Hello everyone!

In the future, I want to adopt a Chihuahua. It has been a dream for a decade, and I’m clearly not in a hurry at all, patiently waiting to move in a future house for my dog to have a garden, on top of walks and runs outside.

I had cats I loved dearly and took the best care of them (another reason to take my time; I didn’t want to rush the grieving process), but I never had a dog. I have to learn basically everything to be a good chichi mum.

So I wanted to ask you for advice and tips on what I’ll need to know. Nutrition, training, how much they need to run, which signs to pay attention to to really understand my future companion… I guess it’s a lot to learn, and it would be better to start now, right? Would you happen to have books, websites, or things like that on top of this community to learn?

Also, I believe it’s good for chihuahuas to have a good run or walk from time to time, but… how much? I love running; I wonder if I could bring my future chichi with me, or do specific runs tailored for such tiny dog knees.

Also, when I’ll have my dog, I plan on consulting a dog trainer to help me do things the right way, but in the area I live in, most of them are specialized in big dogs. Do you think I should search for someone specifically working with small dogs in general or chihuahuas in particular?

Thank you very much for your replies!

The winner gets to be right. *Also, the guy on the right is 42% Chihuahua so he's cool.

ETA NO IT WASN'T ME LOL

One minute they are hanging out like this. The next they are fighting over a toy or who can have the blanket.

Goldie Hawn's halmoni (Korean for Grandma) made her this necklace recently. Her halmoni is going through treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer and she wants to show everyone how talented she is for making her this special pearl necklace. She loves her Grandma so much & her Grandma loves her!

He is 2 years old and weighs about 12 lbs

Curious if anyone thinks she’s apple head, deer head, or pear head? We can’t tell!

Charles is obsessed with his sisters and has to be cuddling with at least one of them 24/7. Charles is a 1 year-old special needs rescue. He was born with a soft and hard cleft palate. He was tube fed from a few weeks old and overcame pneumonia twice and other obstacles. While with the rescue his soft palate was repaired, but his hard palate still remains open as his mouth is too small to repair. We are still going to get a second opinion with our specialist to see if anything else can be done. He has to eat a specific diet to prevent him from potentially aspirating. He also has alopecia. He is perfect. ❤️

This is my soul dog, Pinky. He crossed the rainbow bridge 🌈 a month ago. He was a “talker” and I caught “I Love You” when I rewatched this video of him talking. 🥹🐾 I miss you, Bubbins!

On October 13, 2026, our world became a little dimmer and our hearts a little emptier when we said goodbye to our precious Chico. Chico wasn't just a dog. He was my baby, my little shadow, my velcro boy, and one of the greatest loves of my life. He was family in the truest sense of the word, woven into the everyday moments, the familiar routines, and the countless memories that make a house a home.

We were blessed to spend 14.5 years loving our sweet boy, and I will forever be grateful for every single one of them. He gave us a kind of love that asked for nothing but our presence, a love that made even the simplest moments special. There is no way to measure what a little soul can mean to a person until that little soul leaves paw prints all over their heart. Chico left his everywhere.

After his battle with CHF and collapsed trachea, in the end his passing happened quickly, right here at home, with his Mommy and Daddy beside him and his beloved pack mates nearby. He was surrounded by the people and the family who loved him. While our hearts are broken, I am grateful that home was where we could be together for his final moments.

I keep reminding myself that love like Chico's doesn't simply disappear. It lives on in the memories, in the familiar places where we still expect to see him, in the quiet moments when we reach for him out of habit, and in the warmth we carry in our hearts long after his little paws have left this world.

I hope you knew, my sweet boy, just how loved you were. I hope you knew that you were never just a pet to us. You were Mommy's precious baby, and loving you was one of life's greatest gifts.

Run free, my sweet Chico Rico. No more coughing, no more struggling to get comfortable, no more difficult nights. Just peace, comfort, and freedom.

Until we meet again, my precious boy, you will always have a home in Mommy's heart. Thank you for choosing us, for loving us, and for giving us so many years of unconditional love. The world was better because you were in it, and my life will never be quite the same without you.

You were loved in life, held close as you left, and you will be loved for all the days that follow.

Forever Mommy's boy. Forever our Chico Rico. Forever loved.

The more pathetic the better!! I love old dogs!!

I've had a dog since the day I was born and I have never in my life had one as picky of an eater as Kricket. He is my first Chihuahua although my mom and brother have always had them even theirs weren't this picky. In the 5 years I have had my wonderful boy I have tried several different types of treats, textures and brands and I have yet to find one he likes. He is like this with dog food too, but he will eventually eat his Pro Plan. In my vets words he's healthy just a little butt head. I was wondering if anyone else has a super picky eater and what treats does yours like?

Hi everyone!

We brought home an 12-week-old Chihuahua puppy 5 days ago, and I'm looking for some advice from people who've been through something similar.

Our resident Chihuahua, is 6 years old and has been the only dog in the house until now. Our new puppy, is very curious and just wants to explore and interact with him.

However my older Chihuahua, isn't thrilled. Whenever puppy gets too close or touches him, he growls, gives him the side-eye and sometimes freezes. He's also barked at him, although he's never actually bitten another dog.

We've been giving the older Chihuahua his space, supervising their interactions and trying not to force anything. The growling has reduced a little since the first day, but he still doesn't seem comfortable having the puppy near him.

