Pure Chi...right?

[frufru]

Guy up the road didn't listen - "chi" is just 12 months and needing very expensive surgery on legs (not just patellas). Purchase from a registered and ETHICAL breeder.

[oakway]

Guy up the road didn't listen - "chi" is just 12 months and needing very expensive surgery on legs (not just patellas). Purchase from a registered and ETHICAL breeder.

Yes you can be unlucky, but don't forget the Guy up the road may caused the problem by over feeding and over exercising.

Many of the problems that we hear of can be also man made.

I just get so sick of breeder bashing. (I am not saying that you are doing this) If it was a registered ethical breeder why didn't he just take it back.

[Remarkabull]

I'm babysitting a friends Chi puppy ATM. He is smooth/short coated and is about 13 weeks old and is definitely not as stocky as the pup in the picture. He is however definitely purebred and has papers to prove it, so I would say that pup in pic is obviously from a BYB or has a little something else in there with the Chi.

[perfect partners]

I know I know...buy from a breeder to be sure.... but look at her I was looking for a kitten for my husband and saw her by chance and completely fell in love with this little girl. My name is on a few Chi breeder waiting lists. I've wanted one for years. She is out of two pure Chihuahuas, not a puppy farm or pet store though. I will definitely be desexing and fully vaccinating her.

Longhair, female, 9weeks old in this pic.

Thoughts?

While I generally agree with getting a dog from a registered breeder, when my daughter was young she wanted a little dog and while I was thinking about what breeds might be suitable, I saw a long haired Chihuahua x Maltese pup in a pet shop. It was before I knew where pet shop puppies came from and I think he was from a BYB anyway. He looked more like a Chi - fawn, medium length coat - suitable for where we live, so I bought him. I have to say he has been one of the best dogs I've ever had. Very smart, hardly needed any training, virtually house trained himself, very loyal,can leave him home by himself or in the car with no issues, gets on with any dogs and people he meets, not yappy, vet chiro told me he is a very sound little dog. He does now have a heart murmur and is on medication, but he is 16. I always preferred large dogs but he won my heart. We also had a Heeler which was bred by friends on a farm and he was healthy all his life and had a great temperament also. Most of my dogs have been purebreds from breeders and we had expensive health issues with one of them. My latest dog is from a registered breeder and that is where I would be looking for any future dog. However, there are no guarantees in life so if you really like this little dog I would go for it. All the best with whatever you decide. Must say I think the little pup is very cute!

Edited June 15, 2011 by perfect partners

[WreckitWhippet]

Guy up the road didn't listen - "chi" is just 12 months and needing very expensive surgery on legs (not just patellas). Purchase from a registered and ETHICAL breeder.

Yes you can be unlucky, but don't forget the Guy up the road may caused the problem by over feeding and over exercising.

Many of the problems that we hear of can be also man made.

I just get so sick of breeder bashing. (I am not saying that you are doing this) If it was a registered ethical breeder why didn't he just take it back.

frufru was suggesting that the OP purchase from an ethical breeder, unlike what the guy up the road did

[frufru]

Guy up the road didn't listen - "chi" is just 12 months and needing very expensive surgery on legs (not just patellas). Purchase from a registered and ETHICAL breeder.

Yes you can be unlucky, but don't forget the Guy up the road may caused the problem by over feeding and over exercising.

Many of the problems that we hear of can be also man made.

I just get so sick of breeder bashing. (I am not saying that you are doing this) If it was a registered ethical breeder why didn't he just take it back.

Sorry Oakway - obviously I wasn't clear. Dog came from a byb who advertises on the net - he was told by several dog savy friends not to do it. Unfortunatley he didn't listen and is now heartbroken. Dog is not overweight and has been sensibly raised. I meant that the poster needs to look for a registered and ethical breeder - and do their homework - not all registered breeders are equal!

Edited June 15, 2011 by frufru

[tdierikx]

You can call yourself a registered breeder if you have current membership with the state Canine Council body, have paid for your breeder's prefix, and have 2 fully papered dogs of the same breed.

ETHICAL registered breeders tend to be very picky about where their pups are going. They have good health check results for the possible issues known to the breed in question, etc. They may ask you lots of personal type questions that you may not appreciate, but they are trying to make a perfect match for their pups and new families.

T.

[Sayly]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I wasn't 100% sure, and after doing the sums on everything I have to do for her anyway, like vaccinating and desexing (and that's assuming she has no underlying health issues, such as the knee thing Chihuahuas are known for) I'm be better off to go through a breeder, cost-wise. That's completely removing the cuteness factor from the equation.

Also I definitely don't want to fall in love with the little darling only for it to have to suffer through whatever health issues she may have, regardless of whether I can have them fixed them or not. I want a dog for life (well, their expected life-span I guess) and the happiest life he or she can have.

