Remember that your dog is just a puppy still and needs nap times just like a typical human baby. Mine can sleep till noon or later, take small naps during the day and goes to bed at around 9 or 10 p.m.. The more you play with them the better they sleep, and they are typically groggy when they first wake up. My little girl is almost 11 months old and still sleeps a lot. Even if you think about larger dogs, they still tend to sleep a lot. My parents have a couple of older medium to large breed dogs, and they sleep while my parents are gone during work, playing occasionally, but mostly sleeping. Then when they get home they play really hard for a couple hours and then resume their napping and again, sleep through the night. So, I would say that as long as your chi plays well and gets her exercise at some point throughout the day, then there shouldn't be much to worry about. Plus, the healthier the food that she eats, the more she will get the right nutrients to keep from being too lethargic.
Also, when I got my chi at 10 wks. old she didn't eat a whole lot of food. I found out through trial and error that the food I was feeding her didn't have strong enough smell (smaller dogs usually have a weaker sense of smell so they need stronger smelling food) also, with the foods that do smell good she would end up eating too much and getting sick. I found out that the food I was feeding her lacked in proper nutrition and that was why she would be so hungry. When they have the right nutrients in their diet they usually can self regulate their intake. Sometimes you have to go to the specialty pet stores that care more about the ingredients in the food they sell than the profit they might make from selling the big name brands. BIG TIP... Go there and get as many samples as you can of their healthy foods and see which ones she likes best. Many times, the dog will single snoutedly pick the most nutritious. I don't know if they have it where you are, but a good food for them is Timber Wolf Organics, though it is quite pricey. Either way, I still highly recommend speaking to someone that knows a thing or two about nutrition, and I don't necessarily mean your vet. A lot of veterinarians are not taught about internal and long term effects of dog food and will recommend some of the worst brands out there just because the brand is highly advertised and the dog seems to like it and looks healthy on the outside. I also live in a cold climate during the winter (Michigan) and a lot of people do not realize that Chihuahua's are not able to properly regulate their body temperature, therefore, they get chilled with the slightest of breeze. As long as you are keeping her warm with sweaters and t-shirts and the such, she should be okay. A lot of people criticize the dressed up chihuahua, but sometimes it is just for it's own good. However, I would recommend trying to fix your heat, or get it fixed. We try to keep our home around 68-70 during the winter, and she is usually okay in the house without clothing. Sometimes the key is to get her used to not wearing clothing in the house. I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. Melanie --- In [email protected], "tphelan100" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > 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 > " Lets talk about our wonderful little friends! Join today! " Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
