Puppy care sheet

This puppy is eating Nutrisource Small/Medium Breed Chicken & Rice puppy food. I will send you a link to order the food online and you will receive $10.00 off your first order. It is offered dry and soaked. Food and water should be available to puppies 24/7 until they are around 6 months old. Chihuahua puppies are prone to hypoglycemia(low blood sugar). It is very important to make sure that they are eating/drinking. Also, no hard playing for extended periods of time, etc. without making sure they are re-fueling. Fussy or tiny puppies can be offered a small amount of a high quality canned food(I use Nutrisource Chicken & Rice) or Chicken baby food if they refuse to eat. We also recommend keeping Nutri-cal on hand in case your puppy does suffer from a bout of hypoglycemia. Karo or honey can be used if you do not have any. 

The first night can be very trying for everyone. More than likely your puppy is going to cry, bark and howl. If it is really bad 

and the puppy will not settle down within a few minutes, try putting them in a pet travel bag on the bed beside you. They will 

be able to see you and should settle down quickly so everyone can get some sleep.

Our puppies are used to being "stacked" on a table,  having their teeth checked, their feet touched,  nails trimmed, regular bathing/grooming, they will be started on newspaper and/or pee-pads. That being said, just because they are used to it, doesn't mean that they will like it or be good at it! Weather permitting, they are accustomed to going outside as well. This does not mean that they will be housebroken to your home. The Buyer must understand that when an animal is placed in a new environment, the animal must be retrained to the new home. I strongly suggest that you gate your puppy off in a small area, with plenty of newspaper(and a pee pad on top if you plan to use those). Gradually open the area up as your puppy is consistently using his/her potty area. If they regress, put them back in the smaller area again. If you take them home and just let them have free run of your home, they will become lost and just potty anywhere. Also, make sure you pick up any area rugs as those are nice and comfy to use for a potty pad!

We follow a protocol for minimal vaccine use. We recommend that your puppy be vaccinated with a 5 way vaccine around 8-9 wo, 12-13 wo, 16-17 wo(this may be different for very tiny puppies), then 12 months after the last puppy vaccine was given. Titers should be done after that to make sure they even need any more 5 way vaccinations. We do rabies(mercury free if possible) no sooner than 6 mo(wait longer for very tiny puppies), then as state law requires after that. Rabies should never be given within 4 weeks of any other vaccinations. We do not recommend the routine use of(unless there are active cases in your area) intranasal Bordetella(Kennel Cough), Leptospirosis, Lyme and Coronavirus vaccines as there is a high incidence of negative reactions to these vaccinations in Chihuahuas.

I strongly urge all puppy buyers to NEVER let your puppies feet touch strange ground until he/she has had all 3 puppy vaccines. One of the most dangerous places can be your Veterinarians office. Do not ever set your puppy down on the floor there. Also, no parks, dog parks, pet stores, etc. until fully vaccinated.

https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/which-dog-vaccines-are-necessary/

https://vangoghldens.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/vaccination-protocol.pdf

We recommend spaying females around 8 months of age and males no later than 6 months of age(unless they are very tiny). Females do not need to experience having a heat cycle and if you wait until 12 months of age, they more than likely will have a season before then. Males need to be neutered before the hormones kick in and they start lifting their leg. Small breeds mature faster than large breeds do and there is no need to wait.  It is also advisable to have your puppies canines pulled while they are under, if they have not come out on their own, so they will not have to go under twice.  Chihuahuas are notorious for retaining puppy teeth(especially the canines).

We do NOT use oral, topical, spray or collar over the counter or RX medications for the prevention of fleas/ticks(such as Bravecto, Seresto, Frontline,  Simparica, Revolution, Nexguard, Credelio, K9 Advantix, Hartz, etc). They poison your dog on a continual basis and have been proven to cause seizures and death.

https://www.animalhealthfoundation.net/blog/2017/12/dr-jean-dodds-dog-vaccine-protocol/

https://www.change.org/p/https-www-change-org-p-bravecto-flea-tick-treatment-should-be-removed-from-the-market-without-delay

https://www.change.org/p/nexgard-flea-tick-treatment-should-be-removed-from-the-market-without-delay

https://www.change.org/p/petition-for-the-immediate-withdrawal-of-simparica-flea-tick-treatment-from-the-market

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/community.read?post=859429-beware-of-seresto-flea-collars

https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/pets/dr-fox/dog-gets-sick-from-flea-collars/article

https://wagwalking.com/condition/flea-and-tick-collar-poisoning

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/seresto-flea-collar-recall-pet-deaths

We DO use Wondercide. It is all natural essential oils. They make a yard spray and a body spray.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wondercide

We also use straight Ivermectin, starting around 6 months of age, for the prevention of Heartworm. Please pay attention to what your Veterinarian is giving you as a lot of the Heartworm meds also contain flea/tick meds.

The majority of Chihuahuas(especially appleheads) are born with a Molera. Some will go away, some will not. It is nothing to be alarmed about and it is completely acceptable. Unfortunately many Veterinarians are not familiar with a well bred, applehead Chihuahua and try to link the mere presence of a Molera to a condition known as Hydrocephalus. This has caused many puppy buyers serious concern and unnecessary worry. The truth is, a Molera does NOT predispose a Chihuahua to this condition (Hydrocephalus). For more info, see the CCAs statement on Moleras.

A statement on Moleras from the Chihuahua Club Of America

There is a developmental stage that puppies go through that is commonly referred to as the "puppy uglies". This is the time between puppy-hood and adulthood, usually starting at about 3 to 4 months of age and diminishing at about 6 to 8 months of age.  During this phase the coat starts to thin and look scruffy - sometimes the puppy will have large patches of hair loss and look like he/she is moth eaten(more evident in Long Coated puppies), which coupled with a growth spurt causes the puppy to look gangly, scraggly and just overall awful!  Many owners and even some Vets mistake the symptoms of the "Puppy Uglies" for more serious medical issues such as Allergies, Thyroid problems, etc.  At about 6 to 8 months of age this phase begins to end and your puppies coat will begin to fill out.  Long Coats can take 2 years or more to get a full coat!

I have a lot of people that will contact me when their puppy is around 4-8 months old, worried because their dog is constantly digging. It is not allergies, it is a phase. I don't really know why, but they all do it. I assume it is because they are losing puppy coat/growing new coat. They will outgrow it when they start to come out of the "uglies" stage and start coating up. You can try oatmeal shampoo to see if it helps your pup.