[kiddo88]

First off, I have asked her vet about her "skinniness" and she said it was fine and she was in great health. She said that is just her. It bothered me at first after seeing pictures of other Chi's... I still wish I could plump her up, but I love me some fat puppies. hahah ((I know, never make a Chi overweight- hip issues....))

Now that thats out of the way -I'm just wondering if she is purebred. I was told she was an apple head, but after looking around she looks more like a deer head.... She has a long nose, so I wasn't sure. Her ears did stand up when I first got her, but then laid down later. Come to find out the vet said it was bc I used to pet her on her head and my hand would lay her ears down when I did. They said it makes the cartridge break down :confused3: Ooops...
Also, about her tail...when she isn't super happy (like when mommy or daddy comes home!) she rarely has it up. I don't know why.... (she hates cameras too, so that doesn't help...)
Anywho, I never* ever ever everrrrr plan on breeding her bc she is just so petite I would be afraid I would lose her :sad7: (Plus, one Chi is enough for me! haha) We were told she was pure when we bought her, but we didn't get to see the dad and we have no papers (bc they said we didn't pay enough for her...) so I have no idea. also we used to have a male that was purebred (akc) and they don't look too much alike. He was a long coat and was fluffy. haha.

and honestly, this last one is for my amusement. She was scratching her ear

 

[Rocky]

She is adorable!! She kind of reminds me at an Italian Greyhound as she is soo skinny and especially because of her ears. Maybe I am wrong though and she is purebred. I don't really think that you can tell for sure.
Never heard that about the ears though. I kept doing that to Rocky as well but his ears are fine!?

But no matter whether she is purebred or not, she is a gorgeous girl! Especially like the first pic of her .

 

[kiddo88]

She is adorable!! She kind of reminds me at an Italian Greyhound as she is soo skinny and especially because of her ears. Maybe I am wrong though and she is purebred. I don't really think that you can tell for sure.
Never heard that about the ears though. I kept doing that to Rocky as well but his ears are fine!?

But no matter whether she is purebred or not, she is a gorgeous girl! Especially like the first pic of her .

I knowwww... For a while I tried to make her bigger- and couldn't and that's when I asked her vet about it. She does eat her mommy's people food a good bit too so I would think she would have gained- but no. They have done blood work and checked for about every kind of parasite (she's on Trifexis...) and checked out a bunch of other things...no problems at all. So I have NO idea why she is skinny, except for the vet saying "that is just her"...

Thank you! I love her wayyy* more than one should love a puppy. hahah <3

 

[kiddo88]

oh, and when we were outside right after these pictures (she was more awake!) her tail was so curled. the tip was touching her back. haha oooooof course

 

[jesuschick]

Get her on a better quality food and then see. She may remain her size and shape or with better nutrition she may fill out some.

 

[kiddo88]

thanks for your advice! is there one food that is better than the others for "filling them out"? Would a raw diet be advisable?

 

[Huly]

Ziwi Peak is the best

 

[kiddo88]

I will look into that! thank you! do you think she is purebred?

 

[Huly]

She looks like it to me. It is hard to tell by photos. Both of mine have papers but most people think they are mini pins LOL only a DNA test could tell

 

[kiddo88]

Thanks! I was looking at mixes, and the only thing she resembled was the Italian Gray / Chi mix. But, they were more "bulky" from what I saw. I wouldn't put her through a DNA test. It isn't that big of a deal to me. I'm just curious. Mostly so I know what to tell people when they ask what she is. haha

 

[amylounell]

I can't tell you whether or not she's purebred but I can tell you she's such a pretty girl!!

 

[kiddo88]

THANK YOU!!! I love her bunches* she's my tiny bitty girl <3

 

[AussieLass]

Can't remember if I said welcome before or not, there's been a rash of new members this past week

I second what Huly said about ZiwiPeak. Many of us feed 1 meal of ZiwiPeak & 1 meal of raw everyday. On that diet, they absolutely gleam (especially the black ones), their breath is sweet, teeny, weeny odorless poo, little hair loss and fabulous teeth.

 

[kiddo88]

Yes, Aussie- you did! But thank you again I asked my vet about Raw and they said they don't recommend it. I asked why. They said that the bones can splinter off and choke/hurt them and they can get bacteria from the meat. What do you think about this? What is the best way to do it? Raw meat or cooked? I know no cooked bones, but how are you sure that they don't choke?

Lastly (ha!) do you think she's pure?