Again, thanks for all the advice I am definitely going to a proper breeder. On that note, any recommendations for Chi breeders in SE QLD? Or even Nth NSW.

Good move.

[aussielover]

It doesn't look like a pure chi to me. Ask to see the parents to be sure though.

a dog can still be purebred without papers. Papers only make it kennel club registered.

[toy dog]

ETHICAL registered breeders tend to be very picky about where their pups are going. They have good health check results for the possible issues known to the breed in question, etc. They may ask you lots of personal type questions that you may not appreciate, but they are trying to make a perfect match for their pups and new families.

T.

Sorry Oakway - obviously I wasn't clear. Dog came from a byb who advertises on the net - he was told by several dog savy friends not to do it. Unfortunatley he didn't listen and is now heartbroken. Dog is not overweight and has been sensibly raised. I meant that the poster needs to look for a registered and ethical breeder - and do their homework - not all registered breeders are equal!

the dog we are talking about has a flat head and very big solid legs and feet. i'd say that there is either jack russell in her or something else, thats my call.

in regards to testing for known problems in the breed, some registered breeders do refuse to do this or just don't do it at all, the most common problem in this breed is patella luxation. Dealing with this for over 20 odd years and writing articles about it, breeders can get the parents tested and show results but this doesn't give a 100% guarantee that the resulting pups will be free of this condition. it can lessen the severity as each generation is bred down but we have found that patella luxation is very much a recessive gene meaning there are carriers that look perfectly healthy and sound that can be bred and carry it down the line from 5 generations back and the resulting puppy can be severely infected like grade 4 for instance requiring surgery.

so really no one is free from these genetic problems even if they do test and are diligent in only breeding sound individuals.

the point about going to a registered breeder as opposed to a backyarder that doesn't know the history of the puppies or dogs they breed, is an ethical breeder will back up their puppies sold, be honest tell the buyer what faults the pups has and be there with the buyer every step of the way or they should in our opinion.

where as a backyarder that we've had dealings with anyway, is not interested in what happens to the pup whether it gets a genetic problem or not and certainly will not back up what they breed or sell most are just interested in the money and will take it and run the other way.

so for the buyers protection much better to go to a reg breeder that will stand by what they breed and be there to ask questions as the knowledge is there for the buyers disposal.

JMHO

Edited June 16, 2011 by toy dog

[toy dog]

While I generally agree with getting a dog from a registered breeder, when my daughter was young she wanted a little dog and while I was thinking about what breeds might be suitable, I saw a long haired Chihuahua x Maltese pup in a pet shop. It was before I knew where pet shop puppies came from and I think he was from a BYB anyway. He looked more like a Chi - fawn, medium length coat - suitable for where we live, so I bought him. I have to say he has been one of the best dogs I've ever had. Very smart, hardly needed any training, virtually house trained himself, very loyal,can leave him home by himself or in the car with no issues, gets on with any dogs and people he meets, not yappy, vet chiro told me he is a very sound little dog. He does now have a heart murmur and is on medication, but he is 16. I always preferred large dogs but he won my heart. We also had a Heeler which was bred by friends on a farm and he was healthy all his life and had a great temperament also. Most of my dogs have been purebreds from breeders and we had expensive health issues with one of them. My latest dog is from a registered breeder and that is where I would be looking for any future dog. However, there are no guarantees in life so if you really like this little dog I would go for it. All the best with whatever you decide. Must say I think the little pup is very cute!

i agree with some of what you say here, when i was a kid we had a few crosses growing up, some with chi, some dogs with terrier cross and none of these dogs had any health issues and lived to old ages. i think back then dogs were bred tougher than they were today, the old bitsa wasn't a designer dog bred specifically for money as they weren't worth anything back then.

this little girl could be quite sound in her legs, being this age though it is mostly hidden how sound she is going to be in maturity.....there is quick tests you can do at that age and it is usually done by sight only and watching very carefully but its not a fail safe guarantee unfortunately. this disease generally sets in much older say generally between 6 months and over.

there's nothing wrong with having 2 or more chihuahuas!

[poodlefan]

i agree with some of what you say here, when i was a kid we had a few crosses growing up, some with chi, some dogs with terrier cross and none of these dogs had any health issues and lived to old ages.

I have seen plenty of small chi/terrier mixes with patella issues and oblivious owners. They don't necessarily stop a dog from living a long and healthy life but I'd prefer a pup without them.

I've even been told that 'skipping' is normal for such dogs.

[toy dog]

Guy up the road didn't listen - "chi" is just 12 months and needing very expensive surgery on legs (not just patellas). Purchase from a registered and ETHICAL breeder.

Yes you can be unlucky, but don't forget the Guy up the road may caused the problem by over feeding and over exercising.

Many of the problems that we hear of can be also man made.

