Shop your breed, find out about the breed from the breeder or people who own this breed. (Is a Chihuahua the ideal dog for me? Can I meet the needs of this breed? Do I have a home suited to the dog's needs? How well do I know this breed and its characteristics? What is the care health associated with this breed?).
1. Choose a breeder who is a member of the Canadian Kennel Club and who registers the puppies from each of their litters with the Canadian Kennel Club. Remember that only a dog registered with the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) is a purebred dog without the CKC registration papers the dog cannot be called purebred. To respect the code of conduct, breeders who are members of the Canadian Kennel Club cannot sell dogs in pet stores. So don't buy from pet stores that are often supplied by puppy mills or mass breeders and if you want to adopt a purebred dog.
2. Ask the breeder for references. A good breeder will be able to provide you with names of owners who are happy with the purchase of their dog from the breeder (at least 10 references should be provided to you). Remember that the breeder should listen before and after adopting your dog and throughout the dog's life.
3. Choose the dog according to the personality characteristics you are looking for (calm? energetic? clingy? intelligent? sociable? athletic?) this will be more important in the long term than its color, weight or sex.
4. Check your puppy's adult weight. Why pay a higher price for a Chihuahua that will not have the weight promised by the breeder or the weight you desire. Ask for the puppy to be weighed in front of you and compare its weight with the Chihuahua weight chart (be careful though, the chart is not effective at 100%). A good breeder will know his bloodlines and therefore the average growth curve of the previous puppies of the parent couple of the adopted puppy. Make sure the puppy is fat and not undernourished! Ask to see the parents to see how big your dog might be. If possible, ask to see photos of puppies from previous litters as adults. References from families who have adopted a puppy from this breeder can also shed light on the breeder's honesty regarding adult weight.
5. Check that the breeder breeds dogs free from hereditary diseases, in particular by tests carried out by the OFA (Orthopedic foundation for animals). A good breeder breeds healthy dogs, so he can reasonably ensure the future health of his puppies by only breeding dogs free of genetic disease. A good breeder will know the most common genetic diseases of his breed and will ensure that his breeding stock undergoes the necessary genetic tests before they have a litter. Tests passed by the OFA (Orthopedic foundation for animals) are therefore essential to significantly reduce the chances of hereditary diseases in puppies. As an adopter, you have the right to request proof of OFA health tests taken by the puppy's parents. Before adoption, the puppy should have received deworming treatment, basic vaccinations and be examined at several points by a certified veterinarian who will ensure that it is in perfect health.
6. Be careful of false guarantees that give a feeling of security towards breeding. Sometimes breeders guarantee the dog for hereditary diseases for a given period but when the time comes to respect the guarantee they ask to carry out tests at your expense which sometimes costs much more than the purchase price of the dog in order to dissuade the adopter from asserting the guarantee. Sometimes the diagnosis cannot conclude that there is trauma vs. a hereditary disease or the opinion of the breeder's veterinarian vs. the adopter's veterinarian will not agree and therefore there will be no respect for the guarantee of the from the breeder. The breeder can also request the return of the sick dog to be entitled to your replacement dog, which is sometimes heartbreaking for families who decide not to assert their guarantee with the breeder.
7. Don’t be “cheap” or “scratchy”. You will not find “quality” chihuahuas under the 2000$. You could have very unpleasant surprises and have to pay unpredictable additional costs if the dog is in poor health and has problems with its teeth, kneecaps, eyes, trachea, lungs, intestines, heart... Think about it you could end up with a bill much higher than expected.
8. Renseignez-vous sur les standards de la race (https://www.facebook.com/notes/machu-pitou-%C3%A9levage-chihuahua/le-standard-du-chihuahua/737312523016712). You will be surprised to learn that a Chihuahua is not skeletal, with big eyes, big ears, long legs and a long muzzle. And that you may haveebe a false image of what a “TRUE» chihuahua and what makes it breed-conforming.
9. Forget prejudices! A “real” Chihuahua is not pissy, barking, timid, biting, whining and trembling. If you take the time to shop around for your breeder you will not have a Chihuahua with his faults. So many people have taken advantage of the popularity of Chihuahuas to breed anything and everything which has unfortunately been detrimental to the breed.
Author: Machu Pitou Chihuahua Breeding.
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