# first time chihuahua owner



## mariap (Aug 16, 2009)

i got my chihuahua puppy a month ago from a breeder i never met. now he's supposedly about 2 1/2- 3 months old and his height is 6.6 inches and his weight about 2.50. now i have this weird feeling that the breeder lied to me and my puppy is either older or mixed with another breed. what do you think?

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss1/mariapatseli/mierda.jpg


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

It looks like a straight chihuahua to me. Why do you think he is not purebred?


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## mariap (Aug 16, 2009)

well people keep telling me that he's too big for a 3 month old chi.


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## Thracian (Dec 24, 2008)

Looks like a chihuahua to me. He's 2-1/2 pounds now? I'd wonder if he were 25 pounds, but I'm not seeing a mix in the pic . . .



> well people keep telling me that he's too big for a 3 month old chi.


Uh, *no*.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I think when you buy from a breeder you've never met, you're taking a HUGE risk.....but he does look pure to me. And his size seems to be about right. Do you know how large his parents are?

ETA: I looked up some info on Chis, and it said that for show purposes, they can't be over 6 pounds. But that pet-quality Chis are frequently larger. Again, if you didn't know the breeder, who knows what you'll end up with?


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## mariap (Aug 16, 2009)

the breeder said his parents weight about 3 pounds. but if mine is 2.5 now i think he's gonna be alot bigger...btw he isn't fat or anything.. and sorry about the picture.it was the most recent..more to come soon.


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## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

My 3 month old chi is just 2.2lbs.. expected to mature about 4lbs (her parents are 4lbs and 4.5lbs).


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## mariap (Aug 16, 2009)

CoverTune said:


> My 3 month old chi is just 2.2lbs.. expected to mature about 4lbs (her parents are 4lbs and 4.5lbs).


here are some more pictures.
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss1/mariapatseli/P7080020.jpg
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss1/mariapatseli/P7080016.jpg
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss1/mariapatseli/P7080023.jpg

'CoverTune' your chi's are very cute..


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

No it seems about right. And he looks purebred to me. 

Our family 5 months old Chihuahua is 3.5 lbs. He was around 2 something pounds at 3 months old.

Besides, sometimes there's just a big Chi. I've seen 10 -12 lb purebred Chihuahuas.


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## mariap (Aug 16, 2009)

i just wanted to say thank you all guys. 
my cousin got a 'chi' from a PET STORE 2 years ago for about 1,417.99 USD. now that it's all grown it looks nothing like a chi and its also deformed. 
in greece it's hard to find dogs with pedigree papers etc. that's why i'm so frustrated about mine.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Well many US breeders are willing to ship their dogs so you might want to try that. But shipping itself might cost you 300-400.

Could you explain how its deformed and looks nothing like a Chi? Some Chis look quite different and it's not deformed...

For example our family Chi was bought by my aunt and her 2 kids. The litter had 4 pups to choose from and they were all long haired Chis. They all had AKC papers with a CH conformation sire but I think Popcorn looks pretty weird for a Chi. He is purebred, 5 generation pedigree but he doesn't look like he follows the breed standard. They paid close to 2000 pounds (they live in England) for him. It's about 3300 USD. I personally thinks they overpaid and he's not even show quality so I'm just trying to prove that even purebreds can sometimes look different. His face is too long and pointy and his head shape isn't correct either.


















Edit: By the way, do you have pictures of your cousin's Chi?


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## mariap (Aug 16, 2009)

sorry i don't have pictures. i'll try to describe it. so it's male about six pounds and 12 inches tall. now although he's a short hair chihuahua his tail has long hair and its curled like the pugs. it's head is very small compared to his overall appearance,ears broken down, and his mozzle is really weird like it was broken. jaws are really bad too.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

mariap said:


> sorry i don't have pictures. i'll try to describe it. so it's male about six pounds and 12 inches tall. now although he's a short hair chihuahua his tail has long hair and its curled like the pugs. it's head is very small compared to his overall appearance,ears broken down, and his mozzle is really weird like it was broken. jaws are really bad too.


The thing is...if the puppy had weird jaws and a tiny head, it should have been visible at birth. The ears as well. Most people are able to tell from a young age if the dog is purebred. It's harder with dogs like maltese or maltipoos because when they're young they all have straight hair but with Chihuahuas, it's not that hard.

From what I can tell, the dog you're looking at is purebred and won't grow up with a weird tail/face/ears unless it wasn't treated properly. For example if lots of damage was done to the ear cartilage, it could turn floppy eared and its ears may never stand up again.


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## mariap (Aug 16, 2009)

i'll ask my cousin to send me a picture. what can you tell about mine? popcorn i so cute i cant stop looking at her!!!


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

Popcorn looks full chi to me. Even if the parents are small, she could end up being just a little bigger. Hopefully you didn't pay too much for her but she is a cutie..and I just love the name. It fits her.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Well I'm not an expert on Chihuahuas because my breed of choice is Papillons but I can say that your puppy is a deer headed Chihuahua which means his head is longer and less round but it's fine for the breed. 

He might grow up to be a little taller than the breed standard of 9 inches but that's alright, if he's not for showing, pets can often be taller. As far as I can tell, he looks fine.

I know there are people breeding tiny teacup, micro, mini or whatever Chihuahuas but those breeders are just trying to get more money for actually breeding small runt Chihuahuas that aren't really healthy.

Most show Chihuahuas I've seen are around 4-5 lbs. I don't really recommend breeding tiny tiny Chis. 

I think your Chi will grow up to be 6-7 lbs which is just under the breed standard so he's fine! Not too big at all.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

Your dog's head does look different from a purebred Chihuahua. It's the bridge of his nose that looks a little like a "Roman nose", like a German Shepherd. There's almost no stop (where the skull meets the muzzle). It should be almost a 90 degree angle. Your dog looks like maybe a Chihuahua/Rat Terrier mix. Of course he could be a badly bred purebred Chi.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

luvntzus said:


> Your dog's head does look different from a purebred Chihuahua. It's the bridge of his nose that looks a little like a "Roman nose", like a German Shepherd. There's almost no stop (where the skull meets the muzzle). It should be almost a 90 degree angle. Your dog looks like maybe a Chihuahua/Rat Terrier mix. Of course he could be a badly bred purebred Chi.


I think you're referring to the apple head where the head is more round and the stop is more 90 degrees.

Not the best bred Chihuahua, but still purebred. Just an elongated deer head. Definitely not rat terrier mix.

Here's another extreme deer headed Chihuahua for reference.


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