The Chihuahua once 6 mos old is a very hardly little dog. Until the Chihuahua puppy reaches this age you will need to take special precautions to keep your puppy happy and healthy.The tinier the Chihuahua you purchase the less room for error you will have in it's care. Although any size puppy can develop hypoglycemia from illness, the tinier the puppy the less fat and energy reserve held around its liver. So an extra tiny puppy can develop hypoglycemia from being too active and not eating enough calories to keep up with activity level..
Only those who can offer food 3 to 4 times each day should adopt dogs that will be 3 lbs or under as adults.
HEATING PAD-For all puppies under 4 months, or extra teensy adults, provide a heating pad set on LOW. The 2 hour auto shut off human heating pads can be dangerous and leave your dog cold on a freezing night. So buy the pads made for dogs. The pad may be needed in the summer indoors if you keep your air conditioning on and your inside temp is under 72 degrees.
If using a human type pad, Keep the pad wrapped in a pillow case and buy a cord cover to slip over the cord. Make sure the puppy can step away from the heating pad so the pad should not cover the full bottom of the Chihuahua bed/carrier. It is best to purchase a heating pad make just for dogs and puppies as they are safest to use.
NAP TIME "Just one more kiss, then baby needs to rest."
It is important for tiny puppies to have plenty of rest as well as exercise. Because puppies love to play so much, just like with growing children, they can get over-stimulated and not know when to rest.
YOUR NEW PUPPY NEEDS PEACE AND QUIET for the first couple weeks in his new environment. Constant running around and excitement will wear your puppy out and you will end up with a health crisis from exhaustion
Always make sure that your puppy has a place to call his own. Make sure the puppy has his own toys, blanket and bed in a quiet area he can rest, feel safe and secure, without being bothered by children. Your puppy should rest for 2 hours for every 1-2 hours of play. His area should not be drafty so not located near a fan nor venting nor near a door.His area should not be too warm nor have fumes so never right next to a furnace nor a fireplace.We prefer that you buy a playpen for the first 2 -4 months you have your puppy.
LET THE PUPPY EXPLORE A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME...A puppy may be small but will still like to walk around and have his feet on the ground! Do not let the puppy have full run of the home until over 6 month old or older. Also a loving child may want to carry the puppy all around but you must not permit this longer then a couple minutes a few times aday
Constant motion from being carried around can cause motion sickness and lack of appetite. How would you like to be on a constantly moving "ride" every day?
Vaccinations &
Health Warranty
The Vaccination Record includes all shots that the puppy or young adult has received as well as a suggested schedule for the next vaccinations. Puppy inoculations are against Parvo, Distemper, hepatitis, Adeno and Parainfluenza . A sixth vaccine called Lepto is not recommended due to the high rate of side effects. Rabies is not usually given before 6 months of age in the tinier fragile puppy, which most of ours are. Most vets will allow you to hold off on the rabies until the puppy is closer to one year. Never permit your Vet to give a rabies along with any other vaccines. Rabies should be given alone and at least 2 months away from any previous vaccination.
It is very important to keep young puppies away from adult dogs until they have had all series of their puppyhood vaccinations. Adult dogs can carry latent diseases--that means, the carrier will show no signs of the disease but can transfer the active disease to others who are susceptible, like puppies who have not had all of their vaccinations and whose immune systems have not fully developed yet. Exposure to adult carriers can have mild to very serious as well as fatal consequences.
NEVER VACCINATE A PUPPY WHO HAS DIARRHEA OR SHOWS MANY COCCIDIA IN STOOL. To do so can mean death . To understand this you need to understand how the parvo vaccine works. Upon introduction into the puppies bloodstream the Parvo vaccine particles lodges in your puppies intestinal lining and work to build immunity . Now imagine an intestinal lining has raw sores and ulcers caused by Coccidea or worms. The modified live Parvo vaccine lodges in the raw open sores in the intestinal wall. The vaccine can NOT follow the normal procedure to produce immunity and in too many instances the damaged tissues and vaccine react to cause a fatal form of PARVO.Informed veterinarians call this form of parvo modified live vaccine induced parvo . Not all Vets are aware of vaccine induced disease.
TREAT THE CAUSE OF DIARRHEA FOR 1 WEEK OR MORE BEFORE VACCINATING.
