Chihuahuas are cute, furry, little dogs that have stolen the hearts of many dog owners. They are small in size, but owning a Chihuahua is a big responsibility.
Before deciding, you should analyze all the pros and cons of Chihuahuas. Here we provide you with all the relevant information so that you can make an educated decision.
This is a guest post from Linda from Pawsome Talk.
Pros of Owning a Chihuahua
1. Chihuahuas are adorable and cute.
Chis are the cutest dog breed I have ever seen. They are so sweet and small that they can easily get fit into your arm or lap. They are very loyal and caring. It is fun to be with them and watch them play for long periods of time. They are very affectionate. They will love you unconditionally.
2. They are excellent pets if you are living in an apartment.
The average weight of a Chihuahua is 3-6 pounds. They do not require large spaces or fields to play. Your home can provide a lot of space for your dog to run, roam about, and exercise.
3. Chihuahuas are good watchdogs.
Chihuahuas have excellent eyesight and hearing capabilities, and having them around provides security at home. It will alert you if a stranger enters or trespasses into the house.
They are considered great watch dogs. You will feel less stress about burglars sneaking in with these little guys around.
4. They are good learners and can be taught to use the litter box.
I trained my Chihuahua to use the litter box inside my home. You tell them once that they have to litter here, and they will obey you. Use newspaper or organic material inside the litter box.
5. This pet dog is easy to groom.
Do you fancy having a well-groomed puppy? It takes only a few minutes to groom your Chihuahua. You just need to give them a refreshing bath and trim their nails regularly. As this dog has short hair, minimal time is required for brushing their coat. Long-haired Chihuahuas take a little more time but are much easier to groom than some other breeds.
6. They have a longer lifespan.
The Chihuahua lifespan is between 11 and 20 years. Many live more than 15 years. The longer these dogs live, the longer you will be able to love and nurture them.
7. They are the perfect travel buddy.
Chihuahuas are small in size. Traveling with these cute, furry canines is very easy. They are so small that they can fit in a lady’s handbag. They love to travel with their masters and can become comfortable within small spaces. Therefore, carrying them along is convenient.
8. They are super intelligent dogs.
Chihuahuas are easy to train. They are intelligent and learn quickly.
Cons of Owning a Chihuahua
1. Chihuahuas are fragile; you must take extra care of them.
The Chihuahua is a comparatively weak dog and can easily get injured. They can hurt themselves even when falling from a couch, so special care is required. For instance, I ensure that my Chi doesn’t linger around electric cords, fences, heights, and large beasts. I watch him constantly to prevent injury.
2. You have to keep them warm.
This dog needs warmth to stay happy and healthy. Chis love a warm climate and will have extra needs in a cold climate. You must put some clothes on them if you are going out with them in the cold.
3. The Chihuahua has the tendency to bond with a single person in the family.
Yes, my Chi is closer to my mother more than anyone else in my family. You must have noticed the same in your house as well. They usually aren’t family dogs, as they are not able to create a bond with the entire family.
Chihuahua behavior problems are not usually an issue, but if they feel uncomfortable or threatened, they can nip or bite. However, if this dog is raised and socialized from an early stage, they are excellent pets.
Children may not be able to take care of a Chihuahua puppy or even an adult dog. Simple and rough handling can easily harm him. Most Chihuahuas do not get along well with young children, as they fear they will get hurt. Chihuahuas must be handled with care.
4. This pet dog barks a lot.
Chihuahuas are not the best choice of a pet if you are living in a location where silence is required. If the walls of your house are not thick enough, the barking sound will go outside the house.
As for Chihuahua temperament, they are very particular about their territory and the place where they live. They don’t adapt well to changes in location easily, but you can train them to overcome this.
5. They are very sensitive and can have health conditions.
There are two sensitive spots in the body of a Chihuahua.
- Melera: It is a soft spot on the skull where the skull does not close fully. It usually closes up after the puppy becomes an adult but not always.
- Patellar Luxation: It is located where the kneecap slides in and out of the tendon. This condition causes a lot of discomfort.
Their skeletal system is weak and thin. Avoid letting your Chihuahua do high-impact exercises. These conditions (Melora and Patellar luxation) are easy to control with regular health checkups. They require a lot of attention and care.
Be sure to check out the other Chihuahua health problems.
6. Chihuahuas often do not do well with other animals.
Other dogs can hurt them while playing. If another dog snaps, it can be life-threatening for the Chihuahua.
