There’s nothing that looks quite as good as a well-groomedChihuahua. Keeping your Chihuahua in tip-top shape is not difficult, andthe benefits are many. Regular grooming provides quality, bonding timebetween you and your dog, and it improves your Chi’s health. Beinghands-on with your Chihuahua enables you to spot potential healthproblems much sooner, too.
Coat Care
The Chihuahua comes in two coats: short and long. The shorthaired Chiis the classic wash ‘n wear dog, requiring very little grooming, while thelonghaired Chi can require more care, depending on just how long andthick her coat is.
Shorthaired
Though the shorthaired Chi would love to be brushed every day, herneeds are far less demanding. A gentle brushing once or twice a weekshould suffice quite well. When choosing a brush to groom yourChihuahua, look for a small brush in order to be able to negotiate all thesmall curves, nooks, and crannies of her body.
A soft bristle brush or slicker brush for sensitive skin are good choicesfor soft, relaxing grooming sessions, and repeated use can help produce aglossy coat. Whatever brush you choose to use, begin your groomingsession by gently brushing against the lay of the coat to pull up dander,dirt, and oils. Then brush with the lay of the coat to finish removingloose hairs and dander and to more equally distribute the skin’s naturaloils. Finish off with a rubdown (front to back) with a clean cloth.
Regular brushing is good for a dog’s skin. The bristles gentlymassage the Chi’s skin, increasing the blood flow at the surface.Skin with good circulation tends to be much healthier and suppler.Brushing stimulates skin, reduces dander (scale, dirt, and oils), anddistributes natural oils, which protect the hair shaft.
The most challenging part of caring for a shorthaired Chi’s coat maywell be the Chi’s attitude toward brushing. You can’t expect a rescuedadult dog to sit still for a major grooming session, just as you wouldn’t expect a squirmy puppy to remain quiet. For those Chis that haven’t hadmuch grooming experience, start slowly. Begin with a few brush strokesat a time and stop the grooming session before the adult or puppy startsbecoming impatient. Reward good behavior with treats, praise, and lotsof love. Gradually increase the amount of time you spend brushing yourChihuahua until she will remain still for several minutes.
If yourChihuahua shows any indication of snapping or biting you, use a plasticcage-type muzzle. This muzzle allows plenty of airflow while protectingyou from a nasty bite. Whatever you do, don’t allow the Chihuahua tomake the call when the grooming session is finished. You make that call,always rewarding good behavior and working through (and ignoring)poor behavior.
Chis that have long coats must be brushed, especially after a ventureoutside-wood ticks and other bugs are an unwanted menace.
Long Coats
The Chihuahua’s long coat varies greatly within the breed. Alonghaired coat can mean wispy, soft hairs that feather from the Chi’slegs, tail, ears, and belly, or a thick, full, long coat. The thinner, wispiercoat will require only one or two grooming sessions a week. The thick,full, and long coat requires daily attention.
Some shorthaired Chihuahuas have very thin, smooth coats. Others,however, can develop a very thick coat during the colder months. Ifyour Chi carries this thicker short coat, you can use a small pinbrush with rounded ends to help remove some of the thicknesswhen moving into the warmer months.
The biggest problem some owners have in grooming their longhairedChis is not using the correct brush. If you use a bristle brush, you canbrush and brush and never actually brush the coat hairs lying closest tothe skin. These hairs then tangle to form mats. These mats harbor dirtand moisture and can cause secondary infections. Once a Chi has a mat,grooming becomes an uncomfortable experience for both dog andowner.
Do longhaired Chis get split ends?
Not exactly, but their coat hairs are more prone to breaking if youbrush them when they are completely dry. Some groomersrecommend spritzing the dog’s coat with water prior to brushing.Never force the brush through the dog’s coat; if you hit a tangle,gently pick it apart without tugging—and breaking more hair.Really bad matting will need to be cut out by a professionalgroomer.
A better brush to use is a pin brush. The pin brush has short pinsspread through the head of the brush. The pins have rounded ends so asnot to irritate the dog’s skin. With a pin brush, you’re able to reach thecoat hairs closest to the skin, removing dead hair and preventing mats.Once you’ve brushed through your Chi’s coat both against the lay of thecoat and with the lay, then take a fine-toothed comb and make sure yourChihuahua’s coat is free of tangles.
