Feeding and Care of your new Rossmoyne chihuahua puppy.
Congratulations and good luck with your new puppy. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns.
[email protected] or 717-790-9787
Facebook- Joyce Gutshall/Rossmoyne Chihuahuas
We love to get e-mails and pictures.
Your puppy is accustomed to having dry puppy kibble and fresh clean water available to him 24/7. I recommend that puppies be free fed until they are 12-16 weeks old. Plain dry kibble is the best thing for your puppy to eat. We feed PURINA PRO PLAN. We will send home enough for at least a week so that you can switch your puppy gradually if you choose to feed a different food.
I wouldn’t worry to much about housebreaking the puppy until he is 3-4 months old and can be put on a feeding schedule with three or four meals per day. By the time he is 6 months you will only need to bef ed twice a day. Your puppy will only need puppy food for 6-8 months as he will be almost full grown by then.
Under no circumstances should you give your puppy milk. Wet food can be fed as a special treat, but should not be the sole diet. Chihuahuas are known to develop dental problems and crunching up dry kibble helps keep their teeth clean.
It is recommended that you brush your puppy’s teeth daily. In addition you will want to provide him with plenty of chew toys and encourage him to chew to keep his teeth clean. We regularly give our adults cow ears, trachea chews, bully sticks, cow hooves, nylabones, beef cheek chips, pork skin chews (never RAWHIDE!), smoked bones, raw bones, etc. Despite your best efforts it is likely that your puppy when an adult will beed occasional dental cleanings by your vet. We also use a water additive called ORATENE.
Your puppy will want to be with you as much as possible. He can sleep in bed with you or in a carrier next to your bed. You must be careful that he does not fall from the bed or the sofa or on stairs. He should never be allowed to jump down from anyplace that he can not jump up to because it is bad for his developing joints. To help him settle down to sleep we recommend that you fill a 20 oz. bottle with hot water, put it in a sock and place it with your puppy so he has something warm to snuggle up against.
Make sure you take your puppy to his potty place immediately upon waking and after eating. Praise him lavishly when he goes in the right place and do not punish him harshly if he does have an accident. Chihuahuas tend be very sensitive.
Your puppy has had his first shots, but he will need boosters We recommend that boosters be given at 12 and 16 weeks. We use a 5-way as it is much safer for these little guys. Pease do not let your vet give your puppy a 7-way. It is much too dangerous and not necessary. We have heard of small puppies reacting severely to the Lepto vaccine. I recommend that you not give the rabies until at least 20 weeks of age. I recommend that you ask for a mercury free rabies shot such as IMRAB by Merck.
Your puppy has been wormed, but may need additional worming as this is an on-going process. Your vet will probably request that you bring in a stool sample. Your puppy can be started on heart worm preventative at 6 months of age.
I use and recommend front line spray for flea and tick control instead of the spot on as you use one spray per pound of body weight so that you are not putting 15 or 25 lb worth of medication on a 5 or 6 pound dog. I recommend that you DO NOT use BRAVECTO, NEXGUARD, CAPSTAR or any other type of flea and tick pill or chewable.
We recommend a harness to leash train your puppy so you are not pulling on his neck. Your puppy should wear a collar with ID tags at all times.
Your chihuahua will “shiver” when he is nervous or cold-this is normal. When excited he may “reverse sneeze”-this is also normal. This usually begins to happen around 5-6 months of age.
Your chihuahua may have a molera or soft spot on his head which remains into adulthood. The molera will continue to close up until about 2 years of age. The presence of a molera is permitted via the breed standard.
Your puppies ears may be up one day and down the next, eventually they should come up and stay up. Sometimes they drop during teething around 5-7 months.
Your puppy is accustomed to having his nails trimmed as this has been done at least every other week since birth. If you trim nails every 2 weeks you are only taking off the tips it is much easier and you shouldn’t have to take your chihuahua to the groomer or the vet to have his nails trimmed.
Your puppy has had his first bath. I suggest bathing no more than once a month or even every second or third month. Daily or weekly brushing is suggested. I also suggest that you wipe under your chihuahua’s eyes with a cotton ball dipped in warm warm. Chihuahuas do tend to tear and it can discolor their fur. Plain water once a day along with a good quality food usually prevents this condition.
