I paid a deposit today

[Powertothepetal]

I feel absolutely sick

This puppy is much wanted actually, we’ve waited such a long time as our youngest child is much more lively than our others and before now we haven’t felt he’s mature enough around a puppy.

It’s not our first dog, we already have a lovely adult dog.

The puppy is a toy breed, which we agreed we wanted because they are more portable, taking up much less room and less expensive to feed, medicate etc.

The kids are beyond excited, the puppy is due to come home the second week of September.

I just can’t shake this terrible feeling of dread.
I feel briefly excited then back to dread.

I didn’t feel like this when buying our current dog, I felt nothing but joy and excitement.

I think my fear is largely due to its size.
Our current dog is medium to large and was such a sturdy, chunky puppy.
I never felt worried about injuring her or her getting ill, which is silly because obviously all puppies are vulnerable to illness.

This puppy is just so SO small.
And being a toy breed he’ll be a small adult too.
Roughly the size of current dog’s head fully grown!

I’m finding myself worrying about things I just didn’t think about when current dog was a puppy; hypoglycaemia, heatstroke, chills, being trodden on, breaking a leg jumping off a chair, the kids dropping it and so on.

I’m worried about current dog too.
Current dog is gentle, she’s lived with kittens, she’s had rescued hedgehogs and other wildlife in the house with her.
But she is hit and miss with other dogs.
She has never bitten though.
Generally, she is fine with small dogs; another major reason why we went with a toy breed.
She has met puppies of this puppy’s breed before too and been absolutely fine.
But I’m still worried in case she accidentally injures him (I don’t think she would intentionally hurt him)

We have everything set up; collar, lead, tag, pen, crate, toys etc etc.
We have a planned routine for sleep, play etc.
We have a socialisation plan.

I’m just still feeling really worried.

What doesn’t help is the breed has a reputation for being snappy.
We didn’t tell anyone we were getting a puppy when we got current dog.
This time round I’ve been so excited I’ve told everyone and literally everyone has said some variant of OMG why?!
They are horrible, vicious things.

I just don’t know what to do.
Will it be okay?

I don’t feel able to back out, the kids will be devastated and I’ll be constantly questioning if it was right.

Ah now, how can people say an entire breed of dog are 'horrible and vicious'? Pay no heed to comments from others, I'd say that's what's been niggling at you.

Is it a chihuahua? I have never liked dogs then we adopted an adult chihuahua and oh my goodness he is amazing. I'm hoping when we move next year to a bigger house I can get another.

I massively got the fear when we got our puppy and despite being absolutely ready and prepared I was terrified when we brought her home. It just felt like a massive responsibility.

You need to work out if it's that sort of feeling or whether you really do think this is a mistake.

What breed is the little one??

As others have said, you need to work out if this is a normal apprehension or a mistake?

He is a chihuahua.
He’s absolutely gorgeous, we’ve met both parents aswell who are also lovely.

I guess I’m just feeling scared of such a fragile little dog.
DH has had dogs all his life but always big ones, our current dog is a medium/large girl.
It’s stupid because we specifically wanted a small dog, I don’t know, it’s just hitting home now I suppose just how fragile this little life is.
Now the deposit is paid it’s feeling ‘real’.

He is just such a delicate little boy.
The comments from other people are playing on my mind too, our current dog is so well behaved.
Tolerant, quiet, gentle, friendly, I can take her on the train, bus, anywhere.
Everyone I speak to assumes our lovely little boy is going to be a yappy, snappy, vicious little nightmare!

Fuck other people. The breed is amazing and so easy to dry off and take everywhere. Mine is long haired and does need to wear tops in winter as he feels the cold. If you are on instagtam follow thechihuahuasisters and snugglesack the woman has just got two puppies and they are so precious.

I wonder how many chihuahuas the people saying that they are horrible vicious things have actually met.

Chihuahuas have been given a bad reputation because of the way many of them are treated.

Of course, being treated as a handbag dog, dressed up and used as an accessory when in actual fact you're a feisty, strong willed little animal is going to cause massive frustration and anger in the dog and would turn any dog into a horrible, vicious creature.

I've known several chihuahuas in the past and everyone of them was treated and trained exactly the same as any larger dog and I can honestly say that everyone of them was feisty, charming and funny and not in the least vicious.

I won't say they are the easiest dogs in the world because they can be very strong willed but treat them properly, train them like you would any other dog and they will be joyful, loyal and lovely.