If your Chihuahua puppy grew up to have a lot more coat than you anticipated when you fell in love with her, you may consider having herprofessionally trimmed by a groomer. Trimming her coat not onlyshortens it a bit but thins it out, too, making it much easier to groom.Trimming a Chi’s coat does not, however, mean you get out of dailygrooming chores. It just makes the process a bit easier.
Shedding
All dogs shed. All Chihuahuas shed. Your Chihuahua will shed. Granted,the Chihuahua is not a huge dog and doesn’t have the surface area onher body to shed such quantities of hair as to make wafting “Chipuppies” float through your hallway and settle in your butter. But, don’texpect your Chihuahua to be shed-free.
If you own a tan Chihuahua, she will shed on your black plants. Ifyou own a black Chi, you’ll find her hair on your white carpets andlove seats. That’s just the universal law of canine shedding: the hairwill go where you’ll notice it the most.
Daily brushing goes a long way in removing dead hairs for both shortand longhaired Chis. If you are diligent with your brushing, you will findfar less fallen hairs. Bathing is another good way to rid your Chi of dead,shedded hairs.
Bathing
If you are brushing your Chihuahua regularly and taking care to removeany dander or dirt, your Chi should look and smell quite clean. There arealways occasions, however, in which your Chihuahua gets dirty, muddy,or finds something dog-wonderful to roll in and becomes awfully stinky.It’s bath time!
How to Bathe
You can give your Chihuahua a bath in one of three ways: the rightway, the wrong way, or by taking her to a professional groomer.Obviously, if you use a professional groomer it will cost you a fewdineros; however, the job will be done quickly, professionally, andwithout incident.
Then there’s the wrong way: Wait until your Chihuahua desperatelyneeds a bath and try to wash her. Here’s the problem. Chis do not taketo water very well. Many Chihuahuas have been known to demand beingcarried to their potty spots when it’s raining to avoid getting their pawswet. If you fill up your sink with warm water and try to plunk your Chiin it for a bath, you’ll witness her amazing ability to spread all four legsout in such a fashion as to make it impossible for her to be lowered intothe sink. You’ll also discover that despite what you thought, your Chi ismade of muscles of steel and a will of iron. And if you’re really lucky,you won’t see how sharp those teeth really are.
Before you begin bathing your Chihuahua, make sure you’vealready washed and dried all of the dog’s bedding. There’s nothingmore frustrating than to have a clean, sweet-smelling Chi lie downin a stinky bed.
The right way to approach bath time is to start working on this skillweeks (even months in some cases) before you ever need to bathe yourChihuahua. Here are some tips:
Put nonslip strips or a washcloth in your sink bottom to keepyour Chi from slipping.
Lift your Chi into the sink, give her a treat, and take her backout. Practice this.
Fill the bottom of your sink with half an inch of warm water.Lift your Chi into the sink and immediately back out. Treat andpractice.
Increase the time that your Chi is in the sink.Increase the amount of water by half an inch.
If you have a spray attachment, hold your Chi in the sink whileyou turn the spray on and off without wetting your Chihuahua.
Wet only your Chi’s legs with the spray attachment andimmediately take her out of the sink.
Wet more of your Chihuahua until you can wet her entire bodyexcept for her eyes and ears—you’ll do these by hand.
Introduce a tiny amount of shampoo (a little bit goes alooooong way), rub your Chi in a massage-like fashion, andthen rinse thoroughly. Rinse again.
Once bath time is down pat, continue to practice wetting yourChi in the sink in between baths to further acclimate her to thiswhole process.
You may never get your Chihuahua to like taking a bath, but you canget her to tolerate it. Never yell at your Chi while trying to acclimate herto this whole process; it will only make her more frightened. Take thingsslowly, and use lots of praise and rewards for good behavior. If all elsefails, make an appointment with a professional groomer.
Drying Chihuahuas have a difficult time maintaining their body temperatures, and they chill quite easily. For this reason, it is important that you bathyour dog in a warm, draft-free location and dry her in an equallycomfortable place. Use clean soft towels to blot and gently rub her dry. Ifyour Chihuahua is longhaired, you might consider using a blow dryer toensure that the hair closest to the dog’s skin is completely dry. Moist,warm skin and hair that is insulated with dry outer hairs can be abreeding ground for bacteria, skin irritation, and potential infections.
If you are blow-drying your Chihuahua’s coat, be careful that theforced air does not become too hot. Try to maintain a nice warmtemperature that will keep your Chi from becoming chilled and yetwon’t harm the hair shafts in your Chi’s coat by heating them too muchand causing them to become brittle.
