Chihuahuas

[reelmom]

Does anybody here own a chihuahua? We are thinking about getting one and had a few questions.

1) Are they good with all members of the family or very possessive of one? We have 2 boys 6 and 7, very calm children.

2) Do they have health problems?

3) Are they hard to potty train?

A lot of info on the internet is negative about chihuahuas and we were wondering what owners of the breed thought. Thank you.

 

[freckles and boo]

I haven't had one as an adult, but when I was a kid my mother and my grandmother each had one. They were both nervous, nippy, snappy dogs who didn't like most people and especially didn't like children. I am sure that isn't the case with all chihuahuas.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I haven't had one as an adult, but when I was a kid my mother and my grandmother each had one. They were both nervous, nippy, snappy dogs who didn't like most people and especially didn't like children. I am sure that isn't the case with all chihuahuas.

My MIL and her friend had one and the dog was as described above. It was a snappy little one-person dog. It was not a kid-friendly dog by any means. It also had a lot of accidents in the house. I don't know whether this was because of a medical issue or if it was never trained all that well, but it was the norm for this dog to "go" inside if the mood should strike.

 

[Disneyland Princess]

I babysit often for a family who owns an older Chihuahua. I personal really like her she sits on my lap and shes really nice to adults. On the other hand shes not very good with the two boys (9 & 5 years old). She doesn't like how hyper they are and they make her nervous but if your kids are calm then that might not be a problem. Shes never bit me but she does bite the kids if they get to rowdy but I'm sure this could be avoided with proper training. She's also really really yippy and constantly barks if anything comes near the house, door, or sidewalk. She doesn't do well with strangers she really disliked me at first but now that I'm over so often shes my buddy and a really sweet dog.
Good luck with picking out your new family pet!

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

1. My Chi is very loving of all the family members.. however, we're all adults. She has met a lot of children but gets very afraid of them because they move too fast for her or are too loud.

2. Chis have patella problems and my little one has already had one knee surgery. Bones are easily broken because they think they can jump from any height, so been there done that as well and it's extremely pricey. Seizures and hydrocephalus are also common.

3. This was my first dog, so I have nothing to base it on. I think she got a hang of it very quickly, though.

 

[rparmfamily]

I haven't had one as an adult, but when I was a kid my mother and my grandmother each had one. They were both nervous, nippy, snappy dogs who didn't like most people and especially didn't like children. I am sure that isn't the case with all chihuahuas.

DH grew up with them and my IL's still have them. This is pretty accurate for them I've found. They tend to be very one-person type dogs. My MIL LOVES that about them but my FIL not so much LOL.

They have to give it tanquilizers when we come to visit. Otherwise it shakes and barks for days, the whole time we visit. And the dog knows us, its just crazy LOL. I can't stand them personally LOL.

Theirs also pee inside the house if it's too cold outside.

They are very diva-like LOL!!!

 

[MidgeD79]

My dgd has a chug (chihuahau/pug) and AJ is the ugliest dog in the world but we love her very much. She has been raised with children and has never bit anyone. What she is afraid of is adult men - mainly because she has never lived with one. Aj plays well with cats and loves to tear up Kleenex (especially used ones). She is a tad overweight at 9 pounds. Maybe you could look into a mixed chihuahau.

 

[disneystacy]

I have/had(one died last year from old age) 2 Chihuahuas. They are not good with kids AT ALL!!!! I got mine before kids and they will tolerate my kids, they do not like any of my kids friends. They are not stranger friendly dogs. They are nippy and yappy. I would pick a different breed. I also have a pug and he is excellent with my kids and other people. Everyone love him.

 

[horseshowmom]

I tend to agree with the others. I've had two that were rescues. One of them was very friendly with anybody he met (but he was a larger Chihuahua, not one of the small ones). The other one was the smaller type and pretty shy.

They can definitely be difficult to housetrain and can require a lot of patience. My smaller one had the physical issues mentioned by a previous poster.

I wouldn't recommend a Chihuahua for a family with children but that's just my opinion. There are so many options out there that might work better.

 

[mjkacmom]

I had a little dog once (min-pin), and if you buy one, it is most definitely from a puppy mill. Little dogs are yappy, not very kid friendly, and harder to housebreak. They can also be nervous. There are MANY to be found in shelters and rescue groups, because of the above reasons.

 

[quentina]

Does anybody here own a chihuahua? We are thinking about getting one and had a few questions.

