I have one chi that is definitely not a "morning" dog. He doesn't get up until about two hours after the other dogs and then he's not interested in eating or playing until around 1pm. Judging from my own five, I think the food problem will sort itself out once she realises that she's going to get fed regularly. One of mine always licks the dishes when they're empty even though she actually doesn't want any more and has left the dish with some in (one of the others will always finish it). I have two elderly big dogs as well so the dried food is left down all the time and once the chis realised that, it stopped being so interesting to them. She should have two meals a day.Try giving her slightly another meal at about 4pm if you can and do away with two of the treats. As for being cold, I'm in the UK and it very rarely gets to 76 here and mine don't have jumpers on.They do have waterproof coats for if it's raining during their walks and their beds are fleece beds. If you want to keep a jumper on her, she certainly won't be cold so maybe she's still just nervous? I think really you just need to give her time to settle in and start feeling comfortable. They all have different personalities. One of mine is perfectly happy wherever he is and whoever he's with but my youngest, has been with me now for over two months and still gets spooked very easily. Be patient :-) ----- Original Message ----- From: tphelan100 To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 6:31 PM Subject: [Chihuahuas] My new chi
Hi, I recently rescued a chihuahua and since I've never had this breed before, I would like some feedback, if anyone can help. 1) When I take her outside outside in the morning after she's been up for a few hours, she seems lethargic. She just plops on the grass and won't move to the point that it seems like something is wrong. She's basking in the sun but she is only 15 months and I thought she'd have more energy. Inside, she chases her toy when I throw it and she seems more energetic. She LOVES to go for walks in late afternoon and has energy then. But, if I try to throw a ball or chase her in the AM outside, she just sits there. Then she gets up and comes over and wants to be held and yawns a lot. Are they sleepy dogs? Could something be wrong? Maybe she just needs a lot of naps???? When she first came to my house she had more energy, but I wonder if it was nervous energy and now that she feels comfortable, she's more relaxed????? Yesterday, I brought her over to see a 5 month old Yorkie that she had played with nonstop a month ago. She began playing but then their big Golden Retriever came over and chased her to sniff her. She was scared and tried to hide.I got her and picked her up. When we took the Golden out of the picture, she was clingy to me and for 2 hours, the Yorkie tried to get her to play and she wouldn't. It was horrible to see because she was so happy to see the Yorkie. 2) Also she seems starved and after eating, she goes over to the empty bowl and licks it for about 5 minutes. She does this throughout the day until I feed her again at 5 PM (1/4 cup). She goes and licks her bowl over and over again. She eats at 8 AM (1/4 cup) and then has a few treats about 11 and 2 and at 10 PM. She weighs 4 lbs. One reason the owner sold her to me was that she weighed about 3 lbs and looked emaciated. She wasn't eating and I found out later that the previous owner took the dry dog food, moistened it, and then tried to shove it down the dog's throat to get her to eat.It was terrified of food. When the dog first came to my house, I put the food down, backed off, and let her eat. She picked up one morsel and looked and me and dropped it. But, I whispered "good girl" and clapped my hands. It took her about 1/2 hour to eat a few morsels. Eventually, she is eating on her own and LOVES LOVES LOVES food. SHe gobbles it down in about a minute and a half. If I kept food down all the time, she'd be huge. I do not think she would stop eating. (She's been dewormed even though she didn't seem to have any). She's gained over a pound with me. Why is she so hungry all day long? Behavioral? Medical? 3)She gets sooo cold, so easily. I have sweaters and coats for her, but I worry about the winter in my house. She shivers at 74 degrees. I have problmes with my heating system and it won't go higher than 66 in the winter. I have a nice warm fleece blanket on her cushy bed that she burrows under at night. I just bought an electric warmer for her bed for the winter. But, during the day, her tail is under her and she's shivering unless I bundle her up in my arms and warm her. I can't keep holdig her all day long to keep warm. Do I double up on the sweaters and coats? She looks so uncomfortable, I was thinking that maybe I should find her a new home that is warmer. But, I think she likes it here. And I like her!!! (CT is cold in the winter) Any ideas? Thanks for any help, Terry
