When one says a mini breed, most of you will immediately think of a Chihuahua. And it’s not surprising, its the smallest dog breed in the world. They are popular abroad as well as in the Czech Republic and they are often picked by people whose desire is to have a dog but don’t have so much time or space.
Chihuahuas have their name derived from their place of origin – the province of Chihuahua in Mexico. These mini dogs occurred here and in the whole Central America already at the times of Toltecs. They originally lived in the mountains. However, Indians used to catch them and domesticated them. The natives even described Chihuahuas as the guardians of dead chiefs in the world of ghosts. The first individual was imported to the Czech Republic in 1971, i.e. 29 years after the breed was recognized by the International Cynological Organization.
I probably don’t have to describe how Chihuahuas look like very much. They weigh from 500 grams to 3 kg. Their apple shape of head and round eyes are characteristic for them. We can talk about a great spirit in a small body with these dogs. They are very confident and courageous. However, they also have many reasons to be afraid because of their small size. They usually don’t trust strangers and if you underestimated their socialization in an early age, they might become aggressive.
Otherwise, they are friendly and intelligent companions which often fixate to one person. However, they are nice and affectionate to all family members. If they are well socialized, they also usually have good relationships with other dogs, even though they prefer other chihuahuas as companions. And they also usually don’t have problems with cats either. I even know a chihuahua that lives in a temporary cat shelter with about 15 dogs and that is a real member of the pack. Even though, chihuahuas are usually considered to be purse dogs, many of them love walking and some even like longer trips if they get used to them.
With regard to their fur length and colour, everyone can pick. There are both short-haired and long-haired varieties with many colours and shades. However, you have to be careful about Merle, the so-called marble colours. Two individuals of this colour cannot be cross-bred because their inheritance responsible for this attractive colouration also comes with serious health risks. In some countries, Merle Chihuahuas are even banned, it is considered to be animal cruelty and there are strong sanctions. The International Cynological Organization does not allow this colour and if you get a chihuahua of this colour, it can’t get a certificate of origin. To get merle colour, a chihuahua needs to be cross-bred with another breed. Therefore, it cannot be “a pure blood dog” and no one can make sure that this individual is healthy and does not have any birth defects. They are usually products of puppy mills and I definitely don’t recommend getting them.
Chihuahuas can be great and loyal companions if you will be consistent with their upbringing. Thanks to their size, they can be perfect companions for travelling. They love playing and are also suitable for children but you have to properly explain to them they have to be careful when playing with this dog in order not to hurt it. Therefore, you need to pay more attention to small children. These dogs have problems with dental caries which we should also take into consideration before we get one. However, if you decide to get a chihuahua, you’ll definitely have no regrets.
Food is one of the most basic needs of dogs as well as humans. How to make sure your dog has enough necessary nutrients? And if you opt for dry food, what options are there? And what to consider when choosing?
Most of us care about the contents of the packages with dry food but have you ever thought about the packaging itself? Do you know what is used for the packaging of dry food, how different are individual materials and what innovations can you find on...
You can recognize a Burmese cat mainly because of its silky fur and beautiful, deep gloss with typical signs of a colour that is not present in any other breed. Besides its glossy fur, this breed has also a great nature which makes these cats great...
Dachshunds, from smooth-haired, wire-haired and short-haired to long-haired, are popular companions and not only in the Czech Republic but in the world as well. And they are great companions! Even though they are quite stubborn.
Cats may bite from many reasons and if you would like to make this undesirable behaviour stop, it is important to understand why they do it. The fundamental thing is to eliminate the cause but we can also help with other things.
Do you like baking and you have noone to bake for? You probably haven’t thought about your dog companion. However, you might also make some tasty and healthy goodies at home for it as well. I’ll tell you how.
Only a few per cent of loss of water may cause serious problems for your dog. However, we often don’t pay attention to its drinking and underestimate its importance. When there is a risk of dehydration, do you know how to avoid it or recognize it?
Dry food with larger proportion of meat might not only have positive effects on dogs’ organisms, when processed well, it will also make happy even the pickiest gourmets that usually don’t like dry food. Thanks to a holistic approach, you’ll keep the...
The days are getting warmer and our dogs and cat starts to shed. This has a negative impact on your household with all the hair. Have you found a way to reduce the contamination with hair at least a bit and speed up the process of shedding?...
Do you also barely resist the temptation to cuddle a dog, no matter if yours or someone else’s? It’s no surprise, a new study shows that such contact with a dog is like a drug for human brain.
There are plenty of reasons why we get flat-faced dogs. For their specific appearance, great nature, loyal love to their owner... And maybe also for their need of constant attention that makes us feel well. The flat-faced dogs are simply cute....
Brown rats, mice and hamsters as well as other rodents are quite small pets and sometimes, we don’t even think about dealing with them being overweight. However, if we like our pets and we want them to be well and stay with us as long as possible,...