If you are going to crate your Chihuahua after you’ve toweled herdry, make sure she’s got lots of clean dry bedding to snuggle downinto and that she’s in a warm, draft-free area of the home.
Shampoos
When choosing the perfect shampoo for your Chihuahua, you have onlytwo points to remember. You want the shampoo to be made specificallyfor dogs and in a tear-free formula. Dogs have a different pH to theirskin than we do, making human shampoos too harsh for a dog’s skin.The necessity of a tear-free formula is that try as you might, there willcome a day when you will get some soapy water in your Chi’s eyes. Ifyou are using a tear-free product, the effects will be far lessuncomfortable for your dog.
From there, the sky’s the limit as far as shampoos are concerned.You’ll find shampoos specifically to make white coats white, black coatsblack, itchy skin not so itchy, dry hair moist, and long hair luxurious.Specialty formulas may be more expensive, but if you’d like to give onea try, go ahead. (You don’t need a large bottle.) Again, as long as theshampoo is for dogs and is tear-free and you like it, then it’s a goodproduct.
Trimming Nails
Keeping your Chihuahua’s toenails trimmed is important to your puppyor dog’s health. When a dog’s toenails grow too long, it causes the Chi’sfoot to splay and makes it difficult and even painful for the dog to walk.Even moderately overgrown toenails can affect the dog’s ability to walkproperly and can exacerbate existing joint problems.
Smaller Chis are not equipped to deal with extreme cold, so it neverhurts to have a sweater on hand to keep them warm.
The ability to trim a puppy or dog’s nails, if you’ve never done thisbefore, is an acquired skill for the owner. Fortunately, Chihuahuas donot have large thick toenails that take monster clippers to trim, but theydo require a sharp eye and a gentle hand.
Toenail clippers come in two styles: a scissors type and a guillotine.Either trimmer can be suitable; it’s more a personal preference. Just
be sure to replace your trimmers as they become dull.
Depending on the coloration of your Chihuahua, she may have whiteor clear toenails in which you can see the pink quick, where blood flowsinto the nail. She may also have black toenails in which you can’t seeanything. Or you may find that your Chi has a combination of dark andclear toenails.
If you’re trimming a clear toenail, the process is much easier. Look forthe end of the pink quick, and trim the toenail a little longer than thequick. If you’re trimming a dark toenail that is next to a light toenail,you can usually gauge how much to trim from the lighter nail. If yourChi has all dark nails, look at the shape of the nail. You’ll be able to seethe part of the nail that is starting to form a point. Underneath the nail,you’ll be able to see where this point begins; it’s usually smooth. Cliphere.
Quick! I Quicked Her!
No matter how careful you are with your dog’s toenails, you willsomeday misjudge the trim and quick the nail, causing your dog tobleed. For a little dog, the Chi’s toenails can really bleed, too. Unless youdo something, it could take up to thirty minutes or more for the toenailto stop dripping, and as soon as your Chi bumps something, the nail willstart to bleed all over again. You can imagine what a mess this couldcause.
Luckily for dog owners, there are ways to stop the bleeding. Caninestyptic pens can be applied to the end of the bleeding nail, or the nailcan be dipped into a sulfur powder mix made specifically to preventinfection and stop bleeding. Both these products can be purchasedwithout a prescription and are recommended to have on hand wheneveryou are trimming nails.
Not My Paws!
In addition to learning how to trim your Chihuahua’s toenails, yourChihuahua will also need to learn how to remain still and tolerate all sixteen of her toenails (eighteen if she has dew claws) to be trimmed. Ifyou have a puppy, begin this training early. If you have an adult Chi thatis not used to toenail trimming, you can use the same gradual approachthat you would with a pup.
Every day, take a tiny nubbin off a single toenail. Treat and praiseyour Chi for sitting still. Work up to being able to trim an entire paw at asitting, then two paws, then all paws. Praise only good behavior, ignorebad behavior, and cut her toenails anyway. If at any time you think yourChi might bite you (that qualifies as bad behavior), use a muzzle andcontinue working with your Chi. She’ll eventually get the idea. If all this sounds too much for you—or if you have difficulty seeingthe tiny (and it is tiny) little pink quick—take your Chihuahua to aprofessional groomer. The toenail trimming will be quick and relativelypainless for both you and your Chihuahua.
