your chihuahua can not explain its symptoms, so it’s your responsibility to keep him or her healthy and to determine whether or not they need veterinary care. chihuahuas tend to want to hide their illness, so it is up to you to check your chihuahua for abnormalities.
not knowing if your chihuahua is feeling sick or how to care for your chihuahua when they are sick can be VERY stressful! this article will help you determine if your chihuahua is showing signs and symptoms of being ill and when you need to take them to see a veterinarian.
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be prepared: questions your veterinarian may ask
your veterinarian may ask additional questions to help localize or diagnose the problem. it may help to be prepared to answer some of the following questions:
- how long have you owned your chihuahua?
- where did you get your chihuahua (adoption center, breeder, previous stray)?
- what other type of pets do you have?
- what is the age of your chihuahua?
- has your chihuahua experienced any previous illnesses?
- is your chihuahua currently under treatment for an illness or disease?
- what preventative medications is your chihuahua currently taking?
- does your chihuahua receive consistent flea treatment?
- are any other pets ill?
- has he/she been vaccinated? if so, when? which vaccines?
- have there been any recent pet acquisitions?
- have there been any recent activities such as boarding, grooming, trip to the park?
- is a majority of your chihuahua’s time spent indoors or outdoors?
- have there been any recent changes in diet or eating habits?
- what brand of food, how much and how frequently does your chihuahua eat?
- what type of table scraps are offered and how frequently?
- what type of treats are offered and how frequently?
- how much water does your chihuahua typically drink per day?
- have there been any recent changes in water consumption?
- have you noticed any coughing or sneezing?
- have you noticed any lumps or bumps on your chihuahua?
- is your chihuahua urinating normally?
- Is your dog having normal bowel movements?
- when is the last time he/she had a bowel movement?
- have you noticed any recent weight loss or weight gain?
after answering some general questions, more specific questions need to be answered. a brief cursory exam of your chihuahua at home can help you determine the answers. these questions are also commonly asked when chihuahua owners are seeking help over the phone.
be prepared to answer the following questions, depending on the problem with your chihuahua:
regarding the eyes
- have you noticed an increase or decrease in tear production?
- do the eyes appear cloudy or red?
- have you noticed any discharge coming from the eyes?
- do the eyes appear bloodshot?
- are the pupils the same size in both eyes?
- have you noticed your chihuahua rubbing or pawing at the eyes?
- is your chihuahua squinting?
- do the eyes appear to be sunken or excessively protruding?
regarding the ears
- do you notice any swelling or discharge from the ears?
- are the ears drooping when they normally stand erect?
- are the ears red and inflamed?
- do you notice any odor to the ears?
- is your chihuahua rubbing or pawing at the ears?
- have you noticed a lot of head shaking?
- have you noticed any pain or crying when you rub or scratch your chihuahua’s ears?
regarding the nose
- have you noticed any congestion, sneezing or coughing?
- have you noticed any blood coming from the nose?
- have you noticed any nasal discharge?
regarding the mouth
- have you noticed any swelling of the lips or tongue?
- have you noticed any bleeding from the mouth?
- what color are the gums – tissue just above the teeth?
looking inside the mouth
- are there any foreign objects such as bones or sticks stuck on the roof of the mouth or around the teeth?
- is your chihuahua able to open and close the mouth normally?
- is there any pain involved in opening or closing the mouth?
- have you noticed any excessive drooling or foaming at the mouth?
- is your chihuahua able swallow food normally?
regarding the chest
- is your chihuahua experiencing any difficulty breathing?
- have you noticed excessive panting?
- is there any pain when the chest area is petted?
- have you noticed any recent coughing?
- is the heartbeat steady and consistent?
- what is the heart rate?
place your hand or your ear on the left side of your chihuahua’s chest, just behind the elbow. you should be able to feel or hear the heartbeat. count how many beats the heart pumps in one minute.
regarding the abdomen/stomach area
- has your chihuahua been having any diarrhea or vomiting?
- is your chihuahua able to eat and drink normally?
- does the abdomen/stomach area appear swollen or distended?
- does your chihuahua appear to be in pain when the stomach area is petted?
- is your chihuahua known to chew on non-food items such as clothing, towels, rocks, or other items?
regarding the urinary and reproductive systems
- have you noticed any difference in urinating?
- does your chihuahua seem to strain to urinate or cry in pain?
