# My Adorable New Puppy!!



## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

I will be getting my very own puppy soon! I am actually making a trade for one of our does.  So, it is an even sweeter deal!! The lady said she absolutely loves my website and wants me to design her one, so that is part of the trade as well.

So, I am open to name suggestions but for now, I am calling him "Bonzai." He is pure-bred chihuahua -- fawn merle w/ black spots and very, very small. His dad is 3 lbs. and his mom is 5 lbs. The lady said that if I weren't getting him, she'd be keeping him as a male for her females, so I guess that's a good sign?? :shrug: She said he is gorgeous. I'll be getting him fixed -- just want a pet. 

Anyways, here is my new boy!! I'll be actually getting him in early March, maybe late February.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

awe he is really cute.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

What a cutie!! Not much of a lap dog kinda person, but I have to admit, that is a cute little puppy!!


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

Congrats on your baby. I have showed with the chihuahua breed before, and worked with them, so I have some thoughts, but it's not my place to say them without being asked! That would be rude.  You could PM me if you'd like to learn more about my thoughts on merle chihuahuas. (I think they are gorgeous babies, but there is information pertaining to them that you may or may not want to know!)

Anyways, feel free to ignore me! :greengrin: Babies are wonderful no matter what!


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

Yeah, I never thought I'd get a small dog, they actually used to disgust me.  But, he is too cute and my little sister got a chihuahua that is just the cutest little guy and very sweet. So, I was thinking about it and then got this email from a gal who wanted to trade! So, it worked out I guess.  I want him to be trained really well and am doing all sorts of research on it. Crate-training is the best for teaching them to go the bathroom outside, right? It's what I've heard anyways. . . .


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

Do NOT let anyone tell you all chihuahuas are yappy little spoiled untrainable beasts!

Our Luna is the most well behaved little snot there is. :greengrin: 

She is 100% house trained. We started with paper training as a puppy. It just takes patience and lots of time. One good way is to TIE the puppy to you. This way you can always keep a close eye on him. Anytime it looks like he's even CONSIDERING going potty, off to the paper! Or outside if you want to skip paper. ALWAYS the same spot. Consistency is key.

Crate training is a great tool, but I've never had much success in it. Maybe I'm just a sucker? With a baby like that though, he'll need to potty every 3-4 hours, if you leave him in his crate too long and he potties in it, that's taking HUGE steps back. You must never let him potty in his crate. Make sure it isn't too big, too. Too much room is bad.

Barking! My Luna barks on command or if someone is outside. She does not bark constantly. Puppies must learn that barking without reason is unacceptable. A quick "SHH! Quiet!" with a tap (JUST a tap!) to them usually snaps them out of the behavior. Soon enough they learn when its acceptable to bark and when its not, and to stop when they hear Quiet. If the tap doesn't work, a squirt with the water bottle will!

PLEASE! Play with his little feet and toes every day! Give him tidbits while you do it. Trust me, you will be ever thankful when it comes time to clip those toenails. I can't tell you how many little MONSTERS we would get in the grooming salon.

Have any more questions? :greengrin:


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

Wow! That helps soooo much! Thanks!! 

I will definitely be playing w/ his feet and toes everyday. I also will be starting him early w/ brushing his teeth every day, little dogs sometimes (well, almost all the time!) have the nastiest breath!!  

This lady said that her chihuahuas are not the yappy kind. I asked her too how this boys personality is and she said very calm and laid-backed. Which is great! Just what I want.  

So, the paper training. . . . hmmm. Do u have to be around all the time? I volunteer most days of the week and am sometimes gone from 8:30 - 3:30 and later. I can always stop back home about noon, let him go potty, and then get back. The thing w/ the paper that confuses me, is how do they finally learn to go outside or do they never?? That is a :scratch: for me. 

Lemme think some more. . . . this is so tremendously helpful!!


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## badnewsboers (May 9, 2008)

Epona142 said:


> PLEASE! Play with his little feet and toes every day! Give him tidbits while you do it. Trust me, you will be ever thankful when it comes time to clip those toenails. I can't tell you how many little MONSTERS we would get in the grooming salon.
> 
> Have any more questions? :greengrin:


Haha, I always dread when I see someone bring a little dog in for a nail trim at my work. Its rare that we get a well behaved one. It never fails that the nails are ridiculously long too.


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

Paper training is sort of a step between. It's not necessary, you can skip it entirely and take him straight outside. It will help however, if you're not going to be around 24/7 (I forget not everyone works from home!). I usually paper train almost from birth, or when they come home, depending on the circumstance. When they are a bit older and can learn to hold it longer, we gradually go outside more and more, we bring them to the same spot every time, and say "go potty" and we THROW A PARTY! when they potty outside. Lots of happy talking, jumping around, and treats! They get to play after wards. Try not to take them straight back inside after pottying, because they will dawdle so they can spend more time outside. If you play when them AFTER, they think, "Hey . . . I go potty . . . then I get to play outside!"

Eventually the paper is completely phased out except for emergencies. 

Instead of crate training, I would get a pen, they sell them as little exercise pens and things. This way he has room for a bed to sleep in, an area to play with his toys, a bowl of water and some dry kibble (being small there is a risk of hypoglycemia so at a young age they get free choice dry), and a spot for a puppy pad. (Better than newspaper!) Especially since you will be gone longer than his tiny bladder can hold. It would be unfair for him to try to crate train, they are just too small to hold it long. This way he has a "good" place to potty until he is older and can hold it.

