Help!!

Im really sorry if I offend anyone. I dont think I know better than any of you. I actually probably know less. But I just really dont wan to go to training classes.

I will definetly post pics.

Again, i dont wanna offend anyone but Science Diet is what my vet reccomends and I think Im gonna stickw ith it. Thanks thouh!

Mechanical Angel

I AM looking to know specific quirks and training tips for Chihuahua's.

In this case, I think Deborah Wood's book mentioned previously would answer a lot of your questions.  It is not specifically about Chihuahuas, but it is very relevant with lots of training tips and advice for raising/owning a smaller breed.    You might also think about finding a good Chihuahua forum to join.

I will not try to change your mind regarding the Science Diet, but in case you would like to do a little research on dog foods yourself rather than just taking your vet's word for it, www.dogfoodproject.com is a good place to start. 

Mechanical Angel

Again, i dont wanna offend anyone but Science Diet is what my vet reccomends and I think Im gonna stickw ith it. Thanks thouh!

There are certainly exceptions, but you will find that many vets have very little training in canine nutrition, training, or behavior.  Much of the nutrition training that vets get comes from dog food reps.  Nutrition training in vet schools is improving, but in the meantime pet owners need to query their vets.

Ask your vet how much training he/she has had in nutrition that was not from dog food reps (Geez, they wouldn't be biased would they? ).  Ask him/her why he/she recommends a grain-based food for an animal with the short digestive tract of a meat-eater.

Some problems that you will/could run into with an unnatural, grain-based food include:

• large amounts of smelly stool (unavoidable) since the digestive tract is not long enough to digest all the grain
• possible stool eating since the stool still smells like undigested food
• possible skin and feet problems due to allergies

I am not suggesting that you use a raw meat diet, but if you did the stool would be small and firm with little odor.  It would dry up, turn white, and crumble.

Please visit the http://www.dogfoodproject.com.  There are lots of topics on the left, but be sure to look at "Label Information 101" and "Ingredients to avoid".  Even if you feed Science Diet, it is important to know just what it is that you are feeding your pup.  Are you interested in "human quality" ingredients?  organic ingredients?  ingredients consistent between batches? 

Does Science Diet - Puppy (Original or Small Bites) still have primarily corn meal, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal, and animal fat (The fat is always the end of the primary ingredients)?  If so, where is the meat? - not in the "chicken by-product meal".  What is the "mystery" animal in "animal fat"?

Re "animal fat":

Note that the animal source is not specified and is not required to originate from "slaughtered" animals. The rendered animals can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination. Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, misc. roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters, restaurant and supermarket refuse and so on.

Mechanical Angel

But I just really dont wan to go to training classes.

OK, but you do need to socialize your pup with lots of other dogs (verify that all adults are puppy friendly).  What are your plans for doing that?

Failure to do lots of socialization can result in a yappy little dog that barks at every other dog it sees.

Mechanical Angel

Science Diet is what my vet reccomends and I think Im gonna stickw ith

Your vet reccomends it because - for every bag they sell - they get a cut. While it's certainly not the worst food out there -there are so many other better options. My dog came to me eating SD - and as soon as I switched him to Blue Buffalo - his coat improved, his poop was better (more solid, less smelly) and his allergies were less severe. Please, PLEASE, reconcider your food choice. A vet does not have to take any courses on animal nutition - not required at all for their degree. Think of SD as feeding McDonals to your dog - every day, for his entire life. That just can't be healthy - can it? You have no idea what those 'by-products' are - no one does - they could range from ground up bones, to hair, to heaven knows what.

One of the biggest complaints about chihuahuas is that they are yappy little dogs. I would curve any yappy behaviors right from the get-go. I encourage quiet play with my pups, which obviously is easier said than done. I had a chi pup for a while (as a foster) and she was the sweetest thing ever. She housetrained very easily - but you had to keep on top of it - watch for the signs. I def. reccomend crate training your pup. Place a small teddy in there for her to snuggle with while you are gone. I crate all  my pups - and have excellend success wth house training (and I've had a lot of foster pups)

The one thing I wish had been done better with my dog when he was a pup was socialization. I did not get him until he was 10 months old - but he had no training, was snippy, and just not a nice dog. Start training your pup from day one. Handle her, take her every where. Socialization is key. I take my pups all over the place - to the bank, to the petstore (never on the ground) around my neighborhood, to my brothers school - everywhere. Older ones go to the parl (if they've had their last set of shots). All my pups leave my house by 12 weeks, knowing how to sit, walk on a leash, completely crate trained. It CAN be done - you just have to be diligent about it. I would research the NILF program - as the last thing you want is a demanding puppy. You want a loving relationship, with respect from both sides - NILF is great for this.

Mechanical Angel

I am already aware of most of the genetic problems of the breed but both the parents were healthy.

Please define "healthy"?  How much testing was done?  Knee x-rays?  Eye exams by an opthamologist?  Heart exam by a cardiologist?

Are both parents over two years old?  Patellar luxation (bad knees) could easily show up much later than that.

How closely related are the parents?  Are there any ancestors in common in the past 3 generations?

Do the breeders have records back at least two generations (really should be more) showing no retained baby teeth, bad bite, hypoglycemia, heart defects, shoulder dislocation, glaucoma, entropion, lens luxation, corneal dystrophy, or progressive retinal atrophy?

If each parent carries one copy of the same bad recessive gene, neither parent will show the defect, but statistically 25% of the offspring will show the defect. 

Please be sure that you watch your pup carefully for low blood sugar and for heart issues.  Those two problems could kill her. 

I would also want regular exams by an opthamologist due to the variety of possible eye problems.