Chis tend to prefer other Chihuahuas. Of course, there are exceptions and some Chihuahuas get along great with other animals in the household. They are prone to eye injuries, so think twice before having a cat at home.
My Chi is adorable, no matter how noisy he is at home. I cannot live without him, nor can any of my family members.
Now that you have all the Chihuahua pros and cons, decide for yourself whether or not this dog breed is right for you and your family. For me, they are simply irresistible.
Also Read:
Should your first dog be a Chihuahua?
My Chi is mine, and I am her person, but she is almost as much in love with my husband as we me. She loves both of our other dogs, a Chi mix and a Lab, and she adores the cats. Oddly enough, the cats are crazy about her.
Your’e lucky Kay. My son rescued Kilo with the intent of her being his dog. Nope. She decided I was her human and I’m the only one besides my grandbaby that she likes. She tolerates the other dogs but she doesn’t like them.
I had to have my chi put down 6 months ago the same day my mother died. I have been heartbroken ever since i would love to have another little tiny boy. Its hard for me to even look for one does any one have any suggestions on finding a tiny boy im in ohio logan ohionto be exact
I’m so sorry Rebecca.
Keep checking petfinder.com for your area. And check Chihuahua Rescue here: http://www.chihuahua-rescue.com/midwest/ You never know when the perfect little man will pop up for you.
I am so sorry for your loose. Looking your Mom, I can’t imagine how hard that must be and to loose your baby too. God bless you. Be patient, be open, and the right baby will come your way.
Rebecca, I know a girl who raises them and they are all long hair chi s. Beautiful, tiny with wonderful dispositions! Only thing is she’s in the south. Louisiana I believe. I got mine from her last year. On Facebook look her up, she posts her puppies there. Cane River Chihuahuas, or you can always message me, Sharri Germann. Her dogs are worth it, mine is 2 yrs. Old and weighs 4 lbs. Good luck!
@Rebecca Holmes, yes , get in touch with hill county chihuahuas . Shirley is in San Antonio, Texas . She is a wonderful chihuahua breeder , and very easy to work with . Good luck . Another is in Las Vegas ( Las Vegas chihuahuas) excellent place but a little expensive . Well worth it tho .
My Chi is a service dog and does not bark unless the phone rings or someone knocks on the door. She is adorable and loves me so much as I do her. We go everywhere together. She became very attached to my son when he was living with us and fighting cancer. He lost his battle last Dec. four days before Christmas. My Chi whos name is Minnie greived for him so bad. It was so sad to watch her look for him to come home. He rode a Harley and she would ride with him. So everytime she hears a Harley she gets excited. Then the let down when He doesn’t come in. So I started taking her to visit his friends with me and she has now formed a bond with her Uncle and they seem to love each other dearly. He spoils her and she loves him lol but she still looks for my son when she hears a Harley.
I am so sorry for your loss Tereasa. Your chi sounds like an amazing little dog.
I have 2 chi’s. The smaller, older one seems to like everyone in the family but is hands down the boss between the 2. The younger, larger one has become mine. It seems I understand him better! Lol. He is very vocal and communicates by different growl tones which seems to scare everyone else…which is most likely what he wants. But if they pay attention to his behaviors they notice he is just communicating what he enjoys or doesn’t enjoy. They are each others best buddies and the bigger one always lets our smaller one eat first. I love them both very much.
Dogs temperaments are so different, just like people. I have a big dog who is very vocal and has different growls for different “words”. He’s so big he terrifies people who don’t know him when he does that but he wouldn’t hurt a fly. That’s just the way he communicates.
You also have to be very careful when they’re tiny because they can get low blood sugar which is very dangerous if it’s not taken care of immediately they can go to a diabetic coma and die so if you get an extra small one like 2 pounds and under, you need to give it nutrical and watch them very close
Thanks for the info Sharon.
My 16 year old Chihuahua Montana passed in October. Her cat brother I know misses her. He hasn’t been the same. I’m a total wreck! I miss my girl so much. She helped me through tough times still going through and she saved my life several times. She was so special . I get panic attacks without her and cry a lot I’m so heartbroken. I’m glad I still have my cat that helped raise our girl so I’m not alone as I have no one else. Chihuahuas are amazing dogs.
Montana sounds like she was a very special chi. I’m glad you had 16 years with her but I’m so sorry you lost her and are having such a hard time of it Lisa!
