toydogs

i've written an article on how to show dogs in my website as well, and its not only directed at chis but for all breeds as i;ve owned other breeds in my life. but atm took out some pages to do with showing as i had 24 pages which is quite a bit of work to maintain when you work f/t and have dogs, so i am now coupling them together. but i had classes on there too, and the point system etc. how to show a dog in australia

we've had many owners that have been too generous with their chis and given them tidbits between meals which is the real killer. sure enough they give them to us to mind and they are fat as fat. one dog my mother put her on a diet and then advised the owner that she had to change her habits for the dog. becasue at the end of the day you get the weight off for the owner and then they go back to the same old routine and kill the dog. so we advise one meal a day about quarter of a cup of food. mine are used to plain old milk so to make them feel full i fill their bowl up with a bit of milk. and just put in half a hand full of dry food. if they don't like dry food, they always like chicken chis so bit of chicken wouldn't go astray. i wouldn't give them any dog can food as i was looking the other day and they had a layer of fat at the bottom, can't control fat intake with can food. i cook the dogs food every day for them, also, watch that you don't drastically change the dogs diet as this can cause the runs for them. and make them sick. vegies whilst not too many can make them regular. and gentle exercise each day and gradually build it up. sometimes to keep weight down and to keep my dogs health i will get a nice meaty chuck bone each cut small and that is their meal for the night. never feed late at night and then get them to go to bed, sleeping on a full stomach puts weight on too. also watch carb intake. keep it low. learnt that from a body builder. there is this page i wrote: feeding chihuahuas hope this helps

usually between 5 - 7 o'clock at night there are heaps of people walking their dogs after work? that is the ideal time, my brother has the same breed as you and he has an off leash park near him and goes there and there are heaps of dogs around that time weekdays or even on the weekend. so look for an off leash park you might have to drive though. also, visit dog events some at KCC Park or might be near you and I often walk my little dogs and the pointer cross to get some socialising in at the shows and go and have a look while im at it and see whats on.

Hi, I am reading some of the responses particularly the ones that say, rehome the puppy. I disagree. While i would really think twice about finding a home for my puppies where the whole family are not committed, I did have a family member that was terrified of dogs becasue they'd had a bad experience just like your wife. now a few years on, they absolutely idolise that puppy (now an 8 year old dog), that i gave them, she looks after it like a child! My Grandmother was even scared of little chihuahuas would you believe. so family members can change over time my grandmother is testament to that. the fact that the kids and your wife liked well behaved adult dogs is a good indication that they will come around in time. your puppy will not be a puppy forever you have to remember that and she will grow into a well behaved socialised girl if you keep up the good work, reading what you are doing with her is very very good going.

I recommend Charlie's-mum to have a look at the sub forums where we talk nothing but chihuahuas it might help you rather than putting questions to general breeds. I can tell you that 600grams is smallish, compare my little chihuahua boy that i bred who has just turned 9weeks on last Monday and he is 800 plus grams. it depends how old is your girl? come into the sub forum headed "chihuahuas".......then you can talk about your new girl to your hearts content with other chihuahua lovers and owners. cheers Louisa SANRITA CHIHUAHUAS

puppies don't really from my experience anyway, do things that complicated. usually if they are going to pee in bowls it happens much later when they are mature, puppy's brains are too under-developed.....the way it is written it looks like the puppy meant to pee in the water bowl or maybe it happened like you described it dog sense, only the owner knows i suppose!! this puppy has a bladder issue thats for sure. but its quite common. If it was me, no i wouldn't as this will confuse him even more. I get the impression puppy is not put into one area, he is allowed to roam, i try to advise against this with our new puppy owners, even with adult dogs i advise against for the first few weeks at least. everytime they go to a new house, they have to learn all over again as it confuses them in a new area. if this was presented to me by one of my new owners, i'd say to them, keep your dog confined to one room or an area in a pen etc. and don't give them an opportunity to mess, once they start its very hard to retrain the other way, its slow going. it takes them a while to relearn once they've learned the wrong way. to answer this: waking up at 1am, nope. I work full-time and my partner is a shift worker so we have no need to wake up at this time. even with a 9week old puppy atm. if you keep him in a confined area with paper you won't need to do this especially if he is having bladder problems where he often toilets, if you keep taking him out at 1am and 3am you will get him into the routine of toileting at that time. give your puppy the option of using the toilet by himself then once he has that idea and can have better control and i'd say when he matures a bit more then attempt to move it outside or take it away taking it one step further in your training. its worked for our puppies and dogs. they now get the message, you don't do it in the house only in their designated litter tray when that is down if its not down it is outside. this is my humble opinion: with astro you need to decide how you are going to house train him and then stick to it be consistent and don't change the routine then he will get it eventually. if you are all overthe place not sure what you have to do so will he be, he'll be confused as well..

