A few years ago, a close friend of mine used to have a wonderful Lhasa Apso puppy, Molly. Now Molly was the smartest dog I’ve ever seen. My friend had trained to do a number of really cool tricks. These weren’t your normal dogs tricks such as sit or beg or anything as basic as that. My friend would hide a dog treat in one hand and hold out both her hands and ask Molly to find the treat.

Every time I saw Molly do this trick, she always picked the correct hand.

Molly is also the only dog that I have seen who sorted her food before she ate it. My friend used to feed her a combination of wet food and dry dog biscuits. Now Molly wasn’t all that keen on the dog biscuits, so she would pick through her food, remove the dog biscuits and put them to one side. Once she’d completed this task, she would settle down, eat the wet food and leave the dog biscuits hidden in a corner.

With time, it became pretty obvious that Molly’s intelligence was a real double-edged sword. Molly hadn’t been feeling well, so my friend took her to the vet. The vet really couldn’t find anything wrong with her and suggested some vitamin tablets may help, just in case Molly’s diet was missing something. The idea was that Molly would take one tablet every day.

Molly really wasn’t keen on eating these tablets though. My friend tried to hide the vitamin tablet in Molly’s food. Molly would just sort through the food, remove the tablet and finish her meal. My friend tried to encourage her to eat the tablet by wrapping it in a piece of cheese. Molly would take this parcel and appear to eat the whole thing. My friend would assume that Molly’d also eaten the vitamin, until she found it lying on the kitchen floor.

If I remember rightly, my friend gave up trying to get Molly to eat the tablets! Fortunately, whatever Molly was suffering from seemed to go away and the urgency to get her to eat vitamin tablets reduced.

I was reminded of this story when I was looking for dog vitamins online for my Chihuahua, Paco. There seemed to be a number of different places to buy vitamin tablets which wouldn’t really be suitable for Paco. You see, it turns out that Paco is a very smart little chihuahua and there is NO WAY I can convince Paco to swallow a tablet, much like dear old Molly!

I really needed to find something more suitable.

My online searches eventually lead me to Pro-Vita Formula vitamin dog biscuits. The big difference with these is that the vitamins have been baked directly into the biscuit, so that I don’t have to try and convince Paco to eat them! As far as he’s concerned they are “just” his doggie treats.

The other thing that really impressed me about the Pr0-Vita biscuits (besides the fact that Paco loves them!) is that they will also take care of Paco’s teeth. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to brush a Chihuahua’s teeth, but it’s not much fun, I can tell you! Paco’s Pro-Vita biscuits also reduce the amount of tartar build up his teeth AND cure his really awful doggie breath!

If you are interested in trying out Pro-Vita vitamin biscuits for your pup, you can check out the maker’s website (and I have included a link to their site just below). In fact, I believe that they have an offer on at the moment, where you can get a month’s supply of Pro-Vita for just the costs of shipping. These biscuits are made for much larger dogs that Paco, so the month’s supply that they send me lasts me much longer than that!

Pro-Vita Formula Vitamin Biscuits for Dogs

For me, these vitamin biscuits have been a great find. I can rest assured knowing that Paco is getting all the right vitamins without the hassle of trying to force him to eat something he’d really rather not!

Technorati Tags: dog vitamin, dog vitamins, tea cup chihuahua, teacup chihuahuas, vitamins for dogs

Who else wants a chihuahua that’s happy, healthy, and FULL of life? I know I do and I’m sure you do, too! And that’s exactly what you’ll be getting when you read the Ultimate Chihuahua Care Handbook and follow the great advice it contains.

Whether your Chihuahua is a young puppy or a mature adult, whether you’ve owned a Chihuahua all your life or picked one up just today, you’ll turn into a Chihuahua expert in no time, thanks to this quick, fun and easy handbook!

Click here to get YOUR copy right now!

]]> http://www.teacup-chihuahuas.org/teacup-chihuahuas/the-ultimate-chihuahua-care-handbook/feed 0 http://www.teacup-chihuahuas.org/teacup-chihuahuas/rescuing-teacup-chihuahuas http://www.teacup-chihuahuas.org/teacup-chihuahuas/rescuing-teacup-chihuahuas#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:30:59 +0000 sanjeevbhadresa http://www.teacup-chihuahuas.org/teacup-chihuahuas/rescuing-teacup-chihuahuas When people decide that they have a place in their heart (and home) for a tea cup chihuahua (or teacup chihuahuas!), the first thing that most people do is hop on the internet and look for a good local breeder that they can go and visit.