The Ears and Eyes Have It
Chihuahuas have large, protruding eyes, which make them moresusceptible to injury. For this reason, Chi owners need to make sure thatthey regularly inspect their puppies’ and dogs’ eyes for injury or thepresence of a foreign body.
Chihuahua’s eyes tear regularly, so the presence of tears below yourChi’s eyes is not unusual. If, however, you notice that your Chihuahuaseems to be rubbing her eyes with her paws or trying to scratch them,this would call for a trip to the veterinarian. Even if the object that wasin the eye is no longer present, it could have scratched or punctured theeye.
If you see that your Chihuahua’s eyes are bloodshot, that tearing isexcessive, or that they are producing a milky or thicker discharge, itcould be that your Chi’s eyes are infected. Take her to theveterinarian immediately for treatment.
Tear Stain
Because the Chihuahua’s eyes do tear, those Chis with white, cream,or light fawn-colored coats will develop a tear stain. This is a rust-colored discoloration of the coat beneath the eye. Though this tear staindoes not hurt the Chihuahua in any way, it is noticeable and in somecases can be a bit unsightly.
To help keep tears from staining, regularly wipe beneath your dog’seyes with a cotton ball soaked in saline solution (the same as you wouldpurchase for contact lenses). For stubborn stains, you can work on thestain with a saline-soaked cotton swab or place a warm rag with thesolution over her eyes while she lies in your lap. The more care andattention you give to your Chihuahua’s eyes, the less likely she will be to develop tear stains.
Listen Up
Chihuahuas are not a breed that has abnormal or excessive problemswith ear infections. Because the breed’s ears are erect and open, airflowis better to the ear canal. If an ear infection is brewing—due to animbalance in the ear’s natural yeast or bacteria content—the infectionwill not take off as quickly as it would in a drop-eared dog. That’s thegood news. The challenging news is that dogs with open ears are moresusceptible to foreign bodies entering the ear, which can be the cause ofan ear infection.
Regardless of the cause, as a dog owner you should be aware of thesymptoms of an ear infection. These include scratching the ears, rubbingthe ears on the floor, shaking the head, excessive waxy substance,holding the head at an odd angle, and in severe cases, loss of balance. Inall cases, there will be noticeable redness from inflammation deep in theear, possibly swelling, and a distinct, foul odor. An ear infection calls for an immediate trip to the veterinarian. If yourChihuahua suffers from chronic ear infections, your veterinarian maysuggest an ear wash that, if used weekly, can help ward off futureinfections by keeping the ear canal dry.
Basic Ear Cleaning
To keep the outer portion of your Chihuahua’s ears clean, use a cottonball dampened with saline solution. Wipe this on the inside of the dog’sears to remove dirt and oils. Never, however, use a cotton swab or anyother object in an attempt to clean the inner workings of yourChihuahua’s ears. If you suspect this area needs cleaning, it could be theonset of an ear infection, so back to the veterinarian’s office you go.
Chihuahuas with allergies often suffer ear infections. If the allergiesare seasonal, the ear infections will be seasonal, too.
Teeth Are Number-One Priority
Chihuahuas have a reputation for bad teeth. Periodontal disease is socommon among Chihuahuas that many owners just accept this as a Chithing. It doesn’t have to be. Bad breath, loss of teeth, and inability to eatdry food do not have to be part of your Chihuahua’s fate. But you haveto take the situation into your own hands.
First, feed your dog a dry food so that she must sink her teeth into thekibble, which helps to scrub tartar from her teeth. Next, provide yourChihuahua with lots of delectable chew toys and treats. Rope toys serveas floss, if your Chi will chew on them. Hard-baked artificial bones canencourage even the pickiest chewer to work on removing tartar. Andstuffable toys that make your dog chew to release the biscuits are also agood idea.
You must also learn to brush your Chi’s teeth. If your pup or adult Chihasn’t had her teeth brushed before, begin brushing with a rubber-knobbed finger brush. When she accepts this activity, you can beginusing a toothbrush. When brushing your Chi’s teeth, be sure to use only toothpaste thathas been made specifically for dogs. Human toothpastes contain fluorideand other chemicals that can’t be swallowed, which is exactly what yourChihuahua is going to do with her toothpaste. Additionally, dogtoothpaste comes in chicken and beef flavors. And finally, if your Chihuahua is undergoing a procedure that requiresanesthesia, such as a spay or neuter, take advantage of this opportunityto have your puppy or dog’s teeth deep cleaned and given a fluoridetreatment.