Dog Breed Basics 101 – Chihuahua

The Chihuahua. What a curious little creature. From their bigger then life attitudes and their range of physical attributes, its easy to fall in love with these dogs.

First lets go over the bad rep these guys have gotten. Yippy, snippy little rat dogs! Say what? Alright, some Chihuahua’s can be like this. With proper socialization and training from a young age Chihuahua’s are no more yippy snippy then any other breed.

Your Chihuahua might become very attached to you or one person in the family. This could potentially cause issues if not trained or socialized at an early age. The dog could become over protective of their human favorite and cause havoc in the family environment.

Left untrained and unsocialized they can become loud, snappy and have a really bad attitude. They will love their owner with every tiny hair on their bodies, but will hate everyone new you introduce them to. That is why the training and socializing is such a gift to them, and you!

Remember that even though they are small and -oh so cute- they are still a dog and still need to be treated like one. I would not recommend over babying your Chihuahua as this leads to spoiled chi’s who think they own you and will either become dominate over you or simply not fun to have around! Expecting to always be carried, and coddled. Some develop bad eating habits and potty issues such as peeing on your belongings, because you won’t keep doing what you always did. What you trained them to do… be spoiled!

All dogs should be crate or kennel trained from a young age. This is important for so many reasons. One of the most important reason is for emergencies and vet care. Its also nice to have somewhere they can go that is “their own” safe place. Dogs like cave type places to sleep and relax.

There are many different theories on the origins of the Chihuahua. The history of the breeds ancestry and heritage are rich with mystery. The first official record of the Chihuahua being a breed happened about 1884 when Mexicans would take them for sale to tourists on the bordering markets of surrounding states. The most common and acceptable answer is that the Chihuahua originated in Mexico in the state of Chihuahua. It is said that Chihuahuas are descended from the Techichi. Which was a companion dog, loved by the Toltec civilization in Mexico.

The first registered Chihuahua in the U.S was entered into the system in 1904 with The American Kennel Club. By the 1970’s the number of registered Chihuahua’s was over 25,000! As you can see the breed as made huge leaps in popularity over the years, and remains one of the most popular breeds!

Although the Chihuahua may not be for everyone, or every family it’s no doubt that these little dogs are loyal and loving. A big personality in a very small package. When choosing a dog to buy or adopt be sure to do your homework and make sure you do enough research about that breed. After all, getting a dog is a life-time commitment!