New Puppy Tips & General Health Info.

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Important Chihuahua Health Info & more! (Click here)
 

DIET AND FEEDING: . If you were caring for a human baby you would be feeding it every few hours and constantly changing it's diaper and keeping the environment clean. Same thing for a new chi puppy. Whatever food was recommended to you by the breeder at time of purchase should be fed for at least the first week so as not to "stress" the puppy any more than necessary. Depending on the age and size of the puppy, it is wise to keep food and clean water for it 24 hours a day until it shows signs of being capable of going longer lengths of time without being fed. It may be necessary to wet the food and add baby food for added flavor to encourage the puppy to eat better. Some breeders may be feeding the puppy canned foods along with dry kibble or alone. The main subject here is: DON'T change the puppy's diet or eating routine too abruptly. The smaller the puppy, the more times a day it has to be fed. You have to remember that because of the small stomachs, they have to eat much more often just to sustain themselves. NEVER confine a small puppy for any length of time with no food or water. I've heard horror tales where new owners thought they were keeping their puppy safe by putting it in some sort of soft crate or bed and putting it on the bed with them with no food or water to sleep through the night. Puppies also have to eat and drink during the night time hours just to sustain themselves. If you feel it necessary to confine a small puppy, leave it on the floor beside your bed in some sort of pen with sufficient room to sleep, eat and drink and relieve itself. Yes, they also have to go potty during the night. So do not put very small puppies in the bed with yourself or your small children. They will attempt to move as far away from where they have to sleep to relieve themselves and could fall off the bed and break bones.
Puppies have no concept of heights. They will walk right off the edge of any furniture if they are left unattended. So please warn children not to play with them on the sofa or the bed. Play with them in the floor for their own safety.

HYPOGLYCEMIA This is the scientific name for a condition where the sugar level suddenly drops in a small animals system. The first signs of this problem is usually staggering and falling over as though they are drunk. Or they can be observed lying on their side paddling with their front feet as though they are swimming. If these symptoms are observed, you must act very quickly in order to save your puppy's life. YOU HAVE TO GET THE SUGAR LEVEL UP TO BRING THE PUPPY OUT OF THIS SITUATION. AND IT MUST BE DONE VERY QUICKLY. Usually you do not have time to get them to a Vet before they suffer irreparable damage. Honey is the best remedy for this situation. But if honey is not available, use Karo syrup or anything that is super sweet. If you don't have any of this on hand, then run about an inch of water in a coffee cup and stir in 2 or 3 teaspoons of sugar and stir quickly until it dissolves. Then you must get some of this mixture into the puppy. At this point, you will find the puppy clinches it mouth shut and will not lap it up on it's own. By inserting a finger in the corner of the puppy's mouth you can pry it open far enough to get a fingertip covered with honey into it's mouth. Or in the case of the sugar water, an eye dropper, straw, or even dropping it through the opening in the mouth one drop at a time from a spoon. Once the puppy gets a good taste of the sweet substance, it will usually start licking it's tongue out and will start to recover in a very short time. Please note that if it was necessary to use Karo syrup, this mixture is also a natural laxative. Do not be surprised if diarrhea should follow when relieving it's self. If your puppy is experience episodes of hypoglycemia, it is usually a sign that it is not taking in enough food or it has an underlying problem that may need medical attention. Sometimes, this problem can be corrected by just stirring in a teaspoon of sugar to the puppy's water supply daily until the episodes subside. When levels of glucose in the blood drop rapidly, the dog's body and brain are deprived of essential nutrients. The results of hypoglycemia can be weakness, seizures, coma, and in severe cases, death. Because Chihuahuas are so small, they can be prone to hypoglycemia, especially when they are very young. Hypoglycemia is usually caused by stress, illness, lack of food, or by using up stored energy without it being replenished. It is important to make sure that young puppies and very tiny Chihuahuas eat regularly throughout the day. Another preventative for hypoglycemia is regular feeding of a high-calorie supplement called Nutri-cal, available from your veterinarian or your local pet store. If you suspect that your Chihuahua is hypoglycemic, call your vet AT ONCE as this condition can be quickly fatal.

REVERSE SNEEZE Occasional bouts of sneezing, snorting, honking and wheezing are not unusual in Chihuahuas, and is sometimes called a "reverse sneeze". This is usually caused by a elongated soft palate that is thought to become temporarily misaligned. It is a common trait in toy breeds. Pulling hard on a leash, drinking too fast or getting overly excited can lead to an episode of reverse sneezing. Reverse sneezing SHOULD NOT be confused with a different condition called "collapsed trachea". Although reverse sneezing may appear to be scary, it only lasts a short time and can be ended by massaging the dog's neck and throat and encouraging the dog to swallow or lick. Another way to slow the reverse sneeze is to clap your hands to distract the dog, or pinch closed the dog's nostrils with your fingers, forcing it to breathe through its mouths and to swallow.

HAIR LOSS OR THINNING In Chihuahuas, when they are between 8 and 12 weeks of age, you may notice a sudden thinning splotchy pattern in the coat. Some of us breeders call this the "hen pecked look" because the coat looks just like a chicken has pulled out tufts of hair in the shape of a chickens beak. This has very often been misdiagnosed as mange of one kind or another. Many Vets opt to do skin scrapings to determine if mites are present. Please note that this is a very normal condition that usually only lasts a couple of weeks to a month and will completely clear itself up with time. It is caused by the changing of the coat. Smooth coats looked like they have bare places and some long coats will shed off their coats until they are nearly as slick as an onion skin. It will grow back and is perfectly normal. It will sometimes occur again when they are about a year and a half old. Females blow coat when they experience heat cycles and when they are recovering from nursing puppies. You should only be alarmed if the shedding is also accompanied with some sort of rash or what appears to be pimples on the skin. This is usually a sign of demodectic mange mites or some sort of allergy.

TEETHING AND IT'S EFFECTS ON PUPPIES Chihuahuas usually have a full set of baby teeth by the time they are 6 weeks old. But some of them lack jaw muscles strong enough to crush dry kibble in order to get enough nutrition. You should watch your puppy for signs of hunger and make sure it is getting enough to eat even if you have to feed it "soft" food for a couple of weeks. When Chihuahuas get about 12 weeks old, they usually start to cut their permanent teeth. This is a process that sometimes goes on for 3 to 6 months. It can effect different puppies in different ways. You may notice some that had very erect ears are now resembling Beagles. Or you will see them with one ear up and one ear down. Tomorrow it can be the other ear up and the mate down. It is not uncommon to see one or both ears actually roll up backwards like window shades. This is all perfectly normal and if given enough time the ears will stand erect again all by themselves. There are cases of puppies coming from lines with "weak" ear leather where you may have to tape the ears in order to help them keep them erect until they can again hold them up on their own.