Hi Susan! Welcome to the group! It always makes me really happy to see people wanting to learn about their dog BEFORE they get them. About the crate training; I think it's a wonderful idea and method, especially for Chihuahua puppies. Think about it this way; they are soooo tiny, that if left out alone (while you aren't at home) they could get hurt very easily. Also, it helps housetrain them. With my Selena, I used to leave her in her crate any time I would have to leave her at home; if I knew I was going to be gone longer than I thought she could "hold it", I would put her crate (door open) in the bathroom with her food and water, and a pee pee pad. She learned to go on the pad very quickly; now she's actually litter trained. Even when I'm at home, she goes to the bathroom in her box. Now, I can leave her out free in the apartment when I go out; but I make sure that everything is put away so nothing will fall on her, I move everything away from the bed so she can't climb on it (I'm afraid that if she jumped off, she might land wrong and hurt her legs), and I close the door to any room that it might not safe for her to be in without me. The thinking behind using a crate in housetraining is that a puppy won't go to the bathroom in a place where they have to stay (Of course, tell that to the beagle I fostered-- he new that if he went in his crate at night, I would let him out to clean it up, so he used it to his advantage). This also means that it would be very cruel to leave them in the crate longer than they can hold it. Start socializing the puppy as soon as you get it-- take him everywhere, and let other people hold him all the time; this way, he will be used to strangers, and he won't be afraid to let other people handle him. Chihuahuas are very prone to being fear-aggressive, and very protective if you don't train them at an early age. Sorry this is so long; hope it helps though! Your new puppy is gorgeous!
Hillary and Selena in Florida [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- In [email protected], "starr1_32703" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi! Everyone, > I'm Susan from Central FL. Since I am getting a new puppy in eight > weeks, I wanted to join this group and hopefully learn alot about > sharing my home and life with a Chihuahua. " Lets talk about our wonderful little friends! Join today! " Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
