I have two chihuahuas currently, and mine are both lovely despite the “characteristics” deemed by the breed on social media etc. However, we did get them from fully screened breeders and we raised them with respect and training as if they were a much much larger breed of dog. Due to the fact they’re from different breeders does mean they have different temperaments, so I’d look for KC registered, council licensed breeders who have previous litters on the ground and a good sense of community among the puppy owners/to breeder. And to ensure that both parents are balanced dogs (no reactivity, and generally friendly). They need to be extensively health tested as unfortunately due to their small size (and alike to any dog) they can have health issues such as; heart conditions, patellar issues with their joints, dental problems to list a few. So definitely look into lifetime insurance policies, as they’re one of the longest living breeds when healthy.
Mine are both “adult to senior” now, and long haired and require grooming every 3-4 months with daily brushing to make sure their undercoat is healthy and they’re knot free, however smooth coats don’t require this as much.
Don’t fall into the fad of them being “teacup” when fully grown that doesn’t exist, they’re small by nature but they’re poorly bred runt to runt unfortunately and comes with its own line of health problems specifically with their skull developments and as everything is so tiny their predisposed heart conditions can be even worse. Should be around 2-4kg as an adult.
One of mine was easier to train than the other, but both happily do tricks/recall/standard commands. Both are fully toilet trained but, again one is a little bit of a pain as he refuses to go outside in the rain! Will literally have to put him out in the garden or else he’d hold his bladder for hours on end. Neither of mine have ever eaten a full meal in one sitting alike to what my other dogs do; they “graze” throughout the day, regardless of us trying to train them to eat in one sitting. However, both self regulate their weight very well and always have done despite the food being down all day. Neither are particularly yappy (but one will chase and bark at birds as I think he believes he has a high prey drive). They get a range of walks from long distance countryside, and are confident walking through mud/puddles/under fencing to “round the town” as we’ve always done this since they were puppies to build confidence around all sorts of livestock, other dogs, children and are social without being over-socialised to the point they’re reactive because they want to meet everything and everyone!
Ensure from day one your chi is happy to have its paws/ears/legs etc messed with from all angles to help with future vet and grooming visits as a lot of owners unfortunately think their fear regarding these situations is okay and as they’re small it’s fine if they bite and react - it’s not okay for them nor the staff if everyone is stressed.
They bond really closely with their family and may choose “one member of the family” to really love on, so make sure that separation anxiety does not become an issue as anxious chihuahuas are common enough as is, and should not be the desired outcome for the breed. Get them comfortable from when they’re relatively young to be left for periods of time away from the person, and comfortable crating (good as a wind down space for them but also good desensitisation for kennels/vets/groomers) and should hopefully prevent any future resource guarding of humans (you see this a lot on Instagram/tiktok unfortunately).