Standards call for "with or without molara" so basically, it is ok either way.... Marsha
----- Original Message ----- From: emily Bloise To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 11:25 AM Subject: Re: Re: [Chihuahuas] Info requested is the opend fontanel what they call molera? I beleive I read in a Chi magazine that the molera was what they used to tell if a chi was full-blooded. This was years ago, but it is very common in chis. My Pablo's was open for quite some time, but being a deerhead, I guess his closed up pretty early, about 6 months. However, some don't close at all and it is okay... -- em :) ===================== From: Anne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 2006/12/05 Tue AM 09:34:52 CST To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Info requested > My daughters chihuahua had puppies 2 weeks ago and the one I chose did not grow and today she died, the vet said her fontanalle was full and states hydrocephalic. Is this common? The fact that she didn't grow and then died does sound like hydrocephalus. I don't know what the vet was basing his diagnosis on, but I sure hope it wasn't the puppy's open fontanel. Many, many chihuahuas have fontanels that take years to close or never close at all, and this is perfectly normal in chihuahuas. One of my chis, Chiclet, took until she was four years old to close. My other chi, Luna, still has an open fontanel at 5 years of age and I'm sure always will, because hers was larger. She's perfectly healthy otherwise, and we have to be careful of her head when she plays because she loves to roughhouse and race madly around the house. Hydrocephalus isn't common and is sometimes misdiagnosed because of the open fontanel and the applehead head shape, but it is more common among chihuahuas than most other breeds. With the applehead head shape, the very common chihuahua open fontanel, and the fact that in chi puppies their heads look oversized anyway, the ONLY way to confidently diagnose hydrocephalus is with a skull ultrasound or MRI. Chihuahuas are the longest-lived breed of dog there is, and it's not that unusual for them to live into their late teens/early 20s. So Bandit should still have plenty of time to enjoy your love. Anne
