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.
Although it might appear that the cat doesn’t give a tail about you and it is indifferent towards you, maybe you will still find some displays of affection in its behaviour. Do you know how cats show such affection towards a person?
Cats love grass. They nibble at it if it's to clean their belly from hairs or just for fun. In addition, if you get a cat its own flowerpot, you can hope that it will leave your other plants alone :).
Whether you remove a tick from a dog’s or cat’s fur the right way might affect whether the animal will become infected with Lyme disease or another malign disease transmitted by ticks. Have you got the right technique and tools?
Just like with people, also in dogs, Lyme disease is a very grave illness. There are an estimated 20% of ticks infected in the Czech Republic. And because despite the use of antiparasitic agents, your dog might get a tick from time to time, it’s good...
I’ve already written about cat mint, today, we’ll take a look at another, lesser known drugs. Since not all the cats respond to all of them and they don’t respond to everything the same way. Therefore, if you didn’t succeed with cat mint, maybe you’ll...
Every cat owner has certainly already heard of cat mint, catnip or catswort. Under all these names hides a herb that makes most of the cats “high”.
When your family grows by a new (human) member, it isn’t necessarily a happy event for everyone. For many dogs, it’s very difficult to come to terms with such situation, therefore, it’s better to start preparing them already before the baby is born....
I’ve already written about the fact that you’re not supposed to leave your dog closed in a car on summer days or on how to prevent hyperthermia in cats and dogs. So you have mastered the prevention already. But it is also necessary to know how to...
Without a question, chinchillas are beautiful and cute furry animals with large ears, a long tail and distinctive eyes. Do you know where they actually come from, what their name means and that we almost succeeded in nearly exterminating them before...
You have probably noticed that cat tongues are quite unique. They are rough and somehow scratchy. It seemed weird to American biologists and therefore they decided to look deeper into it.
What should I say, the cats are simply different. Since the time immemorial, they have been surrounded by mysteries and secrets. Most of them behave as if they were the master of the world and as if they don’t need the human at all. A couple of...
It can be quite a task to choose the right pet food precisely for your cat. To even understand the contents... That’s why we’re going to take a look today what to focus on, what to look for in the contents and what you should rather avoid.