Aside:  Do you ever use sugar-free products?  If so, watch out for the sweetner Xylitol.  If consumed by your new baby, induce vomiting and head for the vet fast.  It will quickly drop her blood sugar to dangerous levels and will damage her liver.

Mechanical Angel

I have a back and front fenced in yard.

Your pup will have lots of fun running around! 

If you have been there at least two years, then you should have no worries about possible Parvo in the soil.

Please be careful about leaving her in the yard alone.  One of our forum members recently was shocked at having to deal with a coyote in her backyard (fenced).  Her pitbulls are recovering.  Another member lost a kitten to an eagle, but a large hawk could be just as much trouble.

Mechanical Angel

But I just really dont wan to go to training classes.

Here are a few of the books and DVDs available for clicker training.  It is entirely positive (no punishment) training.  That means that one can start using it with very young puppies.  One poodle breeder often sends new puppies to their new homes at 10-weeks already knowing how to skateboard.

If your pup is frightened by the sound of your first clicker, don't give up.  Try the i-Click or the Clicker+.

Beginning Books:

Pryor, Karen, Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs, 4th edition, 8/2005
http://tinyurl.com/2rtrvw   (all TinyUrl links are to Amazon.com)

Tillman, Peggy, Clicking With Your Dog: Step by Step in Pictures, 9/2000
http://tinyurl.com/4gycw

Other Books:

Alexander, Melissa, Click for Joy! Questions and Answers from Clicker Trainers and Their Dogs, 2/2003
http://tinyurl.com/bo2ng

Book, Mandy & Smith, Cheryl, Quick Clicks: 40 Fast & Fun Behaviors to Train with a Clicker, 9/2001
http://tinyurl.com/4s42r

Jones, Deborah, Clicker Fun: Dog Tricks and Games Using Positive Reinforcement, 6/1998
http://tinyurl.com/6oce6

erica1989

I would research the NILF program - as the last thing you want is a demanding puppy. You want a loving relationship, with respect from both sides - NILF is great for this.

Links on NILIF ("Nothing In Life Is Free" program):

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm
http://www.ozarkdogs.com/nilif.htm
http://www.ozarkdogs.com/boot_camp.htm 
http://www.greyhoundlist.org/nothing_is_free.htm
http://www.nomorehomelesspets.org/behavior/dog/nilif.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/nothingfree.htm
http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources/articles/dogs/002-01.htm

Janet Rose, thanks for posting the link for the dog food project.  This is a wonderful resource and I hope that the OP will check it out.

Regarding SD, yes, I was just looking at the food this weekend.  The puppy small bites, or whatever they call it, do not have meat.  And yet the adult does.  So SD figures that pups need a less stable protein source than adults??? 

Again, Mechanical, there are NO federal standards for by product.  One batch could be mostly bone, which is going to mess up the calcium/phosperous ratio, the next could be mostly organ, which messes up something else.  Dogs need an average of 5% of their daily diet to be organ meat, not a whole lot more or a whole lot less.  If you happen to get  several bags from the same production run and your dog is getting too much bone or too much organ meat it is NOT going to balance out over time.  As gross as I find by product to be, IF there were federal standards, I might consider a food that had some by product in it.  However, given that at the present time, by product is basically the tub where they toss the trash and then process it, ain't no way.

Same thing goes for animal or poultry fat.  If you are using a food with "poultry fat", yeah, it's all birds.  But, what KIND of bird?  If your dog happens to be allergic to turkey, it's very difficult to figure out why ONE bag of food turns her fire engine red and the next doesn't.    When a manufacturer uses a generic term such as this, it means that they have no standard for what sort of fat they use, and by gosh, whatever turns up in this particular bag is what they could get for the least amount of money at the time of the production run.  Could be all chicken, all turkey, pheasant, duck, sparrow, whatever.

I won't say that vets get a cut of the proceeds on SD.....they probably do, just like PetsMart does when they sell anything.  But, much of the training in nutritition DOES come from the big food companies. 

What is your objection to training classes?  I wonder if you have some misconceptions about them?

Mechanical Angel

Im really sorry if I offend anyone. I dont think I know better than any of you. I actually probably know less. But I just really dont wan to go to training classes.

Get this - *shock horror!* we didn't take our last pup to class either!!!!!!!  I know!  Imagine!!!

But it HAS made training her harder.  Training classes give you a GOLDEN opporttunity for you to socialise your dog in a controlled setting.  This is ESPECIALLY important with a small/tiny breed.  You can't just let the pup run round with other dogs.  The pup could esily become overwhelmed, frightened and then become fearful or aggressive.  Or she could be stepped on and the bad experience will again cause fear/aggression.  On teh other hand, NOT socialising her is very likely to cause fear/aggression problems, so you have to do SOMETHING - but it must be controlled.  A good class is the answer. A good class also gives you a perfect opportunity to have your dog practise obedience WHILE OTHER DOGS ARE AROUND.  This is a huge distraction for most dogs and it can be really hard for them.  You want you dog to be under control and able to be off leash in safe places, so getting this practise is really a very good idea.

I have done classes.  I have done no-classes.  In my experience, a good class is best, but no class is better than a bad class. 

Mechanical Angel

Again, i dont wanna offend anyone but Science Diet is what my vet reccomends and I think Im gonna stickw ith it. Thanks thouh!

I doubt anyone is offended.  But please, consider WHY your vet is recommending this food.  Your vet is not recommending it because it's best for your dog.  Your vet does not KNOW what food is best for your dog.  Your vet is not a nutritionist.

What is the pup being fed at the breeders home?  This is what you should stick with initially while your pup settles in to your home, if you want to switch foods then do it gradually over a period of several days.

At least do a little research aside from your vet before settling from SD.  It's not a very good quality food, and it's over priced.

Thanks!