If a local breeder has some adorable teacup chihuahuas, the decision to purchase is made pretty quickly. In all honestly, who cannot help but love an adorable tea cup chihuahua pup?

Unfortunately, there are a number of owners that do not do their homework before purchasing a tea cup chihuahua. If the owner and the tea cup chihuahua are not a good fit, the tea cup could find herself being sold to new owners, or find that her new home is an animal shelter.

If you have made the decision that teacup chihuahuas are for you, why not also check with your local animal shelters? With teacup chihuahuas being so popular, some undoubtedly end up in a shelter once the novelty has worn off. Teacup chihuahuas you may find in an animal shelter need just as much love as one you buy from a breeder!

With this in mind, perhaps you have rescued a tea cup chihuahua (or even a “standard” chihuahua) from a pet shelter? Maybe the chihuahua was found wandering the streets cold and hungry or was rescued from an unsuitable environment?

If you have rescued a chihuahua and you have a story to tell, would you be interested in sharing your story and perhaps seeing it in print?

If so, I may just be able to assist you! Kyla Duffy over at www.happytailsbooks.com would be interested in hearing your story. Kyla is currently putting together a book based on stories from rescued chihuahua owners. I understand that a significant portion of the proceeds will be going to assist with dog rescue efforts. Sounds like a win/win to me!

If you are interested in submitting your story, you can share your “tail” here – http://happytailsbooks.com/submit.htm

You should try and take teacup chihuahuas outside every two hours to be on the safe side and feed him on a schedule throughout the day so that he can be taken outside afterwards. Young puppies may need to go out at night also unless they can hold on until morning.

If your tea cup chihuahua pup wakes up after a nap, take him out then too. If they are four months old they can usually hold it. Make sure you take your chihuahua to the same spot each time. If you have any paper that your pup has soiled, place it in the same spot so that the scent will mark the area. It is important to use the same words to tell your tea cup chihuahua puppy to defacate or urinate as he will begin to recognise these words and know exactly what to do.

When your teacup chihuahuas have done their duty, please use plenty of praise immediately after. If praise is given before, your puppy will associate the praise with simply reaching his potty place rather than completing the task. It is possible to use treats as an alternative to praise but praise really works best for your dog.

If you are outside and playing with your teacup chihuahuas, before you both go inside, take the pup to her potty spot and see if she wishes to use it. The more opportunities your puppy gets to go to her spot, the more she will use it and it will gradually become a habit for her.

Once you have got your schedule in place, it still pays to be vigilant. If your chihuahua begins to sniff the floor or walk around in circles, take her outside quickly to avoid an accident. Try not to leave your puppy on her own for too long, this will upset your schedule and also upset your puppy. She may become lonely and bored so she will become destructive and any damage caused is not really her fault.

This brings me to crating. If leaving your teacup chihuahuas pup for a while, either choose to leave them in a room with a paper covered floor, or a crate with the same. Make sure that your crate is large enough for your puppy to turn around in. Leave a radio on and give her some chew toys to play with, or ask a neighbor to pop in and check on her perhaps taking her for a walk. Please also be aware that using paper can delay full potty training. If a tea cup chihuahua uses paper first rather than going directly outside, it simply prolongs the experience.

Accidents can sometimes occur and if you catch your tea cup chihuahua pup mid-accident, call his name to stop him and pick him up quickly, taking him outside to his place. Never hit, shout or scold your puppy as this detrimental to the whole process and your dog’s personality. If you yell at your puppy, he will not understand why and begin to fear you.

In conclusion, most teacup chihuahuas can be trained by six months but it usually takes a year to become totally accident free.

Enjoy your tea cup chihuahua, be patient with him and you will be successful.

Technorati Tags: chihuahua, tea cup chihuahua, teacup chihuahuas

In addition, the “molera” (soft spot at the top of tea cup chihuahua’s heads) do not seal completely. This often makes me think that there may be a market for tea cup chihuahua crash helmets!