I just get so sick of breeder bashing. (I am not saying that you are doing this) If it was a registered ethical breeder why didn't he just take it back.

without opening a can of worms again like i did many years ago talking about patella luxation and what us breeders should be doing and being honest with each other and ourselves.. lots of breeders have said to me in the past that having a dog affected with PL can be due to injury. the same discussion came up with a person who bought a bulldog who ended up having surgery on her knees due to having grade 4 patella luxation. i told the person that in all the years we've been dealing with this and trying to breed sound dogs and sometimes it just not working out so you go back and start again, i've never had one of my dogs get patella luxation from an injury. there's of course a small percentage of a chance that it could be due to this.

i had a dog that i desexed that did alot of winning but he developed grade 3 in one leg, i got alot of opinions on what i should do with this dog and alot did say they'd still breed this dog after getting title because you know, one said, it could be due to an injury, my response was well i know for a fact he has not injured himself! it was a gradual decline being tested every 6 months until he was 3 years old. sometimes it can be an excuse to still put the dog in the gene pool which i think is wrong. i've seen many other major faults being bred just because the dog in question is a pretty example.

the vet that did my friends bulldog won't say if he thinks its due to an injury or genetic as he bought this dog from a breeder at 4 months old. so we have no idea if it is due to an injury or not.

just my opinion on the whole thing

[toy dog]

i agree with some of what you say here, when i was a kid we had a few crosses growing up, some with chi, some dogs with terrier cross and none of these dogs had any health issues and lived to old ages.

I have seen plenty of small chi/terrier mixes with patella issues and oblivious owners. They don't necessarily stop a dog from living a long and healthy life but I'd prefer a pup without them.

I've even been told that 'skipping' is normal for such dogs.

yep heard all the excuses even one vet said to one of my buyers that its normal "normal" for chihuahuas and toy dogs to skip this is what they do.

but yeah they can still lead normal lives the dogs and the one that had grade 3 in his left leg the other was zero grade you could not tell by just looking, lots of other breeders said where, i can't see it. you could hear it though, click like crazy so if they can't see it, the dog does n't have patella lux. i've even been congratulated by being honest with everyone telling everyone what i've done by desexing as they claimed, there's not enough of us are that honest which frightened me for this person to tell me that.

one breeder said a funny thing to me one day, she claims a lady came up and said my dog has patellas! the breeder goes well all dogs have patellas!!! the lady goes nooooooooo my dog has slipping knees, slipping patellas. well explain yourself a bit better.

Edited June 16, 2011 by toy dog

[carrie]

My little 'chihuahua' looked alot like that photo when he was 9 weeks. His sister looked identical to that pup. I was 18, stupid and thought papers unnecessary and bought my 'pure' chihuahua from a 'breeder' (she said she was so I didn't doubt! I had no idea what a backyard breeder was).

Now my boy is 7, and I adore him. But he's got lupus, cruciate and patella problems, he's had a prolapsed eye, collapsing tracea, terrible skin condition and allergies abs early onset arthritis. Now much of this is probably linked directly to lupus, and these things could all potentially happen to a pure bred dog.

But he also went from being a cute stocky pup who looked just like that photo and he weighed less than 500 grams, to being about 30cm tall, wearing a 35cm coat and he weighs 4.9kg and doesn't look pure bred at all.

I love him. I'd never trade him for the world, but a cute puppy photo is not enough.

[toy dog]

My little 'chihuahua' looked alot like that photo when he was 9 weeks. His sister looked identical to that pup. I was 18, stupid and thought papers unnecessary and bought my 'pure' chihuahua from a 'breeder' (she said she was so I didn't doubt! I had no idea what a backyard breeder was).

Now my boy is 7, and I adore him. But he's got lupus, cruciate and patella problems, he's had a prolapsed eye, collapsing tracea, terrible skin condition and allergies abs early onset arthritis. Now much of this is probably linked directly to lupus, and these things could all potentially happen to a pure bred dog.

But he also went from being a cute stocky pup who looked just like that photo and he weighed less than 500 grams, to being about 30cm tall, wearing a 35cm coat and he weighs 4.9kg and doesn't look pure bred at all.

I love him. I'd never trade him for the world, but a cute puppy photo is not enough.

poor dog! thats really awful my idea of an ethical breeder is someone that is honest with the buyer. Alot of chis have a mild case of collapsing tracea that doesn't affect their lives not complete collapse although some other toy breeds besides chis can also suffer from it, i had a pom with it and we were able to prolong her life for 3 yrs with my vet who had her on a good medication program also had other problems like hernia and probably grade 3 patella luxation. never bred this girl she was just my cherished little pet. she lived to 14 despite having all the health issues under the sun and she was bred by us and came from an untested line and what i term as a farmer (registered) and i see this breeder is still breeding un-registered now apparently from what i heard.

Edited June 16, 2011 by toy dog