Issues In Chihuahua Health

There are several Chihuahua health issues that you should know about before committing to one. While the dog tends to be healthy, it does have specific issues you should be aware of. For instance, while the breed tends to be long lived, some common genetic problems include Patellar Luxuation, eye problems, hypoglycemia, heart disease and tooth and gum ailments. Chihuahua health is a concern for all Chihuahua owners.

Luxation of the patella, is the dislocation of the kneecap. It is a common Chihuhua health hereditary problem shared with other small breeds. Patellar luxation can occur in varying degrees ? it can be minimal or debilitating. Young dogs may be able to compensate for this deformity, but the condition gets worse over time. Most of the time, you will not notice the condition when the dog is young as symptoms of patellar luxation become obvious only as the dog ages.

The dislocation is usually on the inner side of the patella. The ligaments stretch over time until the patella is not where it is supposed to be. It then can “pop” in and out of place very easily. Immediate treatment is recommended when the Chihuahua is a puppy, rather then waiting until the dislocation has crippled the dog. The Chihuahua health can depend on strengthening the muscular sections. Patellar luxation is an inherited trait and dogs with the condition should not be bread.

Another issue with Chihuahua health is the ?Reverse Sneeze.? This is where the dog sneezes, snorts, honks and wheezes. The condition is caused by a elongated soft palate that becomes temporarily misaligned. It is most common in toy breeds. There are may events that may trigger a reverse sneeze including pulling hard on a leash, drinking too fast or getting overly excited.

Like in humans, Chihuahua health can be affected by Hypoglycemia. This is a condition where the Chihuahua?s blood sugar level drops to an extremely low level, which causes “sugar shock.” When levels of glucose drop quickly, the dog’s body and brain are deprived of essential nutrients. Hypoglycemia can cause weakness, seizures, coma, and in severe cases, death.

Chihuahua health is affected by hypoglycemia because they are so small. They are especially prone to when they are very young. Hypoglycemia is can be caused by stress, illness, lack of food, or by using up stored energy without it being replenished.

Another Chihuahua health issue is progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). This is a collective term comprising a group of hereditary degenerative lesions of the retina. Generally PRA is characterized by night blindness. When both eyes are affected dogs eventually become totally blind. Central PRA (also called RPE dystrophy) is characterized by accumulations of pigment in the layer of pigmented lining of the retina. This results in day blindness and eventually terminates in total blindness.

Some dog breeds, including the Chihuahua, are genetically predisposed to formation of cystine crystals which are crystals formed out of amino acid called cystine. This is usually found in the urine and can eventually lead to stone formations in kidneys and bladder. These stones can cause irritation and infection.
Signs of Cystinuria usually include blood in the urine, difficulty and pain in urinating, and small frequent amounts of urine. If a stone completely obstructs the urethra, it blocks the outflow of urine. This is more common in male dogs than female, and may cause kidney failure, vomiting, depression, or loss of appetite.
If you have this breed of dog, Chihuahua health should be a prime concern for you.

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10 Things You Should Know About Chihuahuas

Here are 10 things you should know about Chihuahuas before you buy one. Chihuahuas have entered the realm of popular culture. Celebrities carry them around in their purses and movies are made about them. But before you buy a dog, here are some things to know about Chihuahuas.

1. The first thing you should know about Chihuahuas is that they need lots of attention. You should be prepared to play games, interact, and talk to your dog. Chihuahuas are a highly social dog and they bond strongly with their owners. They are not dogs that enjoy being alone at home all day.

2. If you have young children, the Chihuahua will compete with them for attention. The dogs don?t have a lot of tolerance for noise, though they make a racket themselves. You should also know about Chihuahuas that they can be biters. While they do not inflict serious damage most of the time, it is not a breed that makes sense if you have young children.

3. Chihuahuas don?t like changing residences. They are happy living their lives in one place. So, if you are a highly mobile family, you should consider a different breed. If you do move homes, you should be prepared for an upset dog at first.

4. Another thing you should know about Chihuahuas is that they don?t like for there to be other pets in the home. Sure, you can have a goldfish, but if there are other animals competing for your attention, your Chihuahua will not be happy. Chihuahuas often stand up to dogs twice their size and there can be a lot of fights if you have other pets in the home.

5. Contrary to the images that celebrities project with their ?pocket pets,? Chihuahuas don?t like to be carried around. They enjoy running, walking, and playing, not being a fashion accessory.

6. Chihuahuas are not good travelers. If you are going across country in either a car or airplane, be prepared for problems from your pooch as they do not like being confined in a carrier.

7. About Chihuahuas, they like their personal space. The dog is very territorial and can dominate its space. You should expect the breed to be quite aggressive if a family member intrudes on what the dog has defined as his or her space.

8. Chihuahuas are jumpers. You will be surprised at just how much trouble a Chihuahua can get into in your kitchen! They can jump more than two feet from a standing position. Keep this in mind when you are stocking shelves.

9. They get cold easily. One thing every owner should know about Chihuahuas is that their short hair and bony frame means that they don?t retain heat well. If you live in a cold climate, buy sweaters and coats to keep them warm. Also, give them a warm bed with blankets if needed. If they?re cold, they can throw a tantrum.

10. Your Chihuahua is high strung. To keep him or her in line, it is important to keep their most common personality traits in mind when making training decisions. Before buying a Chihuahua, know as much about the dog?s background as possible.

So, those are 10 things you should know about Chihuahuas before you make the decision to buy one.

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Potty Training Chihuahua Consistency Is Key

If you are ready to start potty training Chihuahua, there are some basic things you should know. First of all, because this breed is quite smart, it does not have to be a difficult task. By following the tips in this article, you should be able to potty training your Chihuahua quickly and painlessly.

