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How To Care For Chihuahua Dogs
Enjoying your pet is easier when you are familiar with how to care for Chihuahua dogs. There are a few special conditions that your dog is prone to and if you know how to care for Chihuahua dogs, you will not be unprepared.
Housetraining
The Chihuahua is susceptible to cold even when you feel hot. For this reason, some owners choose to litter or paper train their Chihuahua to use a litter box or paper for its needs because this way they can avoid exposing the dog to winter temperatures.
Feeding
A Chihuahua is good at self-regulating its food intake and overweight Chihuahuas usually have somebody giving them too many rich treats. A Chihuahua will burn up energy quickly and even though it may only need half a cup of food everyday, tiny sized kibble should be made available to the dog at all times to prevent the Chihuahua from getting low blood sugar. Your dog should not have an all meat diet and should have vegetables available as a part of its diet.
Some Chihuahuas may be prone to kidney stones so be sure that your Chihuahua drinks lots of water. If you do not make your own dog food, make sure that when you buy dog food that it does not have by-products because some of the by-products used by unethical dog food manufacturers can include feathers, hooves, road kill, euthanized pets and other things that you do not want to feed your Chihuahua.
Exercising
Though it is tempting to carry your Chihuahua everywhere, your little dog does need exercise. So, let the Chihuahua walk too. Carrying a Chihuahua too much can make it fearful and aggressive because the dog expects you to be protecting them from anything and everything and may get aggressive if faced with something or somebody new when they are alone.
You can put your Chihuahua on a harness when you want to walk it though you should make sure the Chihuahua is warm at all times. It is not suitable to walk a Chihuahua in the winter because it is too cold. When it is cool out, put a sweater or coat on your Chihuahua. Chihuahuas should not be allowed to jump up to and from tall heights. The reason is that the dog's patella can be seriously injured from such a jump.
Grooming
The longhaired Chihuahua should be brushed daily and the smooth coat Chihuahua can be simply smoothed with a cloth and brushed sometimes. You can give your Chihuahua a monthly bath but be careful not to get its ears wet.
Basic Manners
The Chihuahua is a very loving breed that can become very attached to only a few people. It also may not like small children because it senses the danger of letting the child play with it. As you learn to care for Chihuahua dogs, you will find this dog is happy to stay with its owner all day.
The care for Chihuahua dogs is not much different that it is for other breeds. A Chihuahua' s small size does create some special considerations that you will become familiar with as you care for Chihuahua dogs.
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