Important Chihuahua Care Instructions
VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please Read Immediately! Feeding Instructions
Your puppy has been eating Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice Puppy. You should feed your puppy ¼ of a cup of food twice a day. If you have no other pets or if your puppy is confined in his own space, we recommend that you leave food down for him all the time. That does not mean that you should put more food in the bowl every time he finishes eating it. He needs no more than 3/4 of a cup of food a day, but if your puppy empties his bowl as soon as you feed him, you will need to divide his daily food ration into two or maybe even three feedings so that it is spaced out to help him keep his energy up. As your puppy grows, you will increase his food ration according to the instructions on the food bag. You should not change your puppy’s food for several weeks after he comes home. Once he is fully settled in, eating well and you can see that he feels comfortable, if you wish to change his food, you can, but you should do it very gradually, mixing the new food with Puppy Chow a little bit at a time until he is eating the other food well.
Hypoglycemia
Low blood sugar can be a serious problem in Chihuahua puppies, especially in the days following their transition to their new homes. Hypoglycemia is the result of a puppy that plays hard and does not eat enough. They expend more energy than they take in when they eat. Symptoms of hypoglycemia include lethargy, excessive drooling, staggering, glazed eyes, vomiting, and in extreme cases puppies can have seizures. To avoid hypoglycemia, you must make sure your puppy is eating. If he does not want to eat his food, we recommend that you mix some canned food in with the dry food to tempt him to eat. It is a good idea to give Nutri-Cal or Nutri-Stat OR honey a few times a day for the first week or so after you bring your puppy home. This will help to avoid hypoglycemic episodes. If you see the symptoms mentioned above, you must give your puppy Nutri-Cal, kayro syrup or honey immediately to bring his blood sugar back up. They will not want to eat it, but you must ensure that they do. The best way to do this is to put some on your finger and wipe it onto the roof of their mouth or their gums. Your puppy should recover within 30 minutes to an hour. If he doesn’t, call the vet immediately.
Sleep
Puppies are babies, and like human babies, they do sleep a lot. Your puppy may play very hard, but when it is time for him to rest, he must be allowed to rest. You should not allow children or anyone else to wear your puppy out to the point where he does not want to eat, as that will bring on hypoglycemia. Your puppy should have a schedule at first. He should be allowed to play for limited amounts of time and then he should be confined in his space, away from household activity, to rest. As your puppy grows, his need for sleep will lessen and he will be able to join the family activity more and more. Containment
In order to keep your home environment as familiar as our home, where your puppy was raised, you should set up a pen for your puppy to have his own space. A small wire crate with a bed should sit inside a larger pen big enough for your puppy to run and play. Place paper or puppy pads outside the crate and your puppy already understands not to potty in the crate, but to come outside the crate and potty on the paper. This environment is especially important for when you will not be home or not able to watch your puppy closely. As he learns to potty outside, your puppy can spend more and more time outside the pen until he is fully housetrained and no longer needs the pen at all.
Vaccinations
While your puppy was with us, he had all the shots that were appropriate for his age. We give puppy shots at 6, 9, 12 and 16 weeks based on the vaccine protocol that our vet recommends. By the time your puppy leaves us, he will probably have had the first vaccine, and possibly the second, depending on how long he is here. It is up to you to complete his puppy series. You must also get your puppy’s rabies vaccination, which some vets give at 12 weeks, but we prefer to wait till 15-18 weeks to give it. However, for the rabies vaccine, you should follow the advice of your vet regarding the appropriate age. We do not recommend that you give your puppy a vaccination for leptospirosis as this is a dangerous vaccine that can cause seizures and brain damage. We recommend that you follow the instructions of your vet regarding other vaccines, such as bordetalla, coronavirus and others. Parasite Control
By the time your puppy leaves, he will have had a full deworming cycle, and may have had more treatments than that. We do use Advantage Multi as needed, as well. Each puppy will have a card in his folder that will have all of the dates and products that he has received. Your puppy should be parasite free when he goes home, but it is possible that your vet may find one or two eggs. It does happen sometimes. In that event, just show your vet card from the folder, and they will take it from there. If you ever get the idea that your vet may be treating for parasites unnecessarily, please contact Shayna. It does seem to be happening here and there, and I can help.
Nutrition
Please ensure that your puppy has access to adequate amounts of high quality food for the majority of his day. Your puppy cannot go without food for more than about 6 hours. If you have question about selecting the right food, please contact Shayna.
