I know you have already gotten lots of responses, but I'll go ahead and add my 2 cents :-) Cent one....chi's shiver!! lol. Normally they are not cold, per se, they just normally shiver like that, lol Cent 2, .....they are sun worshipers....so basically, early in the morning, you get them out of a nice warm bed and expect them to go out into the cold??? no way!! Find that elusive sunspot and bask in the warmth!! lol.
Ok, maybe I have more than 2 little cents, lol.......As for the food.....sounds like she has food issues just from having to deal with her previous idiots. She wants to eat, but is afraid of food.....so she grabs what she can as quick as she can and drops it if caught. I would bet that after a little more time with you, when she sees it is ok to eat, then she will start eating more reasonably. Just give that time. Right now she is fighting her physical need for food against her mental fear of it, and hasn't yet found the proper balance. This is one of the reasons I begin free feeding from the time a pup is weaned. The body knows how much it needs and when it needs it, but once we start putting the body on a time schedule, we throw all the natural instinct off balance. Often times it becomes impossible to get it back to where hunger is the controlling point. She may never be able to free feed, but I think with time, she will better adapt to proper eating habits. Marsha Do not tell God how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your God is. ----- Original Message ----- From: tphelan100 To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 1:31 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