These factors mean that your tea cup chihuahua is vulnerable to injury if not treated correctly.

So, what should you do?

Before purchasing teacup chihuahuas, I would endeavour to “tea cup chihuahua proof” your home. Look around the environment in which your tea cup chihuahua will be spending most of her time. Are there any large, heavy pieces of furniture which could topple and injure your pup?

You could also consider protecting your tea cup chihuahua by wrapping the furniture legs in bubble wrap to around 12 inches or so, just in case!

Given their tiny size, teacup chihuahuas may not be suitable for a household that have young, high energy children. It’s also suggested that you keep your teacup chihuahuas in a more quiet environment, especially when you first bring your new BFF home.

Consider how you would cope with a situation in which your pup manages to escape. I have heard it suggested that you tattoo a telephone number or something similiar to help you get your tea cup chihuahua back. Personally, I think there are far better, less barbaric options available.

A much better idea is to get your tea cup chihuahua microchipped. Your local vet will be able to tell you more about this, but essentially a small device is injected just under the skin. This device will hold all of the owner’s information, such as your name and current address. Should the worst ever happen and your pup be found, the rescuers will be able to scan her and return to you as soon as possible. Just remember to update your address if you move!

Technorati Tags: tea cup chihuahua, teacup chihuahuas

Recently, I have come across a few questions about whether is it ok to feed chocolate to teacup chihuahuas.

There you are, sitting on the sofa with your tea cup chihuahua sitting next to you. You break off a piece of chocolate from the bar and suddenly you have this furry little face pressed up against yours, looking longingly at your chocolate. What would it hurt just to give her a small piece? Nothing bad would happen, right?

My recommendation to you would be to resist those sad eyes. Chocolate is not good for your tea cup chihuahua (in fact for dogs in general).

There are 2 compounds present in chocolate which can spell trouble for teacup chihuahuas. These are caffeine and a compound called theobromine, both of which are found in cocoa beans. Of the two, theobromine is found in higher concentrations in cocoa beans than caffeine.

The actual amount of theobromine and caffeine present in the chocolate depends on the type of chocolate you are munching on. For example, dry cocoa powder has the highest concentrations of theobromine and caffeine (0.8 g of both compounds in one ounce of powder)per ounce, while milk chocolate contains 0.06 g of theobromine and caffeine per ounce. White chocolate has the lowest amount of cocoa in it and so has relatively low levels of these compounds.

But why are these compounds dangerous?

Theobromine in particular is removed from the dog’s bloodstream very slowly and so hangs around for a significant period of time (around 18 hours). During this time, theobromine can damage your tea cup chihuahua’s heart and kidneys.

Obviously, the more chocolate teacup chihuahuas consume, the greater the risk of theobromine causing damage.

Based on data from the ASPCA’s poison unit, significant toxic effects can be seen around 0.05g of theobromine per kg bodyweight of you teacup chihuahua. Since teacup chihuahuas tend not to weigh very much (in the order of a few pounds), I’m sure you can see that she wouldn’t need to consume very much of it to cause your tea cup chihuahua a serious problem.

What are the signs of chocolate poisoning?

Your tea cup chihuahua may exhibit signs of increased excitability and general restlessness. You may also see vomiting and diarrhea. If your tea cup chihuahua exhibits any of these symptoms after eating chocolate, have a vet assess her as soon as possible.

In summary, if you want to give your teacup chihuahuas a treat (and let’s face it, who stops at one tea cup chihuahua?) break open a bag of doggie treats instead!

Quite apart from chocolate, there are a number of other things that can be dangerous to dogs. Here are some additional resources for you to learn more!

• Poisonous Food For Dogs – Pet Health Forums – Dogs Health Big or small, fat or skinny, puppy or senior! Discuss all things related to Dog’s Health here! Dog illnesses are a very serious thing to deal with. Let’s help each other find the best course of action. Here is a list and some talk about things you should never feed your dog.

That said, if you are interested in how your little tea cup chihuahua started her life, this will of great interest to you!