As the PP said, it really depends how they are treated and handled. It really pisses me off that toy breeds are carried around in bloody handbags and not trained properly.

Yes little dogs can be more yappy but a lot of the issues are down to the way they are trained and treated.

I am certainly hoping he is going to be charming and lovely and no, he definitely won’t be treated as a handbag dog!

Now, how do I avoid breaking him? 🤦🏻‍♀️
This is what is really driving my fear I think.
He is just so tiny and delicate!
😭

I think the thought and consideration you are giving this matter speaks volumes for your commitment and your concerns are because you care so much.

This wee dug is going to a fabulous home. And totally agree that too many people equate a breed’s reputation with the breed itself rather than the twats who mistreat/misuse them.

But you are entirely unreasonable not to have posted any photos of puppy, or current dog or kittens/cats/hedgehogs

There’s a hell of a lot of these posts lately. One each day for the past three days.
Are people researching breeds/dogs at all, or just suck it and see.

It's so awful how people generalise. I've got 3 Jack Russells and people say the same about them.

In reality they are the sweetest, funniest, most characterful dogs and make my black lab look like a right boring dullard in comparison.

I have a small dog, different breed and probably slightly bigger - 5.8 kilo fully grown so have been there with a very small puppy.

Don't let the children pick him up, a small wriggly puppy is very easily dropped. Try to keep him off furniture, even falling from a sofa could hurt him.

Also a good idea to make sure everyone learns to look before they sit down in case he's managed to get himself onto the sofa or a chair, and of course no running with him as he could get under small feet.

I've got boy chihuahua Definitely get him neutered as soon as you can as they are prime to marking in the house.
They are the most,fiesty,funny adorable breed and i wouldn't be without mine.If you have any more questions id be happy to help.

prone

My 5 yr old boy

I've met precisely two chihuahuas. One was a snappy little beast that actually snarled at me, which is unusual because dogs usually adore me. The other was a total sweetheart, tiny and funny, she was a lovely wee dog. A big character in a tiny form.

@DramaAlpaca mine has both those personalities

My mum has always had chihuahuas. From me being a child. Non if them have ever been snappy or vicious.

That comes from people forgetting to treat them like dogs. My aunt had one and it was really vicious. But she did treat it like a handbag dog.

Simple fact is that you don't know how your older dog will react. Our older dog loves all dogs, even dogs that have stayed. But absolutely doesn't appreciate the new puppy. Though it's getting a lot better.

Its a really hard decision and I do think the most sensible owners do have concern. You just need to figure out if it's just a bit of normal concern, or if you really don't think this dog will suit.

When I was a child we had a Chihuahua and when she died, my Mum had a Pomeranian. This was in the days before training, expert or otherwise was popular.
Neither, were vicious or yappy, in fact they hardly ever barked. They were just the family dogs and treated as such, no fuss, no handbags!

There is nothing delicate about a Chihuahua! They are one of the longest living breeds. Fabulous little dogs with huge personalities. The fact that you are nervous shows you are taking your responsibilities seriously.
The problem with little dogs is when they aren't trained. Yours, with training and socialisation will do fine. Just make sure everyone is involved with training and feeding, especially the childre, this way he won't fixate on one person.

I have a chi and he was tiny when I brought him home. I was paranoid I'd stand on him but you'll be surprised how witty they are.

Yes, Saidtoomuch is right about their longevity, they are one of the healthiest breeds as well.

They are tough little things, but when very small you do have watch out they don't get injured.

Congratulations! You sound like a well-prepared, grounded, lovely owner and that puppy is lucky to have you.

People are weird, easy for me to say but ignore the ridiculous "urgh why?" comments. They're not constructive and it's so rude. My mother was similar about our newest dog. I honestly don't know what goes through peoples heads when they think that's fine to say. ANYWAY.

As for the tiny/delicate aspect, I don't have tonnes of experience but I have two large breed dogs (35-50 kg)and used to sometimes look after my friend's toy breed and he was always fine. He got under my feet and in my way less than the big dogs and even when he got the zoomies and would run around the house like a crazy dog, all over the furniture, up, down everywhere, he was always fine.

Kikopup has lots of videos on YouTube and Instagram. She has lots of dogs including two chihuahuas and one is a puppy. You could maybe watch those to see how she handles them to give you a bit of confidence?