Potty training Chihuahua should start at about 7 weeks, but you should expect a few accidents in the months ahead, even after you consider the dog trained. But by starting early, you can speed up the timeframe.

Because dogs have the instinct to keep their beds clean, potty training Chihuahua should include some kind of kennel training. You should especially decide to keep your dog in a kennel during the night. In this way, the dog learns to hold its bladder and bowels during the time it should be sleeping. Let the dog out at the same time each day and immediately take it to the place where it should relieve itself.

Consistency is one of the most important factors in potty training Chihuahua. If you have a dog that is going to go outdoors, let it out every morning and after every meal.

Unless you have a dog that is living completely indoors, you should always reinforce that it should relieve itself outside. When they go in a spot, they are likely to go to that spot to relieve themselves again and again. Use gates to keep the dog away from carpeted areas or areas where they have peed before.

If you are going to potty train Chihuahua indoors, a litter box is your best option. Litter box training is becoming especially popular these days as the breed becomes more popular. When taken outside of its sunny native areas (the breed comes from Mexico), it will often refuse to go outdoors in the cold.

You can still use kennel training with litter box training. Simply take the dog to the area where you want it to relieve itself at the times you want to train it to go.

Also know that these dogs are very sensitive to praise and affection. Potty training Chihuahua means giving it love when it does what you want in terms of peeing and pooing. Because your Chihuahua wants to please you, it will learn how to behave as far as relieving itself. Lavish your dog with praise and affection when it does what you want, and ignore it when it makes a mistake (other than cleaning it up, of course). He or she needs to know what he did right and what needs to be improved.

You should know that accidents will happen. You shouldn?t punish the dog, especially by hitting it, when this occurs. Instead, go easy on the dog and reinforce good behavior rather than punishing it when things go wrong. You have to be patient when potty training Chihuahua.

While accidents do happen, try not to let the bad things overshadow what your puppy is doing right. If you make a mistake like keeping them crated too long, accidents are going to happen. You have to train yourself as well as your dog.

Potty training Chihuahua starts with patience, love, and affection.

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The Chihuahua Art Of George Rodrigue Blue Dog Comes Of Age

The Blue Dog by George Rodrigue is perhaps the most famous Chihuahua art in the world. Rodrigue was born in an area of French Louisiana known as the Acadiana. He was educated at Catholic schools before going to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The Chihuaha art ?Blue Dog? first made its way into the American conscious in 1984.

The Chihuahua art of the Blue Dog is based on Rodrigue?s childhood pet, Tiffany.

The first Chihuahua art print ?Watch Dog? was based on a familiar Cajun folk tale. The Loup-garou is a mythical werewolf that roams around places in Louisiana at night. Rodrigue recalls that he was told as a child to go to bed or else the loup-garou would get him. It is a ?boogie man? story that became world art. The ?Watch Dog? painting was set in a full moon landscape, which gave the dog the blue tint. Thus the iconic image was born.

The Chihuahua art ?Blue Dog? would make its way back into several of Rodrigue?s prints including 1998?s ?Hawaiian Blues? and ?Sometimes I feel like a dog.

Rodrigue has painted several presidents including Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. He painted an Inagural portrait of Bill Clinton and Al Gore in 1997 called ?Walking into the 21st Century? that featured the Chihuahua art icon Blue Dog.

Most recently, Rodrigue has been commissioned to paint Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and his wife Supiriya.

The Chihuahua art of George Rodrigue has spawned other political terms. For instance ?Blue Dogs? are conservative Democrats, mostly from the Southern states where Rodrigue grew up.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Rodrigue stayed up all night to paint ?God Bless America.? In this case, the familiar blue dog was white with red eyes and placed against the American flag. The normal ?Blue Dog? features a blue dog with yellow eyes in a variety of settings. The painting raised half a million dollars for the Red Cross in the weeks after the attack.

He has also been involved in the relief effort after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home city of New Orleans. The sale of specified Blue Dog prints raised %2.5 million for relief efforts.

The Blue Dog never shifts his expression. Rodrigue has never painted him with a smile. He is never complacent and never asleep. It is as if he is still looking for the answers in a complicated world. He reminds us of the things we cannot know but still search out.

Rodrigue is now a multi-millionaire because of the popular Blue Dog series. The original portraits often sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Limited series lithographs can command 5 figures. And, more ordinary folks can get the pictures in table books and calendars.

The 65 year old artist has also become the artist laureate of the state of Louisiana.

Rodrigue has encountered much success in his life as an artist, much of it due to the portrait of the Blue dog, true Chihuahua art.

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What does it mean to be a responsible dog owner?  For starters, it means getting a dog for the right reasons.  Dogs are meant to be our companions and to share our lives with us.  The right reasons to get a dog are to help him become all that he can be.  To properly feed and exercise him.  To spend quality time socializing and training him.  But there are many wrong reasons to get a dog. 

Some of these include as a means of protection or to be a hobby breeder.  When dogs are purchased as a means of protection, most people think this means keeping them away from other dogs and people to make them more protective.  By doing this, your dog is not getting the socialization that he requires and as a result ends up fearful, aggressive, and destructive.  What invariably happens is the dog bites someone and ends up getting euthanized. 

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The Blue Kerry terrier pet dog is one of the most mysterious breeds of terriers. This is because of the fact that even though the breed has been known by the Irish for at leas 150 years, nobody really knows where they came from or how they were first bred.

Various legends are told in order to explain the appearance of the Kerry blue terrier breed. Some say that the peasants bred them for hunting purposes since noblemen monopolized the use of wolfhounds. Thus, noblemen hunted with their wolfhounds while peasants poached with their Kerries.

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