Congratulations and good luck with your new puppy. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns.
[email protected] or 717-790-9787
Facebook- Joyce Gutshall/Rossmoyne Chihuahuas
We love to get e-mails and pictures.
Your puppy is accustomed to having dry puppy kibble and fresh clean water available to him 24/7. I recommend that puppies be free fed until they are 12-16 weeks old. Plain dry kibble is the best thing for your puppy to eat. We feed PURINA PRO PLAN. We will send home enough for at least a week so that you can switch your puppy gradually if you choose to feed a different food.
I wouldn’t worry to much about housebreaking the puppy until he is 3-4 months old and can be put on a feeding schedule with three or four meals per day. By the time he is 6 months you will only need to bef ed twice a day. Your puppy will only need puppy food for 6-8 months as he will be almost full grown by then.
Under no circumstances should you give your puppy milk. Wet food can be fed as a special treat, but should not be the sole diet. Chihuahuas are known to develop dental problems and crunching up dry kibble helps keep their teeth clean.
It is recommended that you brush your puppy’s teeth daily. In addition you will want to provide him with plenty of chew toys and encourage him to chew to keep his teeth clean. We regularly give our adults cow ears, trachea chews, bully sticks, cow hooves, nylabones, beef cheek chips, pork skin chews (never RAWHIDE!), smoked bones, raw bones, etc. Despite your best efforts it is likely that your puppy when an adult will beed occasional dental cleanings by your vet. We also use a water additive called ORATENE.
Your puppy will want to be with you as much as possible. He can sleep in bed with you or in a carrier next to your bed. You must be careful that he does not fall from the bed or the sofa or on stairs. He should never be allowed to jump down from anyplace that he can not jump up to because it is bad for his developing joints. To help him settle down to sleep we recommend that you fill a 20 oz. bottle with hot water, put it in a sock and place it with your puppy so he has something warm to snuggle up against.
Make sure you take your puppy to his potty place immediately upon waking and after eating. Praise him lavishly when he goes in the right place and do not punish him harshly if he does have an accident. Chihuahuas tend be very sensitive.
Your puppy has had his first shots, but he will need boosters We recommend that boosters be given at 12 and 16 weeks. We use a 5-way as it is much safer for these little guys. Pease do not let your vet give your puppy a 7-way. It is much too dangerous and not necessary. We have heard of small puppies reacting severely to the Lepto vaccine. I recommend that you not give the rabies until at least 20 weeks of age. I recommend that you ask for a mercury free rabies shot such as IMRAB by Merck.
Your puppy has been wormed, but may need additional worming as this is an on-going process. Your vet will probably request that you bring in a stool sample. Your puppy can be started on heart worm preventative at 6 months of age.
I use and recommend front line spray for flea and tick control instead of the spot on as you use one spray per pound of body weight so that you are not putting 15 or 25 lb worth of medication on a 5 or 6 pound dog. I recommend that you DO NOT use BRAVECTO, NEXGUARD, CAPSTAR or any other type of flea and tick pill or chewable.
We recommend a harness to leash train your puppy so you are not pulling on his neck. Your puppy should wear a collar with ID tags at all times.
Your chihuahua will “shiver” when he is nervous or cold-this is normal. When excited he may “reverse sneeze”-this is also normal. This usually begins to happen around 5-6 months of age.
Your chihuahua may have a molera or soft spot on his head which remains into adulthood. The molera will continue to close up until about 2 years of age. The presence of a molera is permitted via the breed standard.
Your puppies ears may be up one day and down the next, eventually they should come up and stay up. Sometimes they drop during teething around 5-7 months.
Your puppy is accustomed to having his nails trimmed as this has been done at least every other week since birth. If you trim nails every 2 weeks you are only taking off the tips it is much easier and you shouldn’t have to take your chihuahua to the groomer or the vet to have his nails trimmed.
Your puppy has had his first bath. I suggest bathing no more than once a month or even every second or third month. Daily or weekly brushing is suggested. I also suggest that you wipe under your chihuahua’s eyes with a cotton ball dipped in warm warm. Chihuahuas do tend to tear and it can discolor their fur. Plain water once a day along with a good quality food usually prevents this condition.