interesting theory. i have seen dogs wee in their food bowls though, usually because they don't want any of the other dogs to get it, it depends whether the OP has other dogs/puppies or if Astro???? is the only one.

what breed of dog is the puppy in question? do we know? the reason i say this depending on the breed, small or large, talking to many many owners/breeders of particularly toy breeds, it takes a while for toys to get the toilet training downpat. Some owners even have given up I know not good! but have ascertained that Chihuahuas particularly, are dirty....i've had many say that. But I've spent some time with mine and have actually trained them so i don't agree......... i have had smaller breeds for, as i said earlier, 25 yrs and i've also owned larger breeds as well and my family have had farm/racing dogs for many years. comparing the two, larger breeds are easier to train in that area. just a fact. toys breeds yes, they mature earlier but that has no bearing in my opinion on how easily they are going to house train, im not saying they will never get it, im just saying it takes a tad longer it seems watching many of our dog/puppy purchasers and talking to many owners. it depends on what toileting means to you also, toileting could mean going in a designated spot in the house, (litter tray, papers etc.) or toileting could mean the dog indicating that it wants to toilet outside only. different courses for different horses. it is very involved owning a dog and having an animal that is a pleasure to own, as indicated above by dog sense's post, usually dogs like this, have owners that have time for their dogs and it shows with the dogs/puppies behaviours just like human kids. so yes, i agree definately no excuses when you own dogs and its not the puppy's fault if they muck up, when owning a dog you either put time into them or not and this does determine whether you end up with a naughty child or not the more you put into your puppy/dog the better it will be for you and for ultimately for your dog or puppy. makes sense

at 11 weeks they are still babies and it is going to take a few months for a pup that young to house train. Like babies, yes they do their business often and now because he has done it pretty much everywhere in your house it sounds like? he has gotten into that routine. I'd recommend to keep him in one area, the best way to do this, like we do with our puppies, is to buy a puppy pen and set it up over the tiles (we have tiles in the kitchen area and living area so it makes it easy) you are going to have to start from scratch again as he has gotten into another habit, so cover the whole area with paper, once he has been on paper for about a week gradually reduce the area, this may take a few weeks to accomplish given his bad habits he has gotten into. eventually you'll end up with a stack in the corner and he will only go there. I have a 9 week old puppy at the moment that we bred, he is going into the litter box (i put papers in a litter box) he is pooing and weeing in there. he also still goes on the newspaper randomly. all our puppies for the past 20 odd years have been trained this way. and plus i have males that are housetrained even when bitches are in season, other breeders have said how is that possible? well its possible through training....... with puppies you have to be consistent and repeat repeat and repeat and be patient not raising voices, if you manage to catch your puppy in the act of toileting where he is not supposed to go, then grab him and take him outside or on the paper. they don't like this been interupted! it gets the message across where they are supposed to do it. you cannot expect much from a puppy, their attention span is short and their bladder is not strong enough to hold wee for long periods. ETA: if you take the paper away from the adults, im not talking about pups, they will not do it anywhere they will wait until taken outside they know not to do it inside but for puppies because they no.1's and 2's so often you have to have something for them otherwise they will do it anywhere like your puppy is doing. you can't really expect them to hold it for very long not a baby. hope this helps and good luck with your house training.

and.....no haven't known one to, at 5 months they are still babies really. when you get her have a good talk to your nominated vet they'll be able to give you the soundest advice. but it is a good idea to be quick about it, yes, you don't want any of those problems discribed in here with her season, i can tell you from experience, it is a nightmare especially when they are just pets and you have no intentions of breeding, can get a bit messy.

amen to that!!!!!!! :p

desexing has never curbed our males from getting the urge to mate. infact we have 2 adult males desexed at the moment, one was desexed at around 8 months and the other at 4 yrs. they tried to both mount a desexed female. others in the past: one was desexed at 2yrs old and he still had the urge to mate as well. infact he tied with a bitch not long after he was desexed. we did own a stud that was obtain at 4 and he had by that time sired pups, he was never desexed but he never went crazy over females chasing them. he never marked he was a perfect little angel that one. so i guess it does depend on the dogs themselves as to how they react.

