Apple head chihuahua...Are they Stupid?

[Pearly]

Aww, i hope you can keep her. It is difficult when the other spouse says you can't keep one. I don't know how i would handle that. She is a beautiful little pup.

Let me just say this, after I adopted Maxi (my white Maine Coon cat, who btw believes he's a dog my husband really blew up and told me to choose between him and the cat... I won't bother telling the rest of this story, Maxi is obviously still with me... I would NEVER give him up. Or any other pet for that matter. I think it takes some lack of consideration for other person's feelings and frankly, some audacity to demand of a spouse or partner that they give up their pet. I think in my case if I gave in to that ultimatum and gave my cat up just to keep peace in the house, I would resent my husband for it, and be very hurt

 

[Pearly]

Ed, give Suki a chance. You are getting some great advise here. If your and Suki's little heart truly connected, all this will be so worth it. Then again, if things don't seem to be best match after all, consider my Mom as alternative "Suki keeper". Suki would have a fairy tale life with her (always with her day/night, best food, best medical care, big back yard and walks) and LOVE AND AFFECTION to no end. My Mom loves animals just like I do.

 

[dmmj]

is it not also unfair to not take your partner's thoughts concerning pets into account?

 

[ascott]

is it not also unfair to not take your partner's consideration concerning pets into account?

Captain you are correct. There should be discussion prior to any permanent human relationship....I mean if a person has an animal prior to permanent human relationship, and the person clearly states they will never give up their pet... then too bad....but if an animal is acquired sometime during the relationship then there has to be a discussion before the animal is brought in....unless of course a human never is good enough to withstand an animal in the household.....lots of folks say that they love animals more than they love people....if this is the case then don't fool a person into a relationship when you have no intention of making the relationship the prime issue of importance....in my opinion anyway....I mean there is nothing wrong with someone loving an animal more than they love a person, just be straight about it so someone knows the deal...

My mother once told my father that she would rather sleep with the dogs than him...well, lets just say she has a couple of dogs to sleep with....not that in that particular situation the trade off was not worth it....but it is certainly not a fair thing for one person to already know they will never give up a pet and not tell the other person that absolute requirement from the start....again, just my opinion is all...

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It was Kelly that found the dog and drove to go get her.
I was still unsure if I wanted another after losing one.

 

[Pearly]

It was Kelly that found the dog and drove to go get her.
I was still unsure if I wanted another after losing one.

Sorry Ed, if I opened pandora's box. We all know that once that "honeymoon phase" of each relationship is over, it doesn't at times take much for the contention to drive the wedge between people. There is no "right or wrong", we all just do the best we can.

 

[lisa127]

Let me just say this, after I adopted Maxi (my white Maine Coon cat, who btw believes he's a dog my husband really blew up and told me to choose between him and the cat... I won't bother telling the rest of this story, Maxi is obviously still with me...View attachment 169666 I would NEVER give him up. Or any other pet for that matter. I think it takes some lack of consideration for other person's feelings and frankly, some audacity to demand of a spouse or partner that they give up their pet. I think in my case if I gave in to that ultimatum and gave my cat up just to keep peace in the house, I would resent my husband for it, and be very hurt

Agreed! People need to realize that no dog is perfect, just as none of us humans are perfect. I wouldn't give up my human kids for making mistakes. Why do we expect perfection from a dog if we ourselves are not perfect? I swear, my human kids have caused more mess and chaos than any of the dogs ever did yet they are still my kids!

 

[Pearly]

Agreed! People need to realize that no dog is perfect, just as none of us humans are perfect. I wouldn't give up my human kids for making mistakes. Why do we expect perfection from a dog if we ourselves are not perfect? I swear, my human kids have caused more mess and chaos than any of the dogs ever did yet they are still my kids!

I like the analogy

 

[dmmj]

I don't know what you're talking about I'm perfect

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I believe that we had both become spoiled with our other dog who just got "it".

