Coming To Pick Up Your Puppy
When you come to pick up your puppy, please bring along a small pet carrier with
food and water in it. Little puppies can't eat very much all at once when they
are little so they should have food in front of them at all times! Have the
carrier lined with some wee wee pads. I would also bring along a little blanket
and a soft toy for your puppy to cuddle with. You could even rub the small toy
or blanket against your new puppies playmates and keep it with your puppy for a
few days so he doesn't feel abondoned. A lot of times Chihuahuas get very sad
when taken away from their litter mates and refuse to eat. Bring along some
Nutri-Cal or Nutri-Stat to feed them if this happens. I would also recommend
bringing along a small syringe to force feed and water them if necesarry.
Feeding
It is very important to have food for your puppy to eat at all times! They are
so small that they can't eat very much at once, so they have to nibble alot.
Ask the breeder what kind of puppy food they use and have that kind ready at
home. If you want to switch foods, do not do it right away. Start gradually
changing it after they get adjusted to their surroundings. If you change it all
at once the puppy could have tummy problems. If your puppy doesn't seem to want
to eat that much, let the food soak in some water, or mix it with some wet dog
food. I don't recommend keeping your pup on wet dog food permanently, it can
cuase loose and frequent stool. I also recommend feeding them some Nutri-Stat or
Nutri-Cal for the first week about 3 times a day. Just to make sure they are
getting enough Nutrition. At first, make sure you moniter your puppy to
make sure he/she is eating enough. If they refuse even wet food, you must force
feed them for awhile. But they rarely ever refuse to eat wet food or Nutri-Cal.
Home Confinement
When you first bring your puppy home, I do not recommend giving him free run of
the house. For your puppies safety please confine your puppy in a small area.
In this area you should have someplace soft for them to sleep, some wee wee pads
(newspapers work to), and fresh food and water at all time. Make sure to clean
out your puppies area frequently.
Potty Training
Becuase your pup will be so small, I don't recommend house training them untill
they are about 3 months old. Until then train your puppy to go on wee wee pads
or newspapers. When they hit 3 months, don't get suddenly give them free run of
the house. Keep them confined untill they are potty trained for that area. Then
gradually make their area bigger. They will get overwelmed if you let them have
free run right away and they just won't be able to contain themselves from
marking everything. Even if you do decide to keep them trained for Wee Wee
pads, I still recommend gradually making their space bigger.
Vaccinations
When you get your puppy, your puppy will have had its first shots. But Puppies need a series of puppy shots. To be sure that your
puppy is protected from disease you must keep up to date with his shots. We
will give you a list of what they have been given already. I suggest taking this
list and your puppy to a vet within the fist week so you can start right where
we left off.
Worming
When you get your puppy, your puppy will have been started on worming. You must
start in with the wormings right away from where we left off. The puppy should
be wormed every 2 weeks up untill they are 12 weeks old. Then every month after
that. We recommend using Interceptor Flavor Tabs. These
protect against Roundworms, Hookworms, Whipworms, and Heartworms. They are given
orally so there is no residue, and the puppies love the flavor. You can also
give them Sentinel Flavor Tabs. Which do everything that the Interceptor does,
but has the added bonus of stopping fleas from reproducing on your pup.
Grooming
Chihuahuas do not have to be bathed that often. Short haired Chihuahuas don't
really need groomed that often either. If you have a long haired Chihuahuas
though, make sure you keep there coat knot free. Keep there nails trimmed back
to the pink, but not into it or they will bleed.Clean out there ears with Q-tips
and Peroxide. At 1 year you can also take them to the vet to have their teeth
checked for cleaning.