When the female tea cup chihuahua is found to be pregnant, the breeder will start to keep an eye on the days. In some situations, the first stages of labor may pass without notice. However, you can detect these changes if you monitor your tea cup chihuahua’s temperature regularly. Normally, her temperature will be around 101F. Once she is pregnant, her temperature will drop a few degrees, to around 98F. The breeder may also have the dam X-rayed to determine the number of pups to be expected.

When the breeder finds that the temperature has fallen and remains at this level, there is normally around 12 hours before the dam begins to labor. This is normally accompanied by restlessness in your tea cup chihuahua. She may move around a lot in an attempt to get comfortable.

In addition, the dam may also start to vomit or “move her bowels” in an attempt to release the pressure in that area. There is also an increase in urination and limited interest in food.

At this point, the experienced breeder will collect a number of items to have on hand, just in case. These items will include warm towels (of course!), scissors (sterile), food, water, some antibacterial ointment and lubricant.

After some time, there may be some discharge from the vulva and it’s appearance may change; it may become more swollen. This will turn to a greenish discharge after a tea cup chihuahua pup is born. Your dam will now be digging in her box and contractions will begin. After several contractions you will see a balloon-like sac appear outside the vulva. This is the first of the teacup chihuahuas!

The tea cup chihuahua will start to lick her pups to clean them and remove the sac which encases them. At this point, the pup should start to breath on their own. Each tea cup chihuahua pup should be pushed out in around 15 minutes. If the dam appears to be straining and no puppy appears, the breeder may contact the vet for further assistance, depending on their experience.

Once the pups have been born, the umbilical cord will need to be cut, as the dam will be unable to do this. Taking the sterile scissors, the breeder will cut the cord (carefully!) leaving around an inch of cord attached to the pup.

As you can tell, breeding is not for the faint of heart!

Technorati Tags: tea cup chihuahua, teacup chihuahuas

Technorati Tags: tea cup chihuahua, teacup chihuahuas

There are some who think that breeding teacup chihuahuas or even dog breeding in general can make them some fast cash but they fail to realize that dog breeding involves a lot of time, energy, vets’ bills and registration fees. As I mentioned in a previous post – Teacup Chihuahuas, there are a number of things to be considered before breeding teacup chihuahuas.

For example, you must have a sound tea cup chihuahua bitch from which to breed. You must also recognize when your bitch comes into estrus as this is the only time that she can become pregnant.

Your tea cup chihuahua bitch must have an excellent pedigree and be free from all disease and parasites. She should also be checked over by your own vet to ensure that she is healthy for breeding. Your stud dog must also have the same attributes. Should there be a fault in an otherwise sound bitch, it can sometimes be corrected in the puppies by mating to a stud dog that lacks that fault. The parent teacup chihuahuas should have genes worthy of passing on.

The person that thinks, “Oh, I’ll just do it once before I get her spayed” or,”it would be wonderful for the kids to see” has no place as a breeder. You must firstly love teacup chihuahuas and be prepared to make certain sacrifices for your dogs and puppies. Show dogs can be bred but pet dogs, no, no ,no! Although most dogs have some faults, the show dog is less likely to have a lot of them. Please bear in mind that if your dogs are not AKC registered, they should not be bred.

Something to consider is that teacup chihuahuas often need c-sections. Please ask yourself if you can afford this, it can be very expensive. They can be carrying a lot of tea cup chihuahua puppies or the pups may simply have large heads thus requiring surgery to get them out of the mother. Some mother dogs reject their offspring after birth or do not produce enough milk to feed them adequately. This is particularly true if the mother does not have enough calcium. If this is the case your vet will need to give her a shot to prevent seizures. This shot contains calcium and vitamin D. If your tea cup chihuahua bitch shows any abnormal signs after delivering her puppies, like vomiting, calcium deficiency should be suspected.

Fading puppy syndrome can happen occasionally. The tea cup chihuahua pup will appear healthy one day, bright-eyed and happy but will then stop eating and will go downhill rapidly. I can only suggest that you keep the puppy warm and attempt to feed it every two hours, if this does not work and the pup continues to fail then it is better to let it go. Some breeders of teacup chihuahuas try so hard to hand-rear their pups but this is not the natural way and the sickly pup may die anyway in spite of everything being done to save it.