 

[lisa127]

I don't know what you're talking about I'm perfect

LOL

 

[ZEROPILOT]

No "accidents" in about 48 hours now.
It's almost like she knows what's at stake.
I've been giving more love and praise with the training treats.

 

[ColleenT]

They are so super sensitive to your moods, so try to be upbeat when you are with her, it WILL help if she thinks going potty is a good thing. Good Luck on the continuation of her behavior.

 

[wellington]

Feeding at the same time every day will also help you to figure out how long it will take her system to digest the food , and be ready to do her business. People who leave a food dish down all day , plus treats are just making it hard on the dog and themselves during the training period . She will get it , just like everything else some days go better than others !

View attachment 169632

Actually free feeding is the only way I have ever fed many many many dogs. They don't get over weight, they don't scarf down their food and they aren't starving if I don't get home in time to make their feeding schedule. I also don't have to live to their feeding schedule. I also never had a problem potty training any dog, from the small to large. This pups problem is from the previous owner and their lack of potty training. If started out right with proper potty training, free feeding is the better way to feed. Too many obese dogs are not free fed. You won't find too many free fed that are obese, unless the owners over feed table scraps and treats.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

You keep food down 24/7 Wellington?
I feed her at about 4 AM and again at about 4 PM and she eats it all very quickly. She also gets a treat for going potty and a few pieces of her normal hard dog food here and there during the day. I keep the mealtime portions small to factor in the treats and all. She is just over 2 lbs.
I fed my other dog this way and he maintained a healthy weight after becoming heavy with too much "Human" type food. Suki will never get a lot of that.
It feels to me that if I gave her a full bowl of dog food, that she would just eat it until she puked.
As for the previous owner, I'm pretty sure that the parent dogs were NOT house broken. It looked like they all pretty much crapped all over the carport.
Suki has now gone three days without an accident. My wife thinks that I'm lying. Seriously.

 

[lisa127]

You keep food down 24/7 Wellington?
I feed her at about 4 AM and again at about 4 PM and she eats it all very quickly. She also gets a treat for going potty and a few pieces of her normal hard dog food here and there during the day. I keep the mealtime portions small to factor in the treats and all. She is just over 2 lbs.
I fed my other dog this way and he maintained a healthy weight after becoming heavy with too much "Human" type food. Suki will never get a lot of that.
It feels to me that if I gave her a full bowl of dog food, that she would just eat it until she puked.
As for the previous owner, I'm pretty sure that the parent dogs were NOT house broken. It looked like they all pretty much crapped all over the carport.
Suki has now gone three days without an accident. My wife thinks that I'm lying. Seriously.

My chihuahua is the same way with food. And chihuahuas get overweight so easily since people dont realize how few calories they need. Mine is just over 7 lbs and he only eats 1/4 cup of food a day. That's 4 tablespoons!

Glad she is doing so well!

 

[ColleenT]

i also would have fat dogs if i left food down. I have 5 dogs they all have their food measured out, and they all eat 2 x daily. They are all kept slender.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My last dog, Chester almost got loved to death...Or at least loved to near diabetic. He ballooned to 16 pounds over the years until I put him on a strict program of Holistic food x2 each day and either green beans or tiny carrots for a snack and NO people food. He slimmed down to a healthy 8 pounds and lived a very long and healthy second half of his life. (15 years)
That dog nearly potty trained himself.

 

[lisa127]

My last dog, Chester almost got loved to death...Or at least loved to near diabetic. He ballooned to 16 pounds over the years until I put him on a strict program of Holistic food x2 each day and either green beans or tiny carrots for a snack and NO people food. He slimmed down to a healthy 8 pounds and lived a very long and healthy second half of his life. (15 years)
That dog nearly potty trained himself.

16 lbs!? Omg, how could he even move?

My toy fox terrier weighs exactly the same as my chihuahua and also eats 1/4 cup but loves to eat. My 14 lb shih tzu is the opposite. You almost have to beg that dog to eat!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Chester was a mixed Chihuahua and about the size of a Jack Russel.
Here's a photo of him at his fattest. (He ended up half that size.)
That was one Hell of a great dog!