- does your chihuahua repeatedly try to urinate with no urine produced?
- is there any blood in the urine?
- how frequently does your chihuahua urinate?
- is your female chihuahua spayed?
- has your female ever had puppies? if so, at what age?
- if your female is not spayed, when was her last heat cycle and was she bred?
- do you notice any discharge from the vaginal area?
- is your male chihuahua neutered? if so, at what age?
- do you notice any discharge from the penis?
- if your chihuahua is not neutered, do you notice any swelling of the testicles?
- have you noticed your chihuahua excessively licking or grooming the genital area?
regarding the musculoskeletal system – bones and joints
- have you noticed any limping?
- are any legs or joints swollen?
- has your chihuahua been excessively licking at one area of his/her legs?
- does your chihuahua show signs of pain when walking?
- is your chihuahua able to walk normally?
- does your chihuahua walk on his/her knuckles?
- does your chihuahua drag any legs when walking?
- does your chihuahua seem to be in pain when petting him or her?
by supplying the answers these questions, your veterinarian will be in a much better position to help your chihuahua. additional tests may be necessary to find out what the problem is, but the answers to the above questions can greatly narrow the area of concern.
please note that famous chihuahua is providing this information to chihuahua owners as a guide so you know when to take your chihuahua to see your veterinarian. if at any time your chihuahua is showing signs or symptoms of illness and discomfort, don’t wait, just go the vet!
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the amazing ebook, caring for chihuahuas made easy, breed information, health care and nutrition teaches you about common chihuahua health problems and how to properly care for your chihuahua! it also teaches you the secret to making your chihuahua live longer!
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Comments 550
I have a 16 week old chiweenie, recently she stopped eating dry food and I bought can food for her she eat that really fine and now she won’t eat again. She’s not drinking water either, she still walks around and only throws up once for the past 2 days, she pees fine and her poop is normal. . .
i have a 10 yr old chihuahua she hasstoped eating ive taken her tto the vet she had antibiatics and still seems to be loosin weight is there any kind of speacil food i can feed her that will help her put weight back on?she looks so bad just skin and bones i cant afford to take her back to the vet and i cant seem to find the right food to help her
My 2 yearold Chihuahua Bump had puppies 3 weeks ago, week took her to the vet because she could not deliver her last three puppies, now after everything 3 weeks later, and 4 healthy puppies, her vagina is still swollen like shes about to give birth, and shes lost all of the hair on her legs and sides of her stomach, the skin is also alittle warm to the touch . I don’t believe my vet knew what he was doing, but I could be wrong. Does she have some kinda of infection is it fatal? I don’t know what to do, and if I should take her to the vet. Does anyone know what to do? I don’t want to lose her, she’s my baby.
Ur answers are always go to the vet. Obviously none of us would be on here if we had hundreds of dollars to just run to the vet if u cant give any good advice or medical advice on how to solve problems. Get off the web. We all know we mught have to take our dogs to the vet were trying to avoid it if we can. Ru paying. So thank u havr a nice night
My sweet dog layla is puking and pooping blood and will not eat.. does anyone know whats wrong and what i can do to help? rite now we do not have the money to take her to a vet. someone please help us! she is very loved we dont know what we would do if we lost her! thanks in advance!
Ya know, not all of us have a good vet or access to one that has the first clue regarding chi care and their specific problems. IE, the fact that chis can and do have heart attacks. We live in a state famous for vet college and the lack of specific knowledge for this small breed is astounding.
our sweet 9 year old bella just recently had a heart attack and subsequently passed away. I am broken. She was taken to the vet (not hers as she was booked) twice, x-rays blood work, the works. He thought it was her back that was out. Our normal vet couldn’t see us as she takes appointments so we had a vet with a gazillion years experience and about the same age.
Taking them to the vet is no guarantee and frankly can do more harm than good, considering he dosed her with double the recommended dosage of a very powerful pain med. She died after two doses. What angers me the most is that some idiot that cant trim their own dogs nails prolly had an appointment and dear bell had a grave emergency.
Sometimes a chough is their heart, not the weak trachea
immunizations can be lethal. Point of fact.
Dog food is for the most part garbage.
liver problems can present in very pale ears, gums and tongue.
Help these people! Being as ass will only cause more deaths. Finding a vet is great, but often people need advice in spite of or because others have had the same experiences. Stop being so pretentious…everyone needs a lil help now and then, like my poor dead bella.
