How to Take Care of a Chihuahua

Video Transcript

"Let's talk about how to take care of chihuahuas. Chihuahuas do present some unique problems to that breed as a small dog. Several reasons, one, they do have kind of a large head, and can pose problems for both the mother in birth. After they are birthed, they sometimes will have a soft spot on top of their head called a fontanel, so you want to stay away from this and don't let that area get traumatized. Your veterinary clinic can guide you how through how to take care of a chihuahua very easily, because other types of problems they can get is hypoglycemia, that is low blood sugar. They need to eat several times a day. They are a very small breed and their teeth don't necessarily erupt right when they're supposed to according to other breeds, and so you usually may have to soften food for a while or definitely use a dry food that is small bites because small bites are very tiny and are easily eaten by dogs such as chihuahuas because they are so small. The other thing that can be a problem for chihuahuas quite often is they can get chilled. They don't have a lot of body fat, they are really small, and so it is not unusual for them, during the winter months, even if they just go outside for a couple of minutes, to get hypothermia or chilled. So little sweaters and things such as that will help keep that body heat in them and to avoid that. The only other issues we see quite often with these little guys is they can get under your feet very easily, so you always want to be aware of where they are and they can get behind couches, in chairs, or around foot rests very easily, and they can get injured that way. But always talk to your veterinary clinic before purchasing or getting a chihuahua, make sure a chihuahua is right for you. They can guide through that process, as far as keeping them healthy, vaccinations are concerned, and spaying and neutering."