over bathing is one of the biggest causes of dry skin in chis...leading to hair loss, excessive scratching, ect. For the smell, a daily wipe should do the job. They make pet wipes just for this, but personally, I find baby wipes to be cheaper and work just as well. The wipes remove the dirt and odor from the coat without stripping the coat and skin of the natural oils that they desperately need. I would limit a s/c to no more than 4 baths a year and use a wipe daily. On a long coat, I might do as many as 6 baths a year, but no more. A chi has naturally dry skin and every single bath strips away a little more of the natural oil. Marsha
Do not tell God how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your God is. ----- Original Message ----- From: Deborah Debrunner To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2008 10:47 PM Subject: [Chihuahuas] Clothes, Cold, Patterns, Odor We adopted a chihuahua several weeks ago and when we got him his skin was dry (not too bad, but he really had an itch at the base of his tail) and his previous owner did keep him in sweaters. Being "new" we thought he needed sweaters. I read don't take the dog out below 44 degrees or in warmer weather with a wind chill factor that makes it a lot colder - without some protection from the cold. The vet explained we could let him outside without sweaters - "he has a coat" and we also got some omega fatty acid tablets for him at that time. It has been a couple weeks now and we have noticed without a sweater and with the tablets, his coat is really getting thicker and his skin is less dry. Now my friend who has a Chi says her vet recommended she just add some Saffola (sp) oil to her dog's food for the fatty acid and her dog (Atari) has a beautiful coat. Since it is snowing here and it is really cold, I will put something on him. I have found he doesn't like the clothes or tolerate them so passively as he does now that he hasn't worn them so much. I just finished crocheting a sweater for him. One big problem with boy clothes is that they are too close to the "faucet" and tend to get tinkled on! So on this sweater I made the belly band closer to his front legs and then made it really long and it comes up on top of the sweater from under the opposite side and fastens with a buckle. This will suit my hubby very well who is scared to have to manipulate "Chico's" feet and legs to get into his other sweater. I'm going to make boots too, any one have any easy patterns? I'm thinking of just making the rectangle kind and sewing a piece of vinyl on the outside bottom to waterproof a bit. While I'm asking, my male, who is not fixed, tends to smell doggy-like within several days after a bath. I heard it wasn't good to bathe Chi's too often. Any ideas? I love to cuddle with him but I don't relish the odor sometimes. It's not too bad, but I do notice it. Thanks - oh, and I have posted some pictures in an album labeled "Chico", check it out - he is just the most handsome, sweet, darling, love mush bug! Deborah
