[LittleBean]

Here's some pics of the lovely girl

This is from the breeder. Her eyebrows make her look so mean haha!

Okay questions:

1. She comes with first set of shots and dewormed. When should her next ones be and what are they? I know there are tons of shots like rabies and all that...when do those happen? Would the vet tell me? I plan on bringing her to the vet I picked out for her asap

2. What kind of food should I buy?? I know big brands aren't the best, but where do I start researching dog food that don't have websites that says things like "lots of chicken pieces!" or "100% organic" (just raising examples) and isn't true?

3. Since I live in the basement with other people (another aunty and her son), my chi will be mainly trained in my room which is quite big. Where should I place pee pads in the room? When I first get her how do I know if she's about to pee on the floor? Would I need to watch her and bring her as soon as it looks like she's about to have an accident to get her used to the pads?

3. I plan on using a pen instead of a crate for training, would that be fine instead? Or would I still need to crate train her for trips to the vet?

4. Where I live, there's not a lot of dog training courses offered nearby. I have a pet's mart near my house but my friend says their training isn't that great. But if I still want to socialize my pup, should I bring her to one of those for start? I was thinking of bringing her to doggy day care and leave her for a few hours and socialize her when she's older (not all the time of course) how did you guys do it??

5. Last question! How old was your chi when you taught them their first trick? I know puppies grow fast so I don't know at what age they should be going to classes, learning tricks, etc.

Thanks for your time! I am super excited to owning a chi. This is my first dog ever and I've loved them since I was young

 

[michele]

She is sooo pretty,love those little eyebrows.I'm sure somebody will answer your questions

 

[garbagio]

1. Yes, the vet will let you know when the shots are due next.

2. Try the Blue Buffalo brand. It's holistic and good for your pets and doesn't have any fillers like a lot of other foods. It can be a little expensive but these dogs eat so little that a bag will last forever. Their site also has a tool that lets you compare foods so you can get a quality food for your dog.

3. I'm a personal fan of the crate mainly because crates are like dens to dogs. They become the dog's comfortable, safe place. Also it helps SO much with potty training and getting to and from the vet safely and comfortably. If you can, use the crate AND the pen methods together.

4. Wait till your pup has all her shots and the go-ahead from the vet before socializing. I started taking mine out on lots of walks and met a lot of people and dogs that way. Even taking her into Petsmart with you is great. People LOVE puppies, especially cute little ones so she will get to know a ton of people and dogs just by being outside. When she's old enough doggie daycare is great for socializing. I do, however, have a problem with the daycares not letting my dog out of a pen to play with bigger dogs because they think he'll get hurt because of his size.

5. My dog doesn't know tricks :-/ But his doggie cousin learned to spin and "dance" after a couple months, haha.
GOOD LUCK with your beautiful girl!!!

 

[KrystalLeigh]

Here's some pics of the lovely girl

This is from the breeder. Her eyebrows make her look so mean haha!

Okay questions:

1. She comes with first set of shots and dewormed. When should her next ones be and what are they? I know there are tons of shots like rabies and all that...when do those happen? Would the vet tell me? I plan on bringing her to the vet I picked out for her asap

2. What kind of food should I buy?? I know big brands aren't the best, but where do I start researching dog food that don't have websites that says things like "lots of chicken pieces!" or "100% organic" (just raising examples) and isn't true?

3. Since I live in the basement with other people (another aunty and her son), my chi will be mainly trained in my room which is quite big. Where should I place pee pads in the room? When I first get her how do I know if she's about to pee on the floor? Would I need to watch her and bring her as soon as it looks like she's about to have an accident to get her used to the pads?

3. I plan on using a pen instead of a crate for training, would that be fine instead? Or would I still need to crate train her for trips to the vet?

4. Where I live, there's not a lot of dog training courses offered nearby. I have a pet's mart near my house but my friend says their training isn't that great. But if I still want to socialize my pup, should I bring her to one of those for start? I was thinking of bringing her to doggy day care and leave her for a few hours and socialize her when she's older (not all the time of course) how did you guys do it??

5. Last question! How old was your chi when you taught them their first trick? I know puppies grow fast so I don't know at what age they should be going to classes, learning tricks, etc.

Thanks for your time! I am super excited to owning a chi. This is my first dog ever and I've loved them since I was young

1. The breeder should give you a record of her immunizations and deworming to date, and you'll bring that to the vet with you on her first visit. The vet will tell you when and what vaccines she'll need, but make sure you do your homework before her next appointment so you know which vaccines you'd like her to have. There are some great threads on this forum with lots of good info on vaccines. Some dogs have horrible reactions to vaccines, which is something to be aware of if you haven't had experience with vaccinating a dog before.

2. Again, there are a lot of great threads on this forum with food info. Do you know if you want to feed raw, wet, or kibble? If you have a specific food in mind, people on here will give you great feedback. You can also check sites like Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble or Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings.

3. If you don't want to crate train her, I would at least put a crate in the pen in lieu of a bed so she's familiar with it. I'm assuming you're planning on training her to go on pee pads then? If you are, be sure that's what you want to do long term as the transition from pee pads to outside can sometimes be a challenging one.

4. I didn't socialize Odie extensively until she was vaccinated for parvo. However, we have cats in the home and she did interact with my mother in law's dog, who I know is vaccinated. You can still take your puppy out and about, but I would be cautious about putting her down on the ground anywhere. It's a good idea to at least socialize her with people just as much as other dogs. I was super paranoid about parvo and would make everyone that came over wash their hands. Haha. Do you have friends with dogs? I've just started a chihuahua (and other tiny breed) meet up group in my city, and it's been an awesome tool for Odie meeting other dogs. I've seen dogs in the doggie daycare here, and I don't think I would leave mine there. The daycares in your area might be a bit better though.

5. We started teaching Odie to sit as soon as she had adjusted to our home. We started by waiting for her to sit and be calm before we would put her food down, and we still do that to this day. I don't think any age is too young to begin training a dog, or teaching tricks, but you might have to be a bit more patient when they're younger.

Anyway, just my opinions! You will learn a lot of really useful information on here. Welcome!

 

[KrystalLeigh]

By the way, she is adorable! When we got the pics of Odie from the breeder we called her "Eyebrows". Hehe