A huge lawsuit was won by many breeders against a vaccine company after dozens of litters of puppies died.The vaccine companies in my opinion were innocent, because it is likely the breeders had puppies with Cocci damaged intestines.The puppies probably died from modified live vaccine induced Parvo. As a matter of fact one article on this lawsuit stated that cocci was found on some of the puppies at autopsy.It seems the vets, vaccine companies nor the breeders saw the connection between the damaged intestines and the vaccinations.
Coccidea is contagious and will affect entire litters. Adults dogs normally carry it and are immune, but puppies under stress can have an overgrowth and need treatment with Albon.
NUTRITION
All puppies here are raised on the best puppy foods available. I also provide them with vitamins, Esbilac milk or cottage cheese. Puppies' bones and muscles need plenty of nutrition for proper growth. If they do not get the proper nutrients they need in their diet, their bodies will start to feed off of their developing bones and muscles, leaching calcium and protein.
We insist that buyers give their puppies NU VET POWDER during the warranty period.
Every puppy and young adult going to a new home is accompanied with a Care Kit, which includes a sample of the food that she/he has been eating.
FEEDING YOUR PUPPY- IAMS PUPPY- ALWAYS give your tiny Chihuahua puppy at least ONE TYPE SOFT FOODS per day . We advise Esbilac puppy milk twice aday over canned food,
Also keep on hand Karo Syrup in case of low blood sugar.Also NutricaL during times puppy hasn't an appetite. 1 inch for a missed meal. A puppy refusing feed is an emergency.Call me right away! Get to the Vet ASAP
DIARRHEA is even ONE or TWO watery stools not just several soft movements.Call your breeder ASAP and get the puppy to the Vet for stool testing.
DEHYDRATION Diarrhea can lead to rapid dehydration with body chemistry imbalance ,organ failure and death.Run to the Vet if your puppy has more then four soft stools in 12 hour period or One watery stool! Run to the Vet for a stool examination and treatment.Your Vet can put fluid poultice under the puppies' skin.
FLEA MEDICATION NO flea medicines given by mouth!
You can use Frontline or Advantage on the nap of neck every 2 to 3 months rather then monthly .
WARNING! Do not use over the counter flea topical's as the ingredients in them can cause seizures in cats and dogs.
EMERGENCY HYPOGLYCEMIA IS NOT A "NORMAL" CONDITION in tiny breed dogs. Not even of runts! The hypoglycemia means a puppy is SICK. Rarely is it only because of starvation.
Hypoglycemia needs to have treatment started at home BEFORE YOU DRIVE TO THE VET.This should only take 2 minutes before you drive to the Doctor. Signs of low blood sugar are walking as if intoxicated, laying on side making swimming motions and unable to stand up.Facial twitches and muscle spasms may lead to full blown seizures. Unconsciousness with arching of the head twisted backward over the top of back .Puppy may even appear dead but you will see signs of breathing. Body temperature will fall rapidly in a puppy who has severe low blood sugar, resulting in hypothermia.
If you race to the Vet you can end up with a dead puppy by the time they take the puppy back and try to figure out what is wrong.So supply heat and sugar as follows:
Before you leave the house slowly pry open the mouth to place two drops of honey inside. Even an unconscious puppy needs to have a couple drops of honey rubbed into the checks of the mouth.
Keep the puppies whole body turned to one side so he doesn't choke on his own saliva. Heated towels from your micro wave will supply heat for the drive.
Puppies not as severely affected may be able to walk or may be down and unable to get up. If conscious give your puppy 1 teaspoon KARO SYRUP OR HONEY using a dropper.The mouth of a puppy who has low blood sugar may be clenched shut tight so use some gentle pressure to open the mouth. Supply heat! Heating pad on low. Take pups temperature every 20 minutes for a few times to make sure hypothermia is going away along with low blood pressure.
RABIES WARNING: Please wait 2 full months after the puppyshots before giving RABIES.
There may be a link between Rabies and Distemper given close together causing neuro signs and death. I and many other breeders have heard of terrible illnesses causing death after rabies being combined with other vaccines. In ADULT dogs.Not just puppies.
The rabies vaccine given close to a yearly BOOSTER may be dangerous.. My own idea is that the modified live DISTEMPER( a neuro disease) somehow combines with the killed RABIES vaccine ( also a neuro disease) and kills certain vulnerable dogs who have hidden health weaknesses .
Affected adult dogs and puppies who die first show neurological signs, usually within 1 to 21 days of receiving the rabies vaccine along with a Distemper in a booster.
If you have had a bad experience happen to your pet with Rabies by itself or in combination with other vaccines please contact me.