Read These 5 Tips for Ensuring the Health of Your Chihuahua Puppy
The Chihuahua is the smallest dog breed in the world with the height usually way under 10 inches. Actually, most Chihuahuas are about 6 inches high. Taking care of such a small and fragile creature can be challenging. Of course, it’s even harder when it comes to taking care of newborn Chihuahuas.
When it’s born, a Chihuahua puppy is the size of a mouse. And because they’re so tiny, humans should not handle them during the first few days of their life. Instead, the job of feeding and grooming is the responsibility of the Mother Chihuahua.
The puppies will live solely on their mother’s milk until about three weeks after the birth, which is when you should start introducing other types of food to their diet. What kind of food you give to the little Chihuahuas at this period can be crucial for their health in the long term. To make sure you do the right job, here are some tips to follow.
1. Feed the Puppies the Right Amount of Food
How much should a Chihuahua puppy eat per day? The answer depends on how old they are. If they’re still suckling, you shouldn’t give them too much food. This is the period when you should start introducing solid food to their diet, but you mustn’t give them too much. A kibble or two per day should be sufficient at this stage.
But, as time passes and they get bigger, you should slowly increase their portions. Once they stop suckling, each one of them will need to eat about 1/3 cup of dog food every day.
2. Feed the Puppy Often (and We Mean Often!)
You shouldn’t give them all of it at once; instead, your Chihuahua puppies need to have as many as 6 meals per day. If this seems too inconvenient for you, the solution lies in free-feeding. What this means is that instead of feeding them at certain times of day, you should keep their food bowl full at all times. This way, you let the puppies decide how much to eat, as well as when to eat.
The only problem here is that their mother might decide to “help them out” to empty the plate. So, you’ll still have to check up on them several times a day in order to make sure there’s enough food at their disposal.
3. Choose Quality Over Quantity
Generally speaking, a Chihuahua puppy will eat about one-third of a cup of dog food every day. However, not all dog foods provide the same amount of nutrients. So, in some cases, eating 1/3 cup will not take care of their nutritional needs.
This is why you need to make sure you buy the best dog food for Chihuahua puppy. The more nutrient-rich, the better. Plus, you can always make their food better by adding some multi-vitamins and multi-minerals.
4. Make Sure the Puppy Gets Enough Sleep
Getting enough sleep is as equally important as eating quality food. Your Chihuahua puppies probably look super-cute and you want to cuddle them all the time, but the puppies need to get their rest. All dogs like sleeping a lot, but it seems that Chihuahuas really love it.
And this especially goes for Chihuahuas that are only a few months old. They need to sleep at least 12 hours a day in order to grow to become healthy dogs.
5. Make Vet Visits a Regular Thing
Because they’re so tiny, yet very energetic, it’s pretty difficult to notice if there’s something wrong with Chihuahua puppies. At least for the untrained eye. But, a professional veterinarian should be able to spot any abnormalities.
This is why the best advice we can give you is to regularly take your puppies to the vet. Even if everything seems okay, you should still let the vet check them up. After all, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
References:
https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/6-most-common-dog-health-problems#1
https://iheartdogs.com/top-3-health-concerns-for-chihuahuas/
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