Good job on teeth brushing! I sometimes forget about that because my dogs do not need this. They are on a raw diet which cleans their teeth. 

Bad breath is more often caused by BAD food than ANYTHING else! Feeding raw is time consuming, so I don't ever expect people to do that, but please try to get the BEST dog food possible. Dog food is a whole other post in itself; but if you would like to learn more, let me know and I'll have time tonight to get out my information for you. My dogs have NO smell ever. Their breath, their fur, nothing. Stink comes from their food. Unless they roll in poop . . . then it comes from poop! :greengrin:


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

badnewsboers said:


> Epona142 said:
> 
> 
> > PLEASE! Play with his little feet and toes every day! Give him tidbits while you do it. Trust me, you will be ever thankful when it comes time to clip those toenails. I can't tell you how many little MONSTERS we would get in the grooming salon.
> ...


I totally agree, the little land sharks!! Drooling slobbering, ankle biting little demons!!
They are always so small you can't even get a little muzzle one them!!
Our lives are in danger at work because of three pound Chihuahua's!!
Just joking, it does get pretty bad, especially when the little pooch is not 
used to being messed with..Olivia..mess with his ears too :wink: 
Gotta keep him knowing who the boss is!!


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

Please be careful with his ears! It's good to touch him so he's accustomed, but you can also damage the delicate cartilage that will hold his ears up in the future. Just be gentle.


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

Sorry I didn't realize how that could of been taken, I didn't mean yank on them, knowing Olivia, she would never. 
It is so difficult to look into a dogs ears at the clinic, cause they are not used to being touched at all.Personally I think just being held is challenging for some dogs, or to be restrained really freaks them out! I always 'mess' with our puppies ears..What I mean is to gently caress them, look in them, get them used to being handled, not to damage , but to train, just incase there is ever a problem and they need to be vetted, even for yearly exams, they have ears examined..I hope that better explains what I ment..


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## badnewsboers (May 9, 2008)

At my work company policy doesn't allow us to muzzle most small breeds. We have to put an e-collar on them, which they of course try to rip off. So we have to have one person try to keep the e-collar on and another working to do the nails. Even then its pain though. A Chihuahua came in one day with nails over an inch long and razor sharp. He drew blood on me and the groomer holding him because of those nails. Of course they wanted the nails grinded too. Then the owners had the nerve to come back and complain about the price, which the manager than reduced, even though they were originally charged the right amount.

But yeah, have a well behaved dog and your groomer and vet will love you for it.


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

I know you didn't mean to be rough with him. :hug: A lot of people just don't realize that you can damage the cartilage that holds the ear up, so I just wanted to pop in that gentle reminder.  

As for us groomers, I never could understand why people would bring their chihuahua's into the groomers! Unless of course it was for nails, when they couldn't handle their little monsters themselves. With good management, you're baby won't need to see the groomer. After all, with a chihuahua, a bath is merely a dip in the sink! :slapfloor:


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## badnewsboers (May 9, 2008)

Well some people don't like expressing anal glands themselves either. Blech! Not a fun part of the job.

Heck, with a dog that little you can just use a wet wipe. :greengrin:


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

Anal Glands! Ugh! Thanks for reminding me. :GAAH: Like I really wanted to remember those days of leaning over and doing that.  

Another benefit of raw feeding . . . no anal gland problems! :thumbup:


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

Epona142 said:


> Anal Glands! Ugh! Thanks for reminding me. :GAAH: Like I really wanted to remember those days of leaning over and doing that.
> 
> Another benefit of raw feeding . . . no anal gland problems! :thumbup:


Epona, maybe you could PM me later, I would like to know more about raw feeding...
Thanks!


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## Amos (Oct 2, 2008)

I second that!
If you could pm me too Epona, I would like to know about raw feeding and if someone has to feed dry, what good brands you may know of?


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

Yeah, is there a thread somewhere on here for feeding dogs/puppies?? 

Thanks everyone soooo much!! 

My siblings will be here throughout the day, so they could let him out to go potty -- I just don't trust my sis to watch him if he were running around and I really want this done right! I will look into a "playpen" for my boy too, thanks for that advice.

We feed a mixture of dry dog food (we get it from Petco, not the cheap stuff, for sure!) and also raw food. We buy the frozen bags in specialty dog stores (there is one right in our town) it is the little patties that you just take out of the freezer and microwave for about 20-30 seconds. Milo (my sister's chi) loves them. So, that's good, right?

Thanks again everyone, this is so awesome, you all are great!


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

Looks like I'll be writing a thread in a few moments. :greengrin:

Give me a little while to finish some things up, and then I'll be back to start a thread covering raw feeding and dog foods.

Edited to Add: Here we go! viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7242


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## Amy Goatress (Oct 2, 2008)

Too cute and lovely!


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

Hey Olivia..any more ideas for names??
You still don't like 'Peanut', 
Ceasar??? Chopper??Fluffy???


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

Actually, we were talking about it last night and I am really liking the name "Marley" now. What do ya think??

My brother, Gabe was looking up popular chi names and one of the most popular was Segmund Frue (sp?) What a wierd name!! Gabe was almost rolling on the floor laughing!


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## DopeyOpie (Jan 5, 2009)

He is so precious!


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

Love that name Marley!! It's pretty cute!!


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