 

[pigeonsheep]

hai newbie. im just gonna add i my 2cents from experience. some dogs like raw, ziwipeak, cooked or dry. my first chi who is 4 years now was on orije puppy for a couple months and did fine, at times he had white poop which is great lmao. anywho he started bein real picky when i introduced cooked chicken...and been on homemade for about 3 years. i tried weaning him off and finally natural balance duck and potato won his heart but recently they went thru the whole food recall thing so he tried almost every brand out there i ncludi FROMM. oh more importantly i desperately wanted to get him off homemade only because when i had a bloodtest taken for him he came out with lacking nutrition and also toxic in his blood from his made in china treats that hes had for years. he got liver damage as well. the bill came out to $700. so now i tell people please dont just feed homemade unless u give them proper vitamins which is hard to manage at times. so now hes on wellness core grain free reduced fat and loves it. he almost finished a whole bag! my other chi is on wellness core puppy too. their poops have been solid and firm and very healthy....so thats my 2 cents. please beaware of made in china products lol. theres mmny raw feeders here but thats also a lot to handle as u need the right amount of bones and raw meat and such but this is totally up to u goodluck!

 

[Wicked Pixie]

Yes, Aussie- you did! But thank you again I asked my vet about Raw and they said they don't recommend it. I asked why. They said that the bones can splinter off and choke/hurt them and they can get bacteria from the meat. What do you think about this? What is the best way to do it? Raw meat or cooked? I know no cooked bones, but how are you sure that they don't choke?

Lastly (ha!) do you think she's pure?

Unfortunately vets don't get taught a lot about nutrition, and what they do get taught is usually sponsored by the big dog food companies. So they will generally push kibble.
Raw is what dogs are designed to eat, their system is more than capable of dealing with bacteria. As long as only raw, soft bones are fed they pose no more of a health risk than dry kibble.
This forum is a great source of information about raw feeding, have a read through and ask as many questions as you need. If you don't feel you want to feed a DIY raw diet there are pre-made raw diets available either frozen (such as Stella & Chewy's) or dried (ZiwiPeak) which offer all the benefits and none of the hassle.
I would be tempted to try a DNA test if she were mine, they are quite reasonably priced and non-invasive, you get a sample by swabbing the inside of the dogs cheek.

 

[kiddo88]

Thanks! That's a lot of good information, I appreciate it. Are there vitamins that you have to feed them when they are on a raw diet? What nutrients could they possibly be lacking, if that is what they would eat in the wild?

I have looked up pictures of Italian grey hounds and Chihuahua mix and a lot of them look JUST LIKE HER. So, that's what I'm going to go with. I also don't think she is apple head as we were first told- she looks more like a deer head to me- but again, a breeder I'm not.....

 

[kiddo88]

oooh, the treats I feed both of my puppies (my husky and my chi) are the "Canine Carry Outs." I wonder if those are bad. Out of all the treats I have tried (expensive to dirt cheap) they are the ONLY ones my Chi will eat.... 0.o

 

[CHITheresa]

Good quality food changes things so much. Amberleah lou lou has been so sick and eating I thought was good kibble. But doctor wanted me to put her down and Christie got me in touch with er holistic and is on ZP and Wearva canned and lots of herbs and supplements Amberleah lou lou is doing great and also most better.

 

[MChis]

She looks possibly purebred but I also see some Italian Greyhound characteristics as well. But hard telling. She's a cutie none the less!

If you're wanting to try to put weight on her--prey model raw I always found difficult to keep weight on my dogs. But...could be my dogs just required more. ZiwiPeak (what we primarily feed now) is more "consentrated" where it is air dried. You really don't need to feed a lot to get all the nutrition they need in. It is incredibly easy to "over feed" therefor it would be a great food to use to put on weight. I'd go for it.

(Most) vets are NOT on the up & up when it comes to nutrition. We have a local vet that regularly recommends Beneful! LOL SAD but thats job security for ya. Some vets...usually the more "natural/holistic" vets would be more apt to recommend raw. But your every day vet spews the "bacteria/choking" thing if you mention raw at all. Got to be honest & say...a couple of my dogs have gotten pieces STUCK before...which was not at all fun. When I feed boney chicken pieces now I hold it because I'm well paranoid about it. But...some dogs are great chewers. You just have to start slow if you were to feed boney meals is all & know what your dog can do. It's great for their teeth, mental & physical health though, no doubt about that!