Have 4 month old chihuahua , n Boston terrier. Mix
He has always had leaky eyes n nasal conjestion however yesterday morning he started out normal bowel movement n behavior by 9:30-10 am ( he gets up 6am everyday ) he would not eat or drink and he vomited 3 more times through out the day other than that he slept the rest of the day I woke him every 2 hrs on average to keep water in him he refused so I used a dropper to make sure he stayed hydrated. He woke up today tried to pee for almost a full minute n only got out about ten drops however he did start to drink a little n ate a tea spoon of wet dog food so a bit of an improvement no vomiting yet today either. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated I called vet they can’t see him till Monday and its Thursday I live in ranch country in texas hours from anyone or anything and the engine died on my car so vet comes out to me what do I do till then please help by the way we have 12 chihuahuas ( 6 which are part Boston terrier) out of all of them my little baby here is the only one sick .
My 5 old chi got hurt a week when my 10 yr son was running in the house in socks n slide and she cried but than was fine. Now since yesterday that my 6 yr old hugged she cries evertime. This morning she was playing n jumping n now again after i got home frm work we picked her up a few times n she cries. Now she wont even get down frm my sons side! Do i need to call her vet now or just wait till they open or they examine her ?? s
my dog, snow, is 15 years old and has been crying when he moves. He fell off the bed a few weeks ago and I believe it may have triggered something. this morning, he was crying louder than usual. we love our snow, but, it seems it may be his time to leave us. 🙁
My 4 year old chihuahua she she shaking bad and she somthing wrong with her back legs where they come out of place and don’t want to go back in we already knew this but the vet she should be okay and this has never happened I don’t know if we should call the vet or not but I have no clue what to to please HELP I AM FREAKING OUT! 😰
My baby chihuahua is 7 months old and his mother (also a chihuahua) just had more puppy’s this month. Yesterday and today he’s been acting really strange. He cries when we try to pet him, he cries when he moves around, he is really warm, his nose is dry and is head is always in the air. He hasn’t eaten today either. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. My roomates and I are very worried. please answer ASAP
HI, my 4 year old chihuahua gave birth a week ago but yesterday until now she seems weak and wouldn’t eat.
my dog ,dog has developed a lump of some sort located on the upper left side of his cute little throat. is it possible that dogs can get cancer?
Sami is a 9 month old chi–he weighs 3 pounds 4 ounces–when I got him he was 8 ounces –he has been hypoglycemic, had seizures but has been healthy but occassionally he just looks sick–not happy—–we have had blood test–nothing–his blood sugar has been normal–he had nutragel for like 4 months and he loved it! Now he hates it.., he is such a picky eater–no dog food ever–we have tried it all–he likes chicken..rice..oatmeal..vanilla yogurt..peas..broccoli ..eggs ..cheese –was wondering if he needs some kind of supplement ?? Something that he will actually eat or take..I just hate worrying about him—I know he will be happy in the morning but I hate it—the vet hates to see me..says they don’t think I can handle him–I explained if he was a baby and I thought he was sick I would bring the baby to the doctor..any ideas are appreciated.
My chihuahua is 10 years old he is always urinating what can I DO FOR THESE OPERTIONA>?
cLARY
my chi has been lethargic for the past three days, but is exhibiting no other symptoms. she is eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom just fine. she isn’t jumping on the couch like she normally does and just wants to lay on her bed all the time. i plan to take her to the vet tomorrow, but was wondering if anyone else has had this happen to one of their chihuahuas. it is almost as if she is depressed. 🙁 i actually stayed home today to coddle her and keep an eye on her. my husband is a human dr. and thinks i am over reacting. any feedback?
Hello
I have a normal healthy chi except for today he just started whining and crying about everything. Nothing is physically wrong with him and our schedule is pretty regular. I just can’t figure out if he is teething or what the case is. We went for a walk and he was horrible just running out of control and whining the entire time. He is about 4 to 5 months old but if he continues this tomorrow we will be going to the doctor. There is just nothing physically wrong with him it seems like he is acting up for attention or developing some kind of separation anxiety.
Any opinions are welcomed he has always been a little angel I just can’t for the life of me figure out the sudden whining.
