnerable-native-breeds/

Now for something completely different and possibly a breed you have never heard of

www.donthibernate.co.uk/dummys-guide-to-dandie-dinmont-terriers/

@villainousbroodmare

images.app.goo.gl/CdqVwP1QT3Gz69T49 Above is true of 90% unfortunately.

It's true in a great many cases, but I suspect it's because 90% of them are owned by stupid people with no idea how to train or look after a dog and think it's acceptable to stick the poor bloody things in a hand bag and use them like a toy.

And yes, they aren't the sweetest tempered dogs as a rule, but any animal would be a mixture of aggressive and fearful if treated the way many are treated.

Come to that, so would I.

The devil dog comments really saddens me We have a 6 month old chi and he's just so lovely and great addition to our family. Before we got him the best advice was to train him like he was a Rottweiler and it's paid off superbly. Still, I have people laughing at me when I've told them I'm taking him to puppy classes, teaching him recall etc. People seem to think it's ridiculous. I guess it goes to show why they have a poor reputation as training them isn't seen a necessity.

We never used potty pads, just took him out several times a day and soon enough you'll start to notice a pattern in their potty needs. There were accidents but as he's so small, they were easy to clean. He's six months on Saturday and looks like he's now turning a corner as we haven't had an accident for a while. He never had an accident at nighttime though and I only had to spend 3 nights in the beginning to take him out for a 3am pee, other than that he has slept through.

He's also not chewy or destructive at all. He's never been biting the kids or the adults either. He sometimes mouths a bit but it is very gentle. He's very playful but not hyper at all . He also enjoys long naps in his crate, especially if he has his heat pad with him.

He absolutely loves meeting people and is everyone's best friend. He can be bit weary towards unknown dogs but not for long. His best buddies are a cockapoo and another lab puppy. I've gone out of my way to socialise him with other dogs, especially with big ones.

In the evenings, he sits on the sofa with us. In the beginning he had zoomies right after the dinner time but this is fairly standard behaviour for all the puppies. Now he flops on the sofa like the rest of us and doesn't move until the bed time . He might alternate between our laps and his snuggle sack but he's very content on just chilling the evenings with us.

He's also such a funny personality, very clever and loves to learn new tricks. Being an easy portable size too is a huge bonus.

This turned out to be a bit of an essay but it is frustrating to read people slacking of this breed and even more so being frustrated at those who have a chi but won't bother training them at all.