Also, most Chihuahua's will have a hard time with larger dogs, just due to their size and speed. Many large dogs will come at her as if they are charging her, and this can scare them. Sometimes, the best thing to do is not "rescue" her, as long as the other dog poses no threat of harm. Chihuahua's are known to stand their ground, mine fights a lot with her cat sisters which are at least twice her size and weight, and has made friends with my parents dogs, it just takes time, and sometimes training on the larger dogs part. If the chi is not raised around or acclimated to larger dogs, children, strollers, skateboards, and other such fast moving things, she will always be scared of them. Socialization can be the best thing for a chihuahua and the chihuahuas owner. Patience and persistence pays off in the end.
Along with my advice on heat and lethargy... basking in the sun is a normal thing for most animals, and can be a great way for the chi to warm itself. My chi absolutely loves a thick grassy lawn. she would lay in it and roll all over it for hours if I let her. I don't know if you have cats, but I highly recommend litter box training your chihuahua. It is as easy as training to go to a special spot outside, or to potty pads or newspaper inside, only cleaner! You can use regular kitty litter as long as she doesn't try to eat it (there is doggy litter as well)... this will save you lots of time and energy in the winter. That way you will not have to spend as much time forcing her outside, waiting for her to stop looking at you pathetically like her feet are going to freeze to the ground till she can finally go, warming her up afterwards (which can take hours), and God forbid, accidents in the house when she absolutely refuses to go out into the snow. Good luck. --- 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! 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