My co worker has been looking for a chi puppy for 3 years. She wanted to rescue so thats why she has been looking so long, she wanted a puppy, and she wanted a chi who would be about 5-6 pounds full grown.
So everyday we do searches at work together, and yesterday I found a 3 month old chi at our local pound. She had a broken leg and she was so tiny. So my co worker called the pound to get info on her and she became avaliable yesterday, they also told us her leg is broken in two places. My co worker wanted her, she also said that we could easily fix her leg at work and most people wouldnt be willing to adopt a dog with a broken leg because of costs, which is true. So she gave me money and I went to the pound and bailed her out.
She is so sweet, just sat on my lap the whole time, i took her back to work and to my co worker who fell head over heels for her. Shortly after I left work and got a call about four hours later, I guess my co workers mother in law absolutly refuses to have a dog in the house. Just so you guys know, the mother in law had okd a dog a couple days earlier, so it wasnt like my co worker didnt ask and just surprised the MIL, she knew.I feel bad for my co worker, she already got attached and had bought all these things for the puppy.
So my co worker didnt know what to do, she doesnt want to take her back to the pound so i told her to make her comfy at work over night and i will come get her in the morning.
Im gonna find her a home, but im gonna wait till she is healthy and her leg is healed. The people at the pound kept her in their locker room so she wouldnt be exposed to all the sick dogs at the pound. She is soooo tiny, she weighs 3.3 pounds but thats with a huge cast on her leg that is as big as her.
I've never had a small dog before, her cast wont come off for a month so im trying to reserach things i need to know. Id like to get her potty trained as much as possible, then she would be asier to adopt out, im also gonna train her basic obediance while she is in my care.
Im worried about the potty training though, is it harder to train a small dog or easier? Any tips on owning a small dog would be appreciated. Im not even sure how much food i should give, but i can ask that a work.
I also need a name for her and i will post pics later today. She is tan with a black muzzle, her cast is bright pink and matches her collar, she is sooo cute!Her name right now is Noel but it doesnt fit her. We also think she a little doxie in her. When you hold her she is sooo calm and snuggly, and when you put her down she is so hyper and funny. And with that big cast on her leg its funny to watch her play and walk around, cute little baby.
Awwwww, she sounds so cute. I can't wait to see some pics. But I know my sisters Chi was a pain in the a$$ to potty train. I know she uses the pee pads though. But other than that I have never owned a small dog so I can't be any help in the tip department.
I three dogs. A big (Shepard mix), medium (Beagle) and small.(Maltipoo). I trained them to go potty outside. Mia was easy to train. You little puppy will be a little harder with the cast on. I took 2 weeks off of work and took her outside every hour.I put a little doggy door on my slider screen door for $20.00. She weighed 4lbs when I got her and it wasn't to hard for her to push. She lerned the first day and has had no accients in 3 months. Little gos are great. I also take in the car every weekend to get her use to it. You might want to do the same. Usually people with little dogs take there doge every where with them. At least I do. I breeder had her on pedigree wet and dry food. I tried to switch to a better food, but she would not eat any wet food unless it was pedigree. I did change the dry to Canidea it has alot of vitamins in it. The food will tell you how much to feed them by wight and age.It hard for them to eat hard food so you need to smash it for them. Chi like to burrow in between the blankets. My first dog was a Chi. They also get cold. I always carried a blanket for her. Chi's are great dogs. My next dog will be a Chi. They're like kids. Let me know if you have anymore questions.
Awww! Poor thing! I would totally adopt her if I lived by you!
Ella is about 5 pounds, but Snickers (the Chi I had to give up) was only 3 pounds. It is true that Chihuahuas are the biggest pain to potty train. Even more so when they're that small because I seriously think they get lost and can't remember where their 'area' is, lol. Because of her size, I would start off puppy pad training her. I wouldn't give her free roam of your house at all. If you could use a bathroom or laundry room, that would be ideal. It sounds sad, but keep her in that area most of the time unless you can literally be sitting on the floor playing with her. Put a heating pad in the area and set it on low and put it under the blankets. As for food, make sure it is a small bite formula. If she can't even chew that, you may have to start out with canned food. It also might help to add a small amount of yogart or cottage cheese everyday to encourage her to eat frequently. I would also purchase 'Nutracal'. It's a vitamin/calorie supplement that you can get at Petsmart. Use a fingertip amount and give it to her twice a day. The combination of all of that should help with any hypoglycemic issues, since due to size, she unfortunately has a higher chance of.
