11 weeks is a bit early to suspect that she would be blowing her puppy coat. Of course it could be just natural shedding, but shedding shouldn't be that much. I would check for allergies at this point. Check to see if her skin looks really dry or irritated or anything. Regardless of the cause, it should grow back once the "cause" is taken care of whether it is shedding, allergies or blowing.
I personally would want to see pics before commenting on the weight. Some chis are naturally thin and some are husky built...or as we call in the chi world, cobble. It could be if you have one cobble that the other one just seems skinny next to the husky one, lol. However, you should not be able to see the ribs. If you are seeing ribs, that is too skinny. In a good weight dog, you should be able to FEEL the ribs, but not SEE them. Pics would be good. If he truly is underweight, I would get him on a good high protein dog food. Personally, and some may scream NO at this, but personally, if one is underweight and is otherwise eating his regular food, a few tasting of your meals can help add weight. Now, I want to clarify this before anyone jumps down my throat, lol. First, if he isn't eating a reasonable amount of his own, don't give him yours or you are asking for a spoilt baby that wont eat what is good for him. Second, make sure whatever you do give is not on the list of no nos for dogs....you need to educate yourself on what human foods can be toxic for dogs. and Finally, do not make a meal of it for him...just some fattening up treats. I personally do not allow my chis human foods, but if Pepper (who has problems keeping weight on) is getting underweight, imo, a few hot dogs for the whole bunch are in order, lol. Bottom line though, keep his food available so he can eat on HIS time table not yours.....(free feed a skinny chi!) make sure he does eat something...at this age they can crash fast! Also, check to see if maybe he is just so hyper that his high metabolism is just running off the energy faster than he can put it in, lol...a lot of pups do this. Marsha ----- Original Message ----- From: Tara To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 12:46 AM Subject: [Chihuahuas] my latest chi questions...lol Hi all! I have a few questions for you more experienced chi owners.... Bella, my 11 week old female long-coat chi has been shedding like crazy! She almost looks like a short-coat chi! My question is..Will it grow back? and if so by when? My other chi, Nino, 17 weeks old, short-coat, just looks to be too skinny compared to Bella! I mean I see his ribs a little! We were just at the vet a few weeks ago and she didnt say anything about it, but it worries me. So I bought pupy nutra-cal, and he wont eat it off my finger, so I add about 1/2 tsp. in with his puppy food. I hope he'll gain weight, or is it normal for them to be this skinny? If anyone wants to see a pic, let me know and I'll post some on here. Thanks in advance for any advice you all can give...we appreciate it! Sincerely, Tara, Nino and Bella