Please Read Immediately! Feeding Instructions
Your puppy has been eating Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice Puppy. You should feed your puppy ¼ of a cup of food twice a day. If you have no other pets or if your puppy is confined in his own space, we recommend that you leave food down for him all the time. That does not mean that you should put more food in the bowl every time he finishes eating it. He needs no more than 3/4 of a cup of food a day, but if your puppy empties his bowl as soon as you feed him, you will need to divide his daily food ration into two or maybe even three feedings so that it is spaced out to help him keep his energy up. As your puppy grows, you will increase his food ration according to the instructions on the food bag. You should not change your puppy’s food for several weeks after he comes home. Once he is fully settled in, eating well and you can see that he feels comfortable, if you wish to change his food, you can, but you should do it very gradually, mixing the new food with Puppy Chow a little bit at a time until he is eating the other food well.
Hypoglycemia
Low blood sugar can be a serious problem in Chihuahua puppies, especially in the days following their transition to their new homes. Hypoglycemia is the result of a puppy that plays hard and does not eat enough. They expend more energy than they take in when they eat. Symptoms of hypoglycemia include lethargy, excessive drooling, staggering, glazed eyes, vomiting, and in extreme cases puppies can have seizures. To avoid hypoglycemia, you must make sure your puppy is eating. If he does not want to eat his food, we recommend that you mix some canned food in with the dry food to tempt him to eat. It is a good idea to give Nutri-Cal or Nutri-Stat OR honey a few times a day for the first week or so after you bring your puppy home. This will help to avoid hypoglycemic episodes. If you see the symptoms mentioned above, you must give your puppy Nutri-Cal, kayro syrup or honey immediately to bring his blood sugar back up. They will not want to eat it, but you must ensure that they do. The best way to do this is to put some on your finger and wipe it onto the roof of their mouth or their gums. Your puppy should recover within 30 minutes to an hour. If he doesn’t, call the vet immediately.
Sleep
Puppies are babies, and like human babies, they do sleep a lot. Your puppy may play very hard, but when it is time for him to rest, he must be allowed to rest. You should not allow children or anyone else to wear your puppy out to the point where he does not want to eat, as that will bring on hypoglycemia. Your puppy should have a schedule at first. He should be allowed to play for limited amounts of time and then he should be confined in his space, away from household activity, to rest. As your puppy grows, his need for sleep will lessen and he will be able to join the family activity more and more. Containment
In order to keep your home environment as familiar as our home, where your puppy was raised, you should set up a pen for your puppy to have his own space. A small wire crate with a bed should sit inside a larger pen big enough for your puppy to run and play. Place paper or puppy pads outside the crate and your puppy already understands not to potty in the crate, but to come outside the crate and potty on the paper. This environment is especially important for when you will not be home or not able to watch your puppy closely. As he learns to potty outside, your puppy can spend more and more time outside the pen until he is fully housetrained and no longer needs the pen at all.
Vaccinations
While your puppy was with us, he had all the shots that were appropriate for his age. We give puppy shots at 6, 9, 12 and 16 weeks based on the vaccine protocol that our vet recommends. By the time your puppy leaves us, he will probably have had the first vaccine, and possibly the second, depending on how long he is here. It is up to you to complete his puppy series. You must also get your puppy’s rabies vaccination, which some vets give at 12 weeks, but we prefer to wait till 15-18 weeks to give it. However, for the rabies vaccine, you should follow the advice of your vet regarding the appropriate age. We do not recommend that you give your puppy a vaccination for leptospirosis as this is a dangerous vaccine that can cause seizures and brain damage. We recommend that you follow the instructions of your vet regarding other vaccines, such as bordetalla, coronavirus and others. Parasite Control
By the time your puppy leaves, he will have had a full deworming cycle, and may have had more treatments than that. We do use Advantage Multi as needed, as well. Each puppy will have a card in his folder that will have all of the dates and products that he has received. Your puppy should be parasite free when he goes home, but it is possible that your vet may find one or two eggs. It does happen sometimes. In that event, just show your vet card from the folder, and they will take it from there. If you ever get the idea that your vet may be treating for parasites unnecessarily, please contact Shayna. It does seem to be happening here and there, and I can help.
Nutrition
Please ensure that your puppy has access to adequate amounts of high quality food for the majority of his day. Your puppy cannot go without food for more than about 6 hours. If you have question about selecting the right food, please contact Shayna.