As for the potty training, lay the pads down and train her the same way you did your dogs. Say 'go potty' over and over. If she doesn't go, don't let her out. As soon as she goes, let her out (supervised of course). Keep in mind that even though puppies go every half an hour or so, that Chihuahuas go even more, lol. Ella seriously would go like every 15 minutes when she was young. I wouldn't do an eating schedule like you would normal dogs because Chis need those constant calories, so her food should always be available. They are notorious for circling before they go, so really watch for that and scoop her up and bring her to her area right away. When they have accidents, if you don't catch it, you seriously can't even tell they went when they're that young, lol. So if you leave the room and let her roam, and come back and there's nothing, that doesn't mean she didn't go I think that is why it's so hard to potty train small dogs is because we don't catch their accidents, but they can still smell them on the carpet. So don't feel bad if you have to answer the phone or something and put her in her area. Being that small, it will be pretty easy to have her go potty and then just carry her around. Ella wasn't even really into exploring all that much, she just wanted to be held. Once she is older, you can start putting the pads outside and encouraging her to go there instead. But because of her size and the winter season, it might be easier to do the puppy pad thing first.
Hope some of this helps! I would love to see pics if you get some
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-The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all
Thanks for all the tips and stuff guys! For some reason my camera isnt wanting to download the pictures of Noel onto my computor, but i promise I will fix the problem, she is just to cute.
Well another co worker of mine wanted her, he has 5 small chis already, he is a vet tech and use to be a doctor in Mexico, he is a really nice guy and he loves his animals. We call him the dog whisperer cause every dog melts in his arms, even the most aggresive dogs love to just sit and be pet by him.He said he has one younger chi right now who tries to play with the others who dont want to play. So this little girl should be a perfect playmate for his lonely Chi.
I miss her so much though, she spent the whole day yesterday sleeping in my sweatshirt, i got so attached, my boyfriend did too, and he actually got mad at me when i told him she wouldnt be coming home with us lastnight. He wanted to keep her as his dog, but i know that i would be the one taking care of her and right now i cant take care of 5 dogs,4 cats and a bunny. I already got a routine established with all 9 and a little baby puppy would take away from my other animals time and needs.
I believe she will be happier in a home with dogs her size, and she can still come to wrok so i can see her.
Aww, well I'm glad she went to a good home :) As much as your boyfriend wanted her, it's good that you have the intuition to know that it might have been too much. Not a lot of people can do that, especially with a little dog. That's how I feel even though I just have one right now since Hunter is with that little girl. I sometimes want another, but I worry that I would be overwhelmed with 2 toddlers and 2 dogs. If I did get another, I would probably want an older shelter dog. Like one around 4 or 5 years.
She sounds like she is real sweetie :)
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-The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all
it sounds like you did the best thing that you could for her. she will be around her own size dogs and be spoiled. i would be in doggie heaven with a room full of french bulldogs, but i know i couldnt really handle that many and be able to spoil them all like they need. we will be getting another one or maybe two, but that is a ways down the road. at least you will be able to see the pup and see that she is doing good.
When you said your boyfriend got mad it reminded me of my husband. I adopted a small dog 3 months ago. I didn't think my husband would grow so attached to her. It's funny when you see grown men cuddling with a small dog. I'm so glad you found the puppy a good home. You don't have to worry about the puppy since he has the same breed and maybe he'll let you visit.
I think that is why it's so hard to potty train small dogs is because we don't catch their accidents, but they can still smell them on the carpet. So don't feel bad if you have to answer the phone or something and put her in her area. Being that small, it will be pretty easy to have her go potty and then just carry her around. Ella wasn't even really into exploring all that much, she just wanted to be held. Once she is older, you can start putting the pads outside and encouraging her to go there instead. But because of her size and the winter season, it might be easier to do the puppy pad thing first.