@Lisa, I’m so sorry you lost your Chi but glad you had her for 16 years. I lost my Chi at 12 years old from pancreatic cancer. Right now I have 5 Chi’s (3 are mine + I have 2 Chi’s that are foster dogs plus a Papillon/Border Collie mix).
I have 5 cats too who i rescued. I too have no family so that’s why I surround myself with my dogs & cats. They are my everything. Chi’s are very special little love bugs – I hope you get another Chi whether it’s a puppy or from a rescue group near you. Another idea is to foster a chi – it’s very rewarding.
Please let me know what you think of my ideas. You are not replacing your Chi, but instead helping a Chi by offering your home & love.
I’m not Lisa but I like the idea of fostering dogs. That’s what I plan to do if I outlive my dogs.
We have had Toby and Diego now for almost 10 years. My wife is their primary owner and I am a close second. The are loving but demanding. At around 3:30 every week day, Toby and Diego get on the back of the couch that faces the front of the house, and wait for me to come home. As soon as they see my care pull up in the driveway, the ruckus begins. They both howl as I walk to to the front door, and both of them stretch up on my legs as far as they can to get their afternoon petting.
They are fabulous dogs and get plenty of exercise chasing the squirrels, birds and possums out of our yard. They won’t, however confront the animals. If one of them stops while being chased, Toby and Diego stop a good distance from them.
I laughed at the photo of them howling. So cute! Thanks for sharing Barry!
My boys are really my life savers. They know me so well and follow me from room to room. We lost my husband last Sept and all he wanted was to get home and see and love on our Shmuppies, that is what we call them. They both loved him and kissed him good bye. Now they take care of me and are my babies. They are the last 2 of 7 we have loved over the years. I have made sure they will always be cared for by family if I can’t. They are a little spoiled as you can see.
They are such cuties sitting there warming themselves by the fire. I’m glad you have them Nieshia.
I really want a Chi and the one we are looking at loves other animals which is ideal as we already have a 10 year old cat but i’m really not sure if my cat will accept the Chi
Usually cats will just ignore a new dog but will put them in their place if the chi wants to play. I have an article on how to intorduce your chihuahua to a new pet but it would work in reverse too. https://ilovemychi.com/how-to-introduce-a-new-pet-to-your-chihuahua/
My chi, Bentley, and black cat, Izzy, are thick as thieves. They play together, sleep together, chase each other around the house, eat next to each other, watch out the window together. Izzy even tolerates Bentley’s “mission” to run her off the bed every time I come in the room and look like I might want to lie down. (She runs off, then just hops right back up). He’d had a Kitty Fren in his last home so I was glad when Izzy decided he wasn’t so bad after all and befriended him.
That’s great that they are buddies! I love seeing inter-species friendships like that.
i just love chis. My sist
er got 2 brothers while we went shopping
one night st the mall. There w as a rescue mission there that nite. She picked up Jasper and she turned around t
o me and said Susan I have to get this puppy, he just laid his neck on her neck. He loves to snuggle. Both of them love to get between the mattress and you while you are sleeping. Dobby his brother, by the way they are both blonde, has his ow n car seat, several t-shirt’s. One of the t-shirt is black and in white letters it says Security. They love to sleep with a heating pad. Jasper waits til he sees you turn the heating pad on. They are very smart dogs.
They sound like a wonderful little doggy family.
I have a Chihuahua mix. I’ve always been a big dog person. When my pitbull passed away I was so heartbroken I couldn’t bring myself to get another dog. My fiance begged me for a few years to get another dog and I just couldn’t do it. 7 years went by and then my little Eli showed up on my doorstep. He was about four weeks old and needed a home. I sat down on my dining room floor and he climbed right up in my lap. He’s been in my lap ever since LOL. I could not love this dog more. He is now two years old he goes everywhere with us. He has only been left home alone four times in the two years that we have had him. He normally goes to work every day with my fiance. If he cannot go to work with my fiance for some reason he comes to work with me. He is definitely more attached to me than my fiance. She growls a lot but he is not aggressive. Is growling is just him being vocal. He’s got the biggest personality I’ve ever seen for a small dog. He is what makes me smile every day. That day when he showed up on our doorstep was the best day of Our Lives. Couldn’t love my little Eli more!! <3 <3
What a wonderful story Melissa! I’m so glad you and little Eli found each other.
Eli is so cute! So glad you have him.
