It is often unsafe to use muzzles on ANY short nosed breed. So, the safety of it with YOUR chi would depend a lot of the size of the snout. It isn't a breed thing, per se, as a nose thing. For instance, it really isn't much different with a deer faced chi than with any other long nosed dog. But today's chis are getting smaller and smaller noses, and that can cause a muzzle to interfere with breathing, not to mention it is hard to put a muzzle on something that practically aint there! lol.
As for the comment that chis are nervous, ect....sounds like the lady is just ignorant of the chi breed. Some chis are nervous and some are very outgoing, but most people with no chi experience do tend to picture a nervous shaking little rat, lol I would try a harness instead of a leash. Much safer! I would also learn to do the nails yourself. Why pay good money for something that is so simple for you to do yourself? You could place all the saved money in an "emergency vet care fund" :-) Marsha ----- Original Message ----- From: Amanda. To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:45 PM Subject: [Chihuahuas] Went To Petsmart.. I was in petsmart today, and I looked into getting Chaz's nails done. He's a boston terrier/chihuahua mix. The lady in the grooming department said she can't groom him unless he's had his rabies shot. I KNOW rabies shots are mandatory, but right now I'm waiting to get it until I get him fixed so everything can be done at once (before someone rips my head off) - she told me that he'd have to have his rabies shot being a chihuahua, because she cannot put a muzzle on him. I asked her why and she told me that chihuahuas are prone to squeezing or a flat trachea and it's because putting him in a muzzle may put him under stress since Chihuahua's are very nervous animals. So, I was wondering has anyone heard anything about this? I've never read anything about it. Also are there some alternatives that I can go through at home to getting his nails down? I take him for walks quite a bit around the blacktop basketball court around my neighborhood, and his nails are still so long. Also, I looked into leash training him now that I know about the trachea problem - I'm just wondering what methods people suggest. I only use a leash currently when he needs to go pee (even though we have a fenced in backyard, we have dogs that stay outside all day and bark when he's out so of course he tries to run towards it) and when I take him into pet stores. The method I read about is just stopping in place when he tries to tug you, so he can't go anywhere. I'm just wondering if there's any other alternative that may work better. -Amanda
