Review of Chihuahua by Animallove

Review by: Animallove (1

) Posted November 25, 2011 02:57
London United Kingdom

Owned dogs before:

Yes

If yes how long:

3 years

Based on experience with: 1 dog of this breed

How have you learned dog care / training techniques?

Kind of training techniques learned

My pet

Dog's name:

Louis

Dog's gender:

Male

Age when acquired:

4 months

Acquired from:

Breeder (professional)

Time owned:

1 month

I recommend this dog:

for adults and children over 8

Trained by:

Kind of training dog received:

When dog(s) was trained:

As a puppy

(0 = low; 5 = high)

Overall experience

Appearance		5
Temperament		4
Trainability		4
Overall activity		3
Barks a lot		5
Health vigor		3
With adult family members		5
With children below eight		N/A
With children above eight		N/A
With strangers		3
With cats		2
With strange dogs		N/A
Watch dog ability		4
Guard dog ability		1
Easy to groom		5
Low cost to own		1

Puppy Louis

I looked after my friends Chihuahua puppy, Louis, when he
was rather young, about four months old. My friend was away on a long holiday
so I had Louis for over a month. My experience is limited with this breed but I
am getting one for Christmas so I have done quite a bit of research.

Louis was a sweet puppy; he was quite nervous and to this
day is still a little timid. Most Chihuahuas are yappers but Louis wasn’t very
vocal at all. As soon as he became comfortable with a person he would be very
playful and loving. He loved being a lap dog but also had a lot of energy which
he would usually focus into chasing dust fairies or his own tail. At that time
most dog toys were a little too big for him to play with so I would fashion my
own toy out of braided, colorful wool which he would happily chase around. I managed to teach Louis to sit, lie down, roll
over and high five in a matter of hours. He was very obedient and eager to
please when I was looking after him and picked up training fast.

Having said this, Chihuahuas on the whole differ widely. It
is hard to pinpoint regular personality traits in this breed because each individual
dog has its own, unique personality. On the whole it is said that Chihuahuas
are unfriendly towards anyone but their owner, anti-social, noisy dogs. I have
not seen this in my experience with them but have also read that this very much
depends on training and socializing.

You can integrate a Chihuahua with your pets easily but as
with strange people, they are vocal about their suspicions with animals they
are not familiar with. I have also heard that they are a very difficult breed
to housebreak but Louis was already trained in this area when I looked after
him, just be prepared with a large stock of puppy pads and treats at hand.

Chihuahuas do not like being alone so having two would be an
ideal option especially if you are not constantly home. They like their own
breeds company best so if you were looking to get more than one dog, I recommend
a pair of Chihuahuas.

This breed does not need a lot of exercise, although they
may want it. They have a rather weak bone structure so playing with them in a
small area in the park and taking them for short walks is best. If you are
going for a long walk and you would like to bring your Chihuahua along, there
are many fashionable and practical bags designed for them to be put in, as well
as your handbag necessities, to give them regular breaks. Louis was actually
named after the Louis Vuitton dog carrier that was bought before my friend even
got him!

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Review of Chihuahua by Animallove