Any chihuahua owners?

[albionism]

I have a chihuahua and he loves long walks, twice a day and lots of
playing around in the back yard. He is a delight but they are not as
easy to keep as people think....oh and don't try to move one that's
asleep or having a relaxing lie down, they'll have your fucking fingers off!

 

[albionism]

Me and him

 

[Looby]

There's a bloke that walks a chihuahua in my local park. This guy is huge with long curly hair, tattoos etc and the dog is the tiniest thing I've ever seen (way smaller than albionism's dog) and has a pink sparkly lead and collar. I probably shouldn't find it funny but they do look hilarious together.

 

[campanula]

Not having a garden is a major deal-breaker. We lived in a flat without one when we were mature students with a (bone idle) greyhound....what a 'mare, donning warm clothes at the crack of dawn. last thing at night, soon as we came home from college....and there was no handy dog toilet (green, non-park) for what seemed like miles last thing on a rainy night - we had to trudge halfway down Southover Street (for it was Brighton) to 'use' a horrid little shitty patch of grass (where everyone else took their dogs so it was a risky dance between turds). We ended up bribing our eldest to take the dog on for our last year.
We soothed our younger ones pet-loss misery with Russian Hamsters - sweet, tiny, easy, short-lived, cheap.

 

[ShiftyBagLady]

We are very lucky that I live opposite a nice green space, near the river where we hang out a lot and have two nice parks 5-10 minutes away. There are lots of people on my street with dogs and I think that dogs can be content living in flats but it undoubtedly takes a lot more effort from the owners than those who have gardens to let them poo and prance about in.

 

[story]

When I was a teen I lived in a flat with a couple of siblings and a terrier dog. We'd take the dog out for walks and all that, but there was the twice-a-day schlep for the first/last pee of the day. We all hated it and griped and moaned and brokered deals and bribed each other. There was one coat, the dog-coat, that we all used. It was warm and longish and chunky, it was a decent disguise for covering PJs and underwear, it fit all of us to a reasonable degree, and there was always baccy for a roll up the pocket, and sometimes the leftovers of a choccy bar. We called it the juicy coat. I have no idea why. It never got used by any of us for any other reason than for walking the dog. And none of us ever knew where it came from or to whom it had originally belonged.

 

[ShiftyBagLady]

Fuck the dog, I'll take the juicy coat

 

[Looby]

Fuck the dog, I'll take the juicy coat

A magic coat with baccy and chocolate. Amazing.

I misread it as weed, that would have been even better.

 

[Dr_Herbz]

I can't think of any pet I'd rather have less than a chihuahua. Yapping little bastards! Get a proper dog or a rat, either is preferable.

 

[story]

Fuck the dog, I'll take the juicy coat

A magic coat with baccy and chocolate. Amazing.

I misread it as weed, that would have been even better.

And because we were skinny moody pouty teens and had just climbed out of bed, or off the sofa, we probably looked all scrambled and heroin chic and terrifically insouciantly sexy.

It was indeed a magic coat.

 

[albionism]

I can't think of any pet I'd rather have less than a chihuahua. Yapping little bastards! Get a proper dog or a rat, either is preferable.

I thought the same until i got one.

 

[Dr_Herbz]

I thought the same until i got one.

I had to look after one for three months, and only for the fact that I love and respect all animals, I might possibly have drowned it.

 

[hiccup]

I think hiccup may have one

I do have a chihuahua. Never imagined I'd own such a beast, but was talked into it, and am now convinced of their charms.

Pros:

• Don't need masses of walking (but happy to do surprisingly long walks - ours did 6 miles recently)
• Cheap to feed
• Easy to transport
• I'd rather clean up after a chihuahua than a bigger dog.
• Depends on the dog, but ours is great with people and kids, very patient, not snappy at all.
• Lots of shops that don't allow dogs aren't so bothered when it's a tiny dog that you can hold under your arm when you pop in for some milk or whatever

Cons:

• You have to be careful around other dogs, as a boisterous bigger dog can break a chihuahua quite easily. We had been advised not to let ours off the lead, but he loves running around the park so much we do, but we are careful about what other dogs are around. And he has had a few near misses with an aggressive Alsation, and a clumsy Great Dane.
• With no garden, you will find the early morning/late night outings a pain in the arse, but that's not chihuahua specific, obv.
• Ours often gets defensive/growly around other dogs, but I think this is mainly down to his original owners not socialising him when he was a puppy

 

[sim667]

I don't think bulldogs like walking that much, so that could be an alternative? I hate chihuahuas though, so I'd be looking for any excuse not to have one.

What about a pug?

 

[Callie]

CRI has a papillon which seem like alovely breed of doglet. Im not convinced that being small means they need less walks, theyre still going to need to go out if its cold and piddling with rain!

I have considered getting a dog, I would love one but I am highly aware of how much of a commitment they can be. So much more so than a cat imo

 

[ChrisFilter]

We got a puppy two weeks ago. It's like having a toddler. Don't get a puppy.

 

[trabuquera]

I might have been embittered by my granda's 3rd wife's menagerie of badly-socialised chihuahuas but I've got a lifelong horror of them now (sorry, albionism, I'm sure it doesn't apply to your obviously happy & well-loved one). She had 2 or 3 on the go at any one time and they were all insanely aggressive, noisy, madly dominant little blighters whose toenails rattled on the floors. They bit the entire family, weren't at all fussy about who or what they attacked. *shudders*. So if you really really want a small dog, get a papillon or something...

