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Chihuahua? A healthy Chihuahua is a good pet.  The greatest problem with Chihuahuas is that many people are attracted to them for the wrong reasons.  They simply want the smallest and cutest dog that they can get.  The problem is that the smallest one is the one that is most likely to be unhealthy! 30 years ago, most Chihuahuas weighed 10 lbs.  It was not uncommon for many of these dogs to live even more than 20 years! Over the years the size of Chihuahuas, and the average life expectancy has decreased by 50%. Any breed that weigh 5 lbs or less as an adult is  much more likely to develop diabetes, have seizures, liver/kidney failure at 3 yrs old, or need an allergy shot once every 3 weeks just so they can breathe properly. Diabetes medications or allergy shots over a 10 year life expectancy for your pet can cost  an extra $5000.00, so the tiniest Chihuahua or any other too small breed is likely to be the shortest-lived and sometimes the most expensive to own pet. Chihuahuas can  be difficult choice for house training.  Chihuahuas are also often a very childish and emotional pet that chooses to like only one person, and are not always a good choice to love the entire family and play with children.  I get more complaints from women who buy female Chihuahuas than any other pet we sell because they so often fall in love with men and don't like their female owner. A 3 lb dog feels good in your lap, but not so good under your foot.  It is very common for me to talk to people who have lost their Chihuahuas to being stepped on, seizures, from diabetes, head injuries (many Chihuahuas are "soft heads", a genetic defect thought to be normal with Chihuahuas), car accidents (Chihuahuas love to chase cars), and bird of prey abductions (I think every dog should be large enough that a seagull can't carry him out to sea or an owl or chicken hawk steal him when out to the bathroom). I average taking at least a few calls per week from pet owners who had their dog stolen and eaten by a bird.  Soft cartilage in the skull, rather than proper bone structure, makes Chihuahuas very vulnerable to head injuries.  This happens almost exclusively in the smaller Chihuahuas. I get at least one call per week from a pet owner whose Chihuahua has fallen off the sofa or simply bumped his head and killed himself. This is why we raise Chihuahuas with an average 5-7 lb size potential as an adult and we encourage all to buy the potentially healthier Chihuahua hybrids. These are more often healthy adults.  If you want a Chihuahua that's likely to be healthy, the most important thing is not to get one that's going to be too small as an adult. Many people find later that they would like their dog better if he could climb the stairs and follow them around without assistance. The downside of choosing a dog so small that you can carry him around all day is that you have to continue carrying him even after you get tired of carrying him, because he is not big enough to climb or to follow by himself.  I know one lady who stepped on a rock and broke her ankle after leaving the rock on the front steps so the Chihuahua could get up on the porch by himself! Many people are also attracted to Chihuahuas because they have heard that Chihuahuas are good for people with asthma and allergies.  This is simply not true in my opinion.  It is true that a small dog will contribute fewer allergens to the indoor environment than a larger dog.  It is common for dogs that are too small to have asthma and allergies just like humans do. As Chihuahuas were bred to be smaller, the health problems began to increase.  There were times when a Chihuahua puppy came home and had an allergic reaction to a new environment at the same time a child was naturally outgrowing his asthma or allergies.  Grandma assumed the dog had taken the child's sickness away, since the puppy got sick at about the same time the child got better! There is absolutely no scientific evidence that anything like this has ever happened, although studies suggest that having a pet as a child may help build the human immune system and reduce the chances of having allergies later in adult life! A hairless breed is the only breed that is proven less likely to bother humans with asthma and allergies.

 Hybrid Chihuahua? These are a better choice for those of you who think Chihuahuas are cute, but wish they were healthier and not so fragile.  Hybrid means that one parent is a pure bred Chihuahua, and the other parent is a Fiest or toy Rat Terrier. Many of these hybrids look like pure bred Chihuahuas, but they are likely to be healthier, live longer, have less nasty personalities,  more self-confidence and better related bladder control, and be more manageable with increased chance of trimming the toe nails at home without veterinary anesthesia. A hybrid Chihuahua may be more like grandma's Chihuahua than what most pure bred Chihuahuas are today.  They are likely to have a deeper and healthier eye set also, which means they are less likely to be prematurely blind from cataracts when older than pure bred Chihuahuas with "bug eyes"! For my personal pet, I had much rather have a Hybrid or, better still, a purebred Toy Rat Terrier than a pure-bred Chihuahua, because they are more likely to be mentally and physically healthier throughout adult life. The hybrid Chihuahuas are better because they are half Rat Terrier. You should strongly consider a Rat Terrier if it's really important to you that you have a mentally and physically healthy pet.  While a hybrid Chihuahua is less likely to have issues than the purebred Chihuahua, the best way to be almost 100% positive to get the Chihuahua that you loved instead of the mean little ankle biter that urinates in the floor and chooses to only like one person is to buy a toy Rat Terrier and pretend.

34. Above left photo:  Rug pup! (Rat Terrier X Pug) A much healthier pet than a Pug.  Some of these have dark masks.

35. Above right photo:  Tri-Chocolate Rat Terrier!

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