I recently just got a chihuahua puppy (born late september 2010). And I brought him home 2 nights ago. At night while we sleep he wheezes, and last night I woke up to him wheezing and his limbs were jerking. And he was heavy/limp when i lifted him up trying to wake him up. Today he is fine, but is this serious? What should I do? He also doesn, ??t seem to be eating much (being a very picky eater) I tried to mix in his wet food, his hard food, and he picked every single one of those kibbles out and put it in his water and floor. He seems to attack the wet food when i give it to him, and he does the same with purina cat food (he sneaks into the cat food area sometimes before we catch him).
I, ??m giving him baths daily because he was covered in fleas (it, ??s a normal shampoo due to me not having any flea shampoo as of right now) I condition too, so his skin doesn't get dried out.
He also does this really quick jerk sometimes like a dog might when they are spooked and about to bite you. But when he jerks and eyes your hand he doesn, ??t even open his mouth. And acts like nothing happened.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thx!
You need to take your puppy to the vet to have him checked out. I have a Chihuahua. When she is dreaming she will twitch and jerk while sleeping. Wheezing at night can be normal as their airways are very small.
Your vet needs to listen to his lungs to make sure. As for will he be alright if you sleep the whole night through. I am pretty sure you will be. If your worried about him keep him close to your bedside ..
As for the food. I have had to deal with Chihuahua's that prefer to eat cat food instead of dog food. It will not hurt them. I have noticed that with mine she prefers dog food such as Chef Michaels. Just so you know Chihuahuas can be very picky when it comes to food.
Take the puppy to the vet for a full health check.
You need to put him on a monthly flea preventative and deworm him every 2 weeks until he's 12 weeks old and then every month until he's 6 months old. After that, every 3 months for life. He also needs to be vaccinated.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com If you pander to his picky eating you'll have more problems. Are you feeding him the same food as the breeder fed him?
Get a full vet check
if anything is wrong with the dog, you have to bring it back to the breeder. They are responsible for providing a healthy dog and will refund of exchange as per the terms of the health guarantee
The wheezing is "normal" for a chihuahua. These dogs have very tiny airways and it is common for little chi's to have breathing problems.
It probably gets worse when he sleeps b/c he is more relaxed. As for the jerking, I believe that is quite normal, being that I have 4 chi's and they all jerk like they are having some kind of bad dream.
As for the eating, chi's are very sensitive dogs and he may just be having a hard time adjusting to his new home. He may not be eating b/c he is scared and confused. When I brought home my lil pup at 5 weeks, he did not like me at all! He would growl at me when I tried to pet him, and wouldnt eat a thing. Now he is my little shadow and cries when I leave the house. Dont worry, he will eat when he is ready and feels better. He just doesnt have an appetite b/c of his sensitive little heart lol. Same goes for the jerking away from you when you pet him ... he's just scared and doesnt know what to think. He doesnt know what to think of you yet.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
I'm not a vet, professional chi breeder, or dog guru, but I do see how emotional chi's can get and how it has an effect on their personalities and habits. I can tell you these types of dogs are the most human in regards to the amount of emotion/personality they show. My best advice is to keep doing what you are doing ... take care of him and physically and emotionally, comfort him. In time, he will be the best companion!