Chihuahuas are just too small to get done any earlier than 5 months old, and yes better to get them desexed before they come into season as if they are in season, having a close relationship with our vet of 25yrs it is MESSY for the vet to operate on if she is in season. even if she is starting to come into season it will still be messy for the vet and you can tell she is going on by the vulva swelling up about one to two weeks before the actual season. some dogs go into season at 6 months to 12-13 months as we have experienced. it depends on the dog as to when she will go into season. sometimes the first time takes a while sometimes not. to answer the other questions: all male dogs will be able to smell her scent from the season a mile away. your male desexed dog will go crazy trying to get to her. i don't know if he will be confused they generally go on instinct alone. yes, i have known dogs to jump fences and climb fences to get to a bitch in season so it is wise if you can't get her desexed before she gets her season to lock her up for approx. 3 weeks. a bitch can conceive pups from 5 days to 21 days into the season. been known. PLUS, experienced this myself as have many other breeders in chihuahuas, they sometimes go on "silent" which means that you can't tell they are actually in season, they don't swell they dont' bleed they don't do anything and next thing you know they've mated the male.

it says "do not show the dog you are upset", hmmmmmmmmm scolding the potty instead, wouldn't that now show the dog you are? hmmm very strange but if it works what the hell.........lol ha ha that is a classic haven't laughed like that in ages.

well this topic has certainly brightened my day - thanks for that! lol must of missed it down the bottom! i'll read that again......

how awful for you and doggy to have to move to a smaller place! and yes the rental market is crazy at the moment. good advice here, get rid of the smell on the carpet first point of call, and yes, your little dog unfortunately in another house is out of sorts, it does confuse them. in my opinion spreading the puppy pads all over would only confuse the poor girl im afraid when she is used to going out mainly on grass. it sounds like when she did do it on the tiles, it was a lapse in training being 7 months old, she is still a baby! they will muck up from time to time especially with that breed. toys take a bit longer to learn to hold it for several hours. i recommend to get some grass clippings and put that in a small area on the balcony, fake, she won't know what that is, better to get the real stuff she is used to. when she does go whereever that is, soak up some wee with some paper put that on the grass pile and also the smell of her poo as well. ....yes she is going on the scent..... then when you manage to get her to do it on those clippings on the balcony repeat a word like wee-wee or something short so she knows you mean to go potty. I had poms many years ago and i had 3 girls from the same litter that were trained on word command. so whereever i was it didn't matter where, the word wee-wee would remind them to go. pomeranians are very intelligent little dogs! for the time being i tell all my puppy/dog buyers when my dogs go into new houses and seeing as you have moved same applies to you, keep a good eye on her until she gets the routine for the new house. don't let her wonder around as you will eventually untrain her when you nearly had her fully trained by the sound of it, in the townhouse. good luck!

where does it say to scold the mess may i ask? ;) that sounds a bit weird and i wouldn't think that that wouldn't really work in my opinion. you sound like a card, that is really very funny. if it works for some people well my hat goes off to them!

be aware that she will wait to try and go on the carpet, there is a habit forming with her it seems, one of our dogs use to do that too, you'd let them all out to the toilet outside and she'd always hold herself and wait until she got in and then do it inside so your puppy will try that you just have to be patient and at all times with dogs BE CONSISTENT.

Agree 100% !! ithis is how we have trained our dogs too for years!! ts like as though i wrote that post myself :wink:

Hi, i have been reading with interest, the fact that your pup is doing it on the carpet leads me to believe the vinegar??? spray isn't getting rid of the smell she is searching for a spot to do it on your carpet it sounds like. first thing i would do if i was you is go to a vet and get a spray that removes the smell of urine, then as many have said, do not let her on your carpet limit where she can go..... she is 17 weeks old, so that is a 4 mth old puppy, she is still very young, it is going to take a long time for her to know what you expect of her. Give her a chance. paper training: we have successfully trained all our dogs to paper in the house, as we work f.t and my b.f is a shift worker so when im not there he is type of thing. so it is imperative that my dogs use their paper lined in a litter tray. (small dogs) i don't know what breed your puppy is? 2nd thing is what someone said, treat her like a 8 wk old puppy which means start again. i would get a puppy pen line it ALL with papers for a start, that way when she wants to go she will be going on paper then gradually over a few weeks move the paper to one corner if she accidentally poos or pees on a section not papered, start again until she gets it. i have got a 2 yr old rescue dog that was mistreated like your girl. i got him at 8 months old and he was not toilet trained in the house. I trained him to cat litter would you believe. Now a kelpie x GSP shouldn't go in the house on papers thats for the little dogs. lol but he now knows that he is not to go inside and he can be trusted inside. it took a few months to acheive the training. sometimes it helps to get the wet paper she has just done it on and put it where you want her to go, like she is doing with the carpet, lol unfortunately.....some people buy puppy pads but i find that getting wet paper or the smell of (i know yuck but it does work) of poo on the papers helps to get her to do it in the right spot. my dogs also when we are at home go out often, after a sleep, straight after a meal and play. usually after a meal they will want to pee and poo. so its all about watching the signs when she wants to go, sniffing the floor or fidgety. then taking her straight out. crating dogs of a night or when you want them to hold it and go where you want them to go, teaches them lots i always recommend crating puppies becasue they will not want to mess their beds. if you do this sooner or later she will want to pee and you can put her in the pen lined with papers. we have 2 males, the small dog is trained to paper, we just peg up peices to the pen and line a kitty tray and he goes in there. he won't go anywhere else so of a night i just empty out, wash the floor to get rid of any smells and dirt with BLEACH i find that is the only thing that will get rid of any smell. ofcourse you can't use bleach on carpet, you'd stuff your carpet. if she'd done it on the floor well then you could. there are products out there that do remove the urine smell. otherwise if you don't from your carpet you won't be able to train her out of it. so first things first start from scratch again hope this helps.