I know it's only been 5 days, and I'm not expecting them to become best friends overnight, but I want to make sure we're handling this correctly and not making things worse.

A few questions for anyone who's experienced this:

1. How long did it take your older Chihuahua to accept a new puppy?

2. How much interaction should we encourage versus keeping them separated?

3. What actually helped your older dog become more comfortable?

4. Were there any signs that things were improving, even if they weren't obvious at first?

Any advice or personal experiences would be really appreciated! ❤️🐾

Priscilla stretching it out.

We just adopted a 9 week old chihuahua puppy with a deformed front leg.

Where does one find collars or harnesses small enough? She’s so tiny. We went to the pet store but everything was way too big, including the xs collars and xxs harnesses.

Luckily, I don’t think it will be a huge problem right now since she’s not very fast with her disability.

Also, is small breed puppy food small enough? I’ve never had a puppy this small so I’m overthinking everything.

My big boy is just relaxing waiting to go on his walk, he has been upset over his normal potty area being torn up to be turned into a road, so trying to get him used to walking out to a new area has been a little bit of a challenge.

I love these dogs so much! Nina is about 8 and Dice is around 15, my little (and not so little) seniors are my world!

I'm hoping someone here might have some advice or experience with a similar situation. My little guy is 13 years old and weighs just 4 lbs. I'm really struggling with what to do next, and my heart is breaking for him.

A little background:

About two years ago, while having some teeth removed, our vet discovered a heart murmur and told us he was in the early stages of heart failure. He was also diagnosed with a collapsed trachea.

At the time, he was still his normal, energetic little self. He would occasionally have coughing fits when he got too excited, usually while playing with his stuffies or barking, but otherwise he seemed completely fine.

The vet didn't seem overly concerned, didn't prescribe any medications, and didn't give us much information about what to expect.

May 2026

He had been doing great until May, when seemingly overnight he started coughing almost constantly whenever he stood up or moved around. As long as he was lying down and resting, he seemed comfortable, and his sleeping respiratory rate remained normal.

I contacted the vet right away. They were initially concerned about kennel cough, but after listening to his heart, they said his murmur had worsened.

He was started on:

• Pimobendan for his heart
• Prednisone and antibiotics in case the coughing was being caused by an infection or inflammation in his trachea

Within a few days, he improved significantly. He still had coughing fits, but they were mostly triggered by activity, excitement, or barking rather than happening constantly.

September 2026

At the beginning of September, his coughing suddenly became severe again.

Within a few days, it was so bad that I spent two nights awake with him because he could barely stop coughing.

Despite this, his respiratory rate while fully asleep remained normal. It would increase significantly during coughing episodes or when he was restless, but would settle back down once he was sleeping peacefully.

At his appointment, the vet said his heart murmur had worsened again. He performed an ultrasound and told me there was fluid in his lungs, and what appeared to be fluid around his trachea as well.

He suspected my little guy had progressed to active congestive heart failure (CHF), but said there was also a possibility that the fluid was caused by an infection, or a combination of both.

He decided to try prednisone and antibiotics first, explaining that if an infection was responsible, we should see some improvement within 24 hours. If not, we would start Lasix (furosemide).

Unfortunately, there was no improvement after 24 hours, and despite contacting the vet, I didn't hear back for another three days. By that point, his coughing was still just as severe.

We stopped the prednisone and started Lasix.

September to October

We initially started Lasix once daily, and he improved!

Unfortunately, after about two weeks, the severe coughing returned.

Following the vet's instructions, I increased his Lasix to twice daily. Again, he improved, but after another week or two, the coughing returned with a vengeance.

It became almost constant again, including throughout the night.

I contacted the vet, and he prescribed hydrocodone as a cough suppressant, which we started about a week ago.

It didn't eliminate the coughing, but it definitely helped. He was finally getting some longer breaks between coughing fits, and I felt like he was getting some relief.

Which brings us to last night...

Despite giving him all his medications as usual, he coughed almost nonstop the entire night.

I didn't sleep at all. I just sat with him, feeling completely helpless.

He's finally sleeping peacefully on his heated blanket as I write this, and thankfully isn't coughing at the moment.

What makes this so difficult is that his sleeping respiratory rate continues to be normal. When he's fully asleep, his breathing is calm and comfortable.

But when he's awake and having these coughing attacks, which are becoming incredibly frequent, his breathing becomes very laboured.

His tiny little body must be absolutely exhausted from all this coughing. I can't imagine how uncomfortable and painful it must be.

I guess what I'm hoping to find out is:

1. Does this sound like the vet is doing everything possible to help him? Or are there other treatments or medications we should be exploring?
2. Has anyone had success with a different cough suppressant? Hydrocodone seemed to help initially, but after last night, I'm wondering if there are other options.
3. Has anyone dealt with CHF and a collapsed trachea together? It's so difficult to know how much of his coughing is coming from his heart versus his trachea.
4. And the hardest question... how do you know when it's time to say goodbye? I don't want to give up on him if there's something else we can try. But I also don't want to selfishly prolong his suffering because I'm not ready to lose him.

I love this tiny little guy more than words can describe. I just want him to be comfortable and have some quality of life, whatever time he has left.

If anyone has been through something similar, I would be so grateful to hear your experience. ❤️

Look at how excited he is! XD

I do have some plans for him this weekend.