My chihuahua was 13 and a half. she had in the previous months almost choked twice. the weird thing is she would just freeze and not gag or anything almost like a statue. End of july i gave her a few small pieces of pizza. turned around for about less than a minute and she was gone. I do not know if she choked or had an attack, but the guilt is killing me. she was my family. so for those that feel they could have done things differently(don’t). you all are all on the forum for a reason. you really tried to make the best of their lives.
I can’t believe what someone had done to me. I bought 2chihuahuas. On the way home one had bad diarrhrea and looked kind of underweight. We had to meet in the middle. At a store because they lived 2 1/2 hours away. I only saw them in a picture. Then at home the other chihuahua is having diarrhea but not as bad as the small one. And then the small one vomited about 3 times after I fed her. She was so hungry. Poor thing. Now what am I suppose to do. I’m afraid I will waske upo tomorrow and she ‘ll be dead. I was not prepared for this at all. They said nothing about them being sick.. I will have to take them to the vets when I have no idea what could be wrong. I wasn’t planning on having to pay a big vet bill the day after 2new dogs. This so not right. They are so sweet and adorable. We have another dog who we hope won’t get what they have. That’s probaly why they sold them because they didn’t want topy for a vet. They were such nice people. I gave them both pepto bismal which I read about on another site. I have a feeling the smaller one has been sick for a long time too.
I took in our dog when it was lost in the freezing cold weather. We searched for owners for months with ads and flyers. I am a middle aged woman , and normally a middle class family. Recently diagnosed with an illness, my family became very tight on money. We had to keep the dog, for after months of looking, we kept her, and loved her like a child. We took her to our vet and gave her full check up and shots to be safe. A year later she became very ill, and had to go to vet four times in one week. Our bill was very very expensive and very hard to manage with the new difficulties in our family income. How dare you people make such rude accusations to others reaching out for a little advice just in case. I spent 700$ in one week to try and fix our dog. The vet did nothing. After 9 days, and researching the Internet, we ourselves brought her back to health. She is such a joy to us! I am not by any any means saying to not see a vet. That should ALWAYS be the first choice, but good lord people. As you can tell by the sadness and pleading, these are not scumbags on the street. Not everyone is made of money. I can remember some weeks 20$ being so valuable to me. Luckily I am blessed now to be ok, and financially stable again. Our amazing little chihuahua is doing great too. It is ok to ask others for advice. My vet was awful, and I am seeking a new one. The online forums were better than the vet I gave 700$ to. So, don’t worry about the people that leave stupid comments on here trying to judge you or make you feel bad. I understand. Carma will strike people that don’t have kindness. Pay it forward people. Advice is just that. Just like this….but, have a heart, be polite, give advice, and yes, if possible please try and see a vet. If not…I see many on here will give positive advice to help you during your stressful times 🙂
Anyone writing on this site worried about the health of their chihuahua-go to a vet!!! if you say you cant afford a vet, well then you can’t afford to be a pet owner, so please consider this when getting a pet and find an appropriate home if you can’t provide it. Do no compromise the welfare of these chihuahuas.
Thanks Now i can See if my dog is sick i fell like crying When i see my dod like that :,(
My husband was recently given a chihuahua at a gas station! The lady had a whole van full he said and she told him he was only seven months old, since he became a part of our family we needed to take him for a check up, we soon found out that our “free puppy” needed many teeth taken out, was well over a year old with arthritis and he quickly became a debt that was piling up! Thankfully petsmart has a vet clinic built into the store and they do PAyment plans!!! dont give me a sob story about how you cant pay because petsmart is very willing to work with you and even though we have an old damaged dog, he is very loved! we saved him and he thanks us everyday with his presents!
Some people don’t understand I guess. They think they know it all sometimes. Because some people can not afford to go to the vet, does not make them a bad owner. I was doing great with taking care of my babies, till my husband got sick and lost his job. Now going to the vet is hard to do. I love my babies, as if they were my children. Someone posted that a person should give their pets up because they can’t take them to the vet, but they forget that is like their children. Because you can not take your child to the doctor right now, does not mean you have to give up your child, right?
Chiquita, is a toy deer, she is 18 years ,old and in the last 6 months ,she started losing weight, from her normal of about 2 lbs to 1 lbs. The vet told me she is racked with arthris and blind ,also going into kidney and liver failure. The vet says she is in pain when she walks because of the severer arthritis . But she only gets u ip to eat and the bathroom. I wish she would go on her own, because the vet says no matter what she does it’s just a matter of time at her extreme age