But more seriously: the issue is not just about how much walking your new pet needs as about their emotional state as well.. I've been really disturbed recently by those 'what does your dog do all day?' type docs - some seriously anxious/disturbed animals left pacing around the house, barking, whining, pining etc. It seems to me that dogs are just massively needy and dependent on their people being about for good chunks of the day, with or without walks, and I'm not sure little dogs are any more independent than the rest of them. I couldn't handle inflicting distress on an animal by making it fit into my working week in this way - but if you can fit your schedule around the dog, then yeah, go ahead - but if you opt for a chihuahua, get right on top of the training/socialising from the get-go.

 

[Libertad]

We've got a rescue Chihuahua/Jack Russell cross and he's a little star. We've also got an 18 month old boy, four cats and a dozen chickens and the dog's never had a problem in any way with any of them.
He loves people and people love him. The only things that bother him are the sounds on telly of shots being fired, doorbells and police sirens.
Might have something to do with the fact that he was rescued from a crack house. He's also a top ratter and loves flushing out rabbits where he has no problems with guns being discharged, that'll be the Jack Russell in him then.

 

[scifisam]

The yapping could possibly be a problem in a flat, though at least you don't have lots of people walking past your door every five minutes and setting the dog into watchdog mode like we do.

Shifty Jr is old enough to do some of the walks, at least; J used to do a longish one straight after school. TBH frequent enough walking was never a problem for us till I got ill. Yeah, you have to go out first and last thing, but I quite liked the routine. Stick headphones in - I listened to factua audiobooks and learnt loads - and vary your routine a bit, although it's also lovely seeing the daily changes as plants wither and bloom.

You definitely won't get a rescue dog, but you could try somewhere like gumtree if you'd prefer an older dog.

 

[CRI]

CRI has a papillon which seem like alovely breed of doglet. Im not convinced that being small means they need less walks, theyre still going to need to go out if its cold and piddling with rain!

I have considered getting a dog, I would love one but I am highly aware of how much of a commitment they can be. So much more so than a cat imo

Can vouch for Paps being amazing. They aren't yappy - mine has a surprisingly deep voice, like the Barry White of toy dogs. Can be a bit protective of their humans and their home though. Mine was nearly 18 months and hadn't been properly socialised, so the past couple months have been a bit of a roller coaster of toilet training, teaching him how to play, building his confidence, relationship mediation with the cat and getting him used to other dogs. That probably would have been the case for most dogs that weren't properly socialised. But, he's really coming along on all fronts and is a lovely, lovely little animal.

Small poops are brilliant. Feeding costs are relatively cheap as well. Exercise wise, we luckily have a garden and he'll play fetch until he nearly faints from exhaustion. Without the garden though, he'd need more walking. Paps need stuff to keep them from getting bored or they can be destructive.

Bit of a tangent, but have you thought of a house rabbit?

 

[Saffy]

Well that's interesting as I was wondering what illnesses and disorders they might be more prone to, eyes and teeth is it?

Ahh I was just using my dog as an example as being bloody expensive.
Though all the things that have happened to my labrador have not been specific to her breed, don't think?
Dew claw damage
Tummy bug
Being spayed
It all seemed to happen over a couple of months so that sucked but I honestly love her so much, having a dog is one of the best things we've ever done. Puppies are really hard work though!

 

[Cribynkle]

Can vouch for Paps being amazing. They aren't yappy - mine has a surprisingly deep voice, like the Barry White of toy dogs. Can be a bit protective of their humans and their home though. Mine was nearly 18 months and hadn't been properly socialised, so the past couple months have been a bit of a roller coaster of toilet training, teaching him how to play, building his confidence, relationship mediation with the cat and getting him used to other dogs. That probably would have been the case for most dogs that weren't properly socialised. But, he's really coming along on all fronts and is a lovely, lovely little animal.

Small poops are brilliant. Feeding costs are relatively cheap as well. Exercise wise, we luckily have a garden and he'll play fetch until he nearly faints from exhaustion. Without the garden though, he'd need more walking. Paps need stuff to keep them from getting bored or they can be destructive.

Bit of a tangent, but have you thought of a house rabbit?

I thought guinea pigs were meant to be better pets than house rabbits? You're not going off Griff are you??

 

[Looby]

If I didn't have the dogs, I'd love piggies or a house rabbit.

 

[CRI]

I thought guinea pigs were meant to be better pets than house rabbits? You're not going off Griff are you??

Oh no, not at all! Buns are a bit more "robust" though, compared to pigs at least, so better for free ranging all or most of the time. Better chance of litter training them as well.

 

[Cribynkle]

Oh no, not at all! Buns are a bit more "robust" though, compared to pigs at least, so better for free ranging all or most of the time. Better chance of litter training them as well.

Phew

 

[Mr Moose]

Even toy dogs like chihuahuas that need coats to go outside?

Chihuahua's can probably exercise on a Hamster's wheel. But have they any personality?

Cat will be spinning in grave.

As for toiletting, you may not have a garden, but Cats are usually pretty good at finding someone else's.