what has your breeder said to do, im a chi breeder. few helpful hints knowing the breed well. when we get new dogs or pups, they are frigtened coming to a new house, so to avoid scary the beejesus out of your new girl, i suggest to let Charlie see his new sister, but through a glass door or through a pen where he can't bite her if he feels the need to. some of them get carried away with new dogs or pups in the house. you have to watch your new girl for the first few days up to a week with Charlie. then gradually while you hold her and someone hold charlie introduce them together. Chihuahuas are adaptable little fellows and will quickly get acquainted and thefact that you have a male and female, more so. He has had your attention totally for the last 12 months so yes, he might get a bit territorial thats understandable.....chihuahuas are very much pack orientated so get on better with a heap and also i have found over the years, they get on well with other animals even when you house them together! like cats when they had not even seen a cat before. (had a litter of kittens i saved from being put down)..... i'd wait until charlie calms down and stops barking at his new sister, or stops trying to dominate her, then i let them in together otherwise do keep them supervised with possibly two people holding each dog...... they should get on fine eventually but it will take time. in answer to your question of taking charlie back, yes, i believe that will confuse him.....they have good memories. and plus, you will have other dogs barking at him and encouraging him to have ill feelings about the new addition. JMHO on the matter. good luck/. im sure everything will work out great. Louisa SANRITA CHIHUAHUAS

Hi Mollyrulz, I think i assumed that was what you were saying. get your vet to grade it then take it from there. some vets won't for some reason which doesn't help anyone i feel. but if they can grade it then you can work out whether its worth getting surgery or not..... grade 1,2 or 3 can get away with no surgery, we've had several with those grades and also watched many over the years too owned by others in the breed (Chihuahuas) they've managed to have a good quality of life. may be a good suggestion to wait until you are on hols before you book her in. then you can look after her properly without going to work and worrying your head off whats happening at home alone. I do it, i know that. so i arrange to take holidays makes it much more simpler.

ohhhhhhh nice subject lol. a friend said that they disciplined the dog everytime they'd go to do it and it seemed to help. also restraining the dog/pup and then putting chili or something foul tasting on all the poop in the yard. it did help with mine they don't do it as often now. they seem to leave them. they've said in the past, that giving sweet potatoe helps or green vegies. but it is a common problem unfortunately. everyone has their theories but following the dog around and reprimanding seems to be the best method. plus making it foul tasting too. not as yummy perhaps??? ewwwwwww

hi, you can look at my information might give you a bit more of an idea, but if your dog is dislocating 3 times a day, and you say staying that way and the dog not being able to unlock that does sound like a severe case im sorry to say. possibly grade 4. the vet would be able to see that as the leg would obviously be at odd angles and also as others have said know by feeling around a bit to make sure don't think he'd need to see that in an x-ray. he would have recommended surgery straight away because as i said, a severe case obviously in his opinion. it is a common problem amongst toy dogs unfortunately and in crosses im afraid as the disease isn't monitored as well due to not putting a fix on bloodlines that may carry it, but normally it may be just grade 1 or possibly 2 which doesn't require surgery. athritis normally sets in as the dog gets older. good idea to get a 2nd or maybe even a 3rd opinion before you consider options. and to also school yourself on the disease itself so you have a bit more of an idea. when you get that 2nd and 3rd opinion. get the vet to give you a grading on what he thinks, the grades go from 1 to 4. 4 being the severest case. then when you go to your second or third opinion also get a grading you'll find the opinions will differ. normally they do. to start you off on your research, here is my article, still work in progress but will give you an idea anyways. Patella Luxation article

Hi Tiger. It takes a while to find a good vet that gets back to you or rings you at work say, to tell you the dog needs "extra" work done. It took us years but for us, we needed an experienced vet for our show dogs and wouldn't compromise until we found the right person. we found one now who i ask for a quote straight up and he never wavers off that quote he's given me. if you find a good vet you can ask him/her anything and they will be able to answer you. its all about trust too. for us, its all about working together and having a good vet as a backing. but this forum on the other hand is quite good at obtaining info about dogs too. cheers Louisa