Sometimes the mother can risk her life. The tea cup chihuahua mother could contract an infection after birth. Are you prepared to lose her if problems happen during delivery? You would then have to raise the teacup chihuahua pups yourself and there is much more that a mother dog can teach her pups that we cannot. The puppies would be fed every two hours, their rears must be wiped with a soft damp cloth to stimulate elimination, a source of heat must be provided and even then, you may lose some pups.

Please think very seriously before breeding teacup chihuahuas (or even any breed). After all, so many dogs end up in shelters because their owners did not do their homework.

If you would like some additional information about breeding chihuahuas, these posts from other sites may be of interest to you:

The world’s smallest dog, teacup chihuahuas originally came from a northern part of Mexico sharing the same name, Chihuahua. It is thought that the Mayans made models of a similar dog and depicted the same in their paintings.. These pieces were thought to be from the 5th century AD so it could be assumed that this was the first human to canine relationship.

A native people of Mexico also cared for a small dog called the Techichi. The dog was apparently small with long legs long hair and a slightly humped backed. The toltecs were eventually conquered by the Aztecs and they also kept these little dogs as pets. It was customary to burn the dog of the owner at his funeral!

Many people looking for a chihuahua are attracted to teacup chihuahuas. These are the smallest of an already tiny breed, although I have seen “micro teacups” advertised.

A normal chihuahua weighs around five to six pounds whereas a tea cup chihuahua weighs less than four pounds.   Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar levels are more common in teacup chihuahuas. In much the same way as a human diabetic, the tea cup chihuahua can use more physical energy than it has glycogen reserves in the liver. This means that the tea cup chihuahua can rapidly show symptom like fatigue, shaking and finally fitting.

Treatment is available from your vet for this condition and will probably involve giving glucose and fluids to the animal, but if your teacup chihuahua is still walking and can take fluid, give plenty of sugar in water or try some Mountain Dew, both will help the problem. Regular small meals will ensure that dips in blood sugar level are much less common.

Another problem with teacup chihuahuas is the possibility of a larger molera.  The molera is the equivalent of a baby’s soft spot on it’s head. In some tea cup chihuahuas this never heals and therefore taking extra care to ensure that things like table legs are wrapped in bubble wrap is essential. To prevent injury to your tea cup chihuahua, take a good look around your home and tea cup chihuahua proof it! Baby gates are useful items  to keep your chihuahua contained.. It is also a good idea to teach children how to behave with tea cup chihuahua puppies. No vigorous play, you should teach your children how to hold your  tea cup chihuahua and above all, how to be extremely careful with him.

Larger chihuahuas are usually a better choice for young children..

Teacup chihuahuas like to play out with other chihuahuas and many people that I know hold parties for their tea cup chihuahuas!  One word of warning, if you live in a state where birds of prey are common, always supervise your teacup chihuahuas, they make ideal meals for hawks and the like!

When choosing your puppy, it is always best if you can go to see the breeder. You should be able to see the parents of your potential acquisition as well as receiving a health guarantee from the breeder. If you are particularly interested in teacup chihuahuas, make sure the your pup is not the runt of the litter. It can be easy to pass off the runt as a tea cup chihuahua simply because it is small for it’s age. More important than everything else, your teacup chihuahua may choose you!

If you enjoyed this article, please grab the feed as we will be adding new posts regularly. In the meantime, here are some additional resources you may find helpful!

• teacup chihuahuas – a breed profile – teacup chihuahuas are so popular at the moment – and have starred in many recent hollywood movies! one film was even just about chihuahuas – nothing else! these tiny little dogs are very similar to standard chihuahuas as there is no …

• teacup chihuahuas – teacup chihuahuas are one of the cutest dogs in the entire world, and seeing those adorable little dogs dressed up in the movies makes them tempting to want one for yourself, but is a teacup chihuahua right for you? …

• Teacup puppies Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:16:39 CDT – The weather will also affect teacup chihuahuaѕ moгe thаn otherѕ. Consider getting yοuг chihuahua а sweater fοr the winter time tο gіve some extra warmth and proteсtion.Teacup chihuahuas can make wondeгfυl pets. …