1) Are they good with all members of the family or very possessive of one? We have 2 boys 6 and 7, very calm children.

2) Do they have health problems?

3) Are they hard to potty train?

A lot of info on the internet is negative about chihuahuas and we were wondering what owners of the breed thought. Thank you.

There loyal and mean! Ours always seemed to have hip problems (or arthritis). I still have one, Jelly, she is 10. We cannot have anyone over and not put her in her cage. We have tried to socialize her.....doesn't happen, she will just shake and growl.

Jelly does make me feel safe. I have no doubt that if someone was breaking in, they would run after catching sight of her.

Our second puppy is a golde ret.....now, no security from her....she will lick the robber to death!

 

[horseshowmom]

I had a little dog once (min-pin), and if you buy one, it is most definitely from a puppy mill. Little dogs are yappy, not very kid friendly, and harder to housebreak. They can also be nervous. There are MANY to be found in shelters and rescue groups, because of the above reasons.

I have a MinPin now. He was a rescue, and I've had him since August. He's about a year old now. I love him dearly, and he is very intelligent, but he's been a handful.

I have many, many years experience dealing with animals of all breeds, but the first month or so I was starting to wonder whether I had bitten off more than I could chew. He had been abused so I'm sure that contributed to it (although I've had abused animals before that responded much more quickly than he did). He's still nervous around my husband, but loves me. I don't trust him enough to take him outside without a harness though. Housebreaking was an ordeal, but he finally started to improve and is fine now.

 

[DisneyKT]

My cousin has one. I will say I do not trust the dog around children. They tend to pick the dog up all the time. The dog acts very dominant. Also she has tried to potty train the dog. It will go outside when they let him out. But he also goes in the house all the time. So she just set up pee pads. Not my type of dog for sure. Good Luck to you.

 

[turkeymama]

Does anybody here own a chihuahua? We are thinking about getting one and had a few questions.

1) Are they good with all members of the family or very possessive of one? We have 2 boys 6 and 7, very calm children.

2) Do they have health problems?

3) Are they hard to potty train?

A lot of info on the internet is negative about chihuahuas and we were wondering what owners of the breed thought. Thank you.

I have a chihuahua/min-pin mix, and my sister has 2 in addition to a full-blood chihuahua. They all have very similar personalities.

1. They are typically one-owner dogs, although they will tolerate other family members. Whoever primarily feeds them as a puppy will end up being "the person".

2. They can be prone to hip and "knee" problems. Mine has already suffered from the effects of patella problems and he is only 2 years old. Surgery is no guarantee to fix it, but the vet would have been happy to try both legs for $1000 each. No thanks, we'll continue to give him the anti-inflammatory meds.

3. No, they are not typically hard to potty-train, but I stink at it, so mine has given me fits.

I love the dog, I am his person, but I would never have another one, especially with the kids.

 

[donaldduck352]

I LOVE mini-pins my alltime fav dog.We had one for 10yrs.Very high mantanice,and not very good with outsiders.
I do sales and I have to go in peoples houses,I got more bites from them-chihuahua breeds then any other dog including pit bulls!!
When ya do inside sales,don't believe when the owners say thier bark is worse then there bite!!!
I KNOW BETTER NOW!!!!

 

[DVCJones]

I have a 3 1/2 pound female chihuahua named Abby. She is 10 years old now, but I got her when she was just 8 weeks old. I LOVE HER!!!! She is a great dog!!!

I also have had children during these 10 years and Abby has been wonderful dealing with my kids. I have many pictures of Abby with my kids. Abby loved to snuggle and lick their faces when they were babies. Now She plays with my children daily. My kids adore her too.

As for having health problems, Abby hasn't been able to get her yearly vaccinations because she had a mild reaction to the first years shots and a near deadly reaction the the 2nd years shots, After that, the vet said "never again." This is rare though, and probably happened because she is so small.

Chihuahuas also suffer from luxating patellas (Kneecap slips out of place) which isn't that serious. Abby sometimes walks with a limp and then her knee slips back into place and she is fine.

I also litter box trained Abby, so there is no need for her to go out in the cold winter of MA. We can also be gone for the day a not worry she will have an accident. We some times go away for weekends too. She does fine.

I'm not going to sugar coat it...She is yappy. She barks at anyone who walks by the house. It doesn't help that our sofa is up against the window and she stands "guard" daily. She is such a funny sight that people do stop and stare/laugh at her which doesn't help.