My two Chi’s genuinely love everyone, they will happily cuddle up together on both me and my husband and also with any visitors, they don’t snap or bark much at all they are such quiet dogs for Chi’s and extremely affectionate even with small children, they are 6 years old and I rehomed them 9 months ago so I can’t take the credit for their lovely behaviour, I have never met sweeter dogs, I never even considered having a Chi before because of their reputation but they are my babies
You are really lucky Angela, they sound like little gems! And adorable too.
Never in all my life had I considered getting a chihuahua. When our daughter was in high school she wanted one. We got Bradford, who quickly became our dog. He also loved my mom. When we brought her home for her final weeks, he stayed under the foot of her bed. We found Coco at a flea market. He was a little psycho because I think he was mishandled by a small child. He was very protective of me. We lost him due to seizures. When I got ready to retire I decided that I wanted another chi, so we got Boots. What a precious little boy! Ball playing is his favorite pastime. Sadly, he has congestive heart disease and is on meds. He is 13 and I am dreading the day we will lose him. We lost Bradford a few years after getting Boots. Soon we added Beamer to the mix. He is almost hairless and is one of the funniest dogs I’ve ever seen. A couple years after getting Beamer, I saw Buttons on the website where we got the other boys. He looked like he would be a character and he has not disappointed. He is the wild child and definitely the most vocal of the boys. Shortly after getting Buttons, the girl who we got him from offered us his sister. Her name was Bizzie. Another B to the mix! She was my baby girl and my shadow. She got sick one day and we had to have her out down the next. I am still grieving over losing her. The boys are our travel buddies. We have a camper and they go with us. We have a stroller and take them anywhere that is pet friendly. They have never met a stranger and put smiles on faces everywhere they go. People want to pet them and take their picture all the time. They had a ball in Maine and New Brunswick with us last summer. They were able to eat at many places with us and developed a love for chowder! They are getting older now (Beamer is 13 and Buttons is 10) and are slowing down some. We are discussing adding a new baby girl to the mix but haven’t made the decision yet. If we do, the will become the 4th B and will be named Bella. We have found that we definitely suffer from Multiple Chihuahua Syndrome!
I loved hearing about your chis Shirley. Thanks so much!
And they are so cute in their stroller.
For those that have lost a beloved Chi baby, I’ll share what I did to help ease my grief. After both of my boys passed within months of each other, I couldn’t stand the silence in my house. Tiny had a typical high pitched Chi bark but JJ sounded like he weighed 100 pounds and, as Chis will do, they used their barks frequently. In their memory, I got two wind chimes, one in a high tinkling register and one with a very deep resonant sound. I hung them in trees in my yard in their favorite corner and now I not only have a reminder of them, but I can tell myself they could be visiting me when the chimes ring! It has worked very well to ease my grief for them, as well as honor their memory!
What a lovely idea Jennifer! Thanks for sharing.
My Chi is almost three now and I couldn’t live without him so loving and he is loud barking and very particular . I think I live with him instead of the other way around but he is worth every bit of it . His name is lill bear.
Yes, they make such a big impact on our lives, it’s hard to imagine life without them.
My Chi Bella weighs 1.7kg and i worry about her sometimes because she won,t play with a ball or her toys even though i have spent time trying to teach her to play with a ball.Do you think it is because of her size.She goes for her halve hour walk each day and she likes to sleep for most of the day or cuddle her Mum, is this normal for a Chi.
How old is she Raylee? Her weight could be making her sluggish. Has her thyroid been tested? That could cause the weight gain and the sluggishness.
Cathy , I’m so glad to hear about moving with a chihuahua . Chanel is 6 months old now , and she has been in the same house for the last 4 months we have had her . We are now in the process of moving and she is very skiddish. We don’t have the dog door up yet , and having accidents . Any help ?
That’s a great topic for a blog post Doreen! Be on the lookout for it.
I had a wonderful white and tan Chihuahua named Snowball. He was my baby. He lived to be 12 years old. He was my little companion. He was all mine, I was his main person. He had a bad seizure, seemed like a stroke, I had to put him down June 23rd, 2022. He couldn’t walk, eat, drink, bark, or nothing. It was the hardest day I ever went through. I miss him terribly. He was so special. He loved his little stuffed, squeaky toys. I would throw them and he would get them and bring them back to me. He would sleep with me under my covers. He was always on my lap. He would always greet me at the door as soon as I got home. I didn’t leave him very often. I miss him so much.
I’m so sorry Susan. Snowball sounds like he was a special little guy.
I just got one and I love him so much.
Congratulations Shannon!