I meant to adopt a Pomeranian when I went hunting online to find available dogs in my area. I even contacted the local Pom rescue chapter. Love Poms, have had two in the past. But... this little chihuahua stole my heart. I arranged to meet her. She was docile and gentle.

Then I got her home.

Oh, my.

That's when I found out that the previous owner who brought her to the pound lied, the foster mom was either clueless or dishonest with me, and the shelter either conducted a very slipshod evaluation or passed her off as well as being a dog with "no issues."

This was Feb 1. Since then, I've been educating myself like mad on these little terrors.

Do you have one?

You will be visiting this website a lot:

Warren Eckstein's website for The Pet Show

You can listen to past radio shows and you will most likely find the solution to your problems with your dog. He has a chihuahua rescue himself.

You may want to buy his book, "How to Get Your Dog to Do What You Want."

I have adopted a pug rescue a month ago and its not easy!
Whats the prob with your chi? they do like to yap and does she/he pace alot?

Well, I have two Chihuahuas.
Growing up we always had several. It wasn't until I married that I didn't have one around...and my husband refused to let me have one. He said he wouldn't have any "yapping ankle nippers" in his house.
Yeah, and twelve years ago I got sick and was "allowed" to have one...and that little fellow is now my husband's "baby".
In fact, my husband told me he has never thought of him as a "dog", but as a completely different entity.
My little dogs don't see many people...so when they do they bark a lot and they're a little defensive, but other than that...they're great.

What is your dog doing, Maria, that has you stressed?


Adding in pics of my babies:



Dapple (black and white -- my husband's "entity") and Emme




My sweet Emme

I have two, male and female, litter mates. They are eight years old, and very friendly, not yappy at all, and they really like kids. They're a little nervous, but very friendly & sweet.....until it comes to other dogs. They really dislike most other dogs, and don't try to hide it. I think that's because, when they see a bigger dog coming (which iis practically EVERY dog, really) they figure they're going to die and might as well go down swinging.

Oh, and they're not 100% reliably housetrained, even now.




I'll try to post a picture later.

Funny, that is the argument against them from my partner, too. They should be in a cage with a little treadmill (is the joke).

Yapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyap.....
.

We lived next door to one. It was all I could to to maintain my sanity until we moved.

We had one growing, and I've known several people that have them. In my admittedly limited experience, they have always had an aggressive personality that had to be tempered. Trouble is with most folks I know, they find it cute when the are nippy and growly, so they tend to not discourage the behavior. Despite not being lethal, it's still a real drag to be around any pet with a bad temperament that you cannot interact with. I think it can be remedied, but I'd say if you are adopting the little guy from another home you have your work cut out for you.

Still, they are pretty darn cute. I can see the appeal.

I've always wanted a Chihuahua because they are small and cute but I have to wonder if they get along with cats or not since I don't want to get rid of my cat.

Our chi likes the cats well enough, but the slightly bigger dog is a problem. then again the bigger dig is a big baby and bullied the little dog a big despite our best efforts. Then again our chi is 15 lbs, down from his previous 22, so he's not really a teacup chi, more of a dutch oven chi.

The chi loves children too. He's a good dog but HATES to be alone or away from the action and will cry incessantly. Lately I've taken to talking to him and explaining why he's outside while papa cleans the rug, and he's quieting down now. They are spooky smart.

The smart factor is one reason I want one, besides their being so cute and not a large dog. I live in an apartment so if I were getting a dog it would have to be small and able to live in a small space with a small yard. I'm home most of the time so housebreaking or at least taking a dog out and giving it ample opportunity to use the outdoor facilities wouldn't be a problem.

Actually, according to one book I read, which evaluated dogs' intelligence on two scales (obedience and problem-solving), chihuahuas were third from the bottom of about 300 breeds LOL! So it depends on what you mean by "smart".....

Mine are not smart, nor are they aggressive (except with other dogs) or yappy. I think the nasty ones get that way because they are treated as little dolls by their owners and are not encouraged to overcome their natural fears. Most dog biters do so out of fear.

Aww, very cute. I get the alien-creature association, but cute nonetheless.

Any Cute Overload fans here? cuteoverload.com

Lots of small dogs featured on that site-- not nearly as many of the lab-malamute size range I love, but they have the occasional bigish breed puppy or mutt doing something cute.

Well I think that was a culturally biased survey, that's what i think. Mine is a smart one, no matter whose survey says what! Hmmh!

(too bad he's a royal pain in the tookis)

My dogs are extremely intelligent and they do communicate with us through body language, looks, and touch.
They are so clever and they rationalize.
I'm always astounded by the things they do. And not just 'cause they're my dogs.

Well, mine are dumb a a bag of hammers, and I love them, too!

Oh, and by the way, they get along great with the cat. Also, when we got them as puppies, we had two large dogs then, too. They loved one of the big dogs in particular, and whenever the chihuahuas felt like getting a head-to-toe licking they'd just stand in front of the big dog and wait. So maybe they're not as dumb as I think they are

The problems occur when a breed becomes very popular. Then the bad "greedy" breeding begins and the entire breed acquires a bad reputation. Know your breeder.

Both of my babies and my mother's little 'hua are rescues. We got them all as puppies, and through the shelter. None came from terribly abusive breeding situations, but there were problems in the homes and the owners turned them over voluntarily.
Yep, all three of my pooches are rescued dogs...and they are adored beyond belief, but still treated like dogs, for the most.