She will not let stranger pick her up. However, if someone comes to the house, it will take about 20 minutes before she is sitting on their lap.

I think chihuahuas are great dogs, they are friendly, they LOVE their owners, they love to snuggle (to get warm) and they are good watch dogs in the sense that they will let you know when someone is there.

I hope this information helps.

 

[samshane]

We have a rescue chihuahua... we are his third (and final) owners. I attribute his "issues" to have no real stability before us. First owners were military and both deployed, second turned him back to the rescue due to his hairloss, and then he went to 3 or 4 rescue homes because he was destructive.

He has a condition called dilute alopecia and can experience hair loss... and the reason we adopted him was because we came across him on petfinder and my DD10 suffers from alopecia areata. While not the same causes, the result is hairloss and she felt an immediate bond to him. And he has latched onto her and his human. She had just turned 9 when we got him and immediately she was "it" for him.

I agree so much with many of the PPs, if you have small children I would not recommend Chihuahuas. Ours is moody - and he isn't the biggest fan of my 7yr old. They are also fragile - their legs are so thin and could easily be broken.

Ours had separation issues, but really bonded tightly with 22lb mixed breed dog. We call them "the boys" and they are very tight... I have often heard that Chis do best with more than one dog in the house. For Quino - it was what he needed. I cannot imagine having him without another dog.

He still has issues with housebreaking even after nearly 2yrs of being with us. If it's raining or cold - we need to stand out there with him and force him to go outside. He is SO stubborn. And he was destructive for about the first 2 or 3 months - til he settled him and we taught him some obedience.

That being said, he loves to cuddle - and he'll cuddle with anyone in the family - even DS7. Though he prefers me, DD10, and DD9 - maybe it's a girl thing. But if there is no empty lap - he'll take the 7yr old - LOL. And every night he sleeps with DD10... curled up on her bed.

I consider myself a pretty experienced dog owner, have had all sorts of dogs through my life, but he has been one of the most challenging.

 

[Mysteria]

I would not suggest a chihuahua for a house with small kids. More often than not they don't mix well.

 

[dawson5]

We just rescued one. We think she is around a year. She came from a home that starved her and the kids mistreated her. She took a bit to warm up to our other dog (beagle). She is a bit hard to train but we attribute that to her other home. I don't think they did anything to train her. Now she has been pretty good, we have learned her "signs." Our Brent will whine, bark or cry if he wants out, she just looks at you or if you are in bed, she jumps on it to wake you up. She hasn't had a #1 accident since the first week, the #2's are a bit harder if you don't see her "signs." We do have to sweep a path for her and clear the grass off of snow, she does not like it. We did toy with the idea of a litter box but were told that it might confuse her, so we never did. I might look into it.

As for health problems, we're not sure yet. She has gone through her first cycle of heat. We think she had an inverted vulva, which you are supposed to wait until their first cycle to see if it will go back to normal (it seems to have). We need to get her spayed before the second cycle because of the possibility of cancer (what we were told).

Ours is great with our kids, they are 17, 14 and 12, all boys. She does love to bark but didn't when we first got her. She didn't make a peep, we think Brent taught her. We were told not to pick her up when people come over, it gives them the superiority complex and the lifting reinforces it. Now we leave her down and after a few, pick her up and hand her to the person. I kind of force the issue. She has only tried to nip at one person and we're not quite sure why. We've had lots of people over (three kids, family, friends, neighbors, etc.) and no other issues.

Good luck. They are loves, very loyal and want nothing more than to snuggle. I need to take a picture of her when she tries to hug and kiss my husband. He is not an animal person and he's taken to her, even lifts the covers for her at bedtime. She sleeps in between us.

 

[luvsJack]

When I was a kid, my grandfather gave me a little female named "Piney" (my grandparents found her in a thicket of pine trees--"piney" woods). She spent most of her time under a bed, unless there was no one in the house besides me, mom and dad. Very smart dog, trained very easily. Loved to be in one of our laps, unless someone knocked on the door, then it was back under the bed. We put a small dog bed under there so she would have a comfortable place to hide.

As an adult I had a chihuahua/fiest mix. She was not timid at all and was great with kids. Very loved dog that died at 16. Gal loved all of them and was always wondering around the house to see what they were all doing. She was also very protective. She was much tougher to house train than Piney. That may have been because there was no one home with her during the day.