Update on the chihuahuas!

[stacwase]

We are now on our THIRD day of no pottie accidents!!!

They even slept in bed with us last night, and Max didn't mind at all. He's not allowed on the bed (because he's so big and sheds so much), so I thought that might upset him. Not at all. He's such a sweet dog.

They've been touching noses with Toby!

Jake just loves them. I think that he thinks they're puppies. He gets really close to them and looks down at them so gently, but they really aren't interested in him.

Today we got them sweaters, and the tiniest little Kong - it's so cute! And we got a big Harley bandana. the Harley logo is on all of the corners, so we're cutting it up to make tiny little bandanas.

I think my daughter and her boyfriend are going to bring them to the 4th of July parade. I'm bringing Max. Jake will probably stay at home, which he'll be more than OK with. He's not much for crowds.

You should see my husband with these dogs. It's just adorable - he really loves them. I don't think he'll want to give them back. It doesn't look like Mom will be able to take them back anyway, but I don't know if 4 dogs is a good idea.

Do any of you have that many dogs?

[MariaM]

I only have one puppy! :D

Glacier has quite a few dogs! And...well I know there are alot more that do, but only Glacier came to my mind.

But Kathernie (QueenChyna) has 4 dogs!:)

[lute]

glad to hear it's going well!
i only have 2 pups,but i have had 12 at one time.10 of them being puppies(accident).if that counts. i think that if you do keep them that after you get a routien(sp) and get settled down things will be easier.

i love chihuahuas and wish i had my own.

[BCBlondie]

I have four dogs! :D I want another dog though.. :p but the city limit is 4 per household. :( It's actually not as hard as you think, especially with two of the four being small dogs. But I guess it depends on the people as well... some people just can't handle more than one or two dogs.

The only thing about having 4 dogs is that everything takes longer and is more expensive. All four of mine are medium - long haired (well...I recently shaved my Sheltie so I guess that makes him short-haired now :p ), so it takes me about 2 hours to just wash them and then another 3 or so to groom them all! :eek: Also, the more dogs you have, the more food you have to buy! You also need to have more time to spend with each of them. Other than that, 4 dogs are great companionship and lots of fun!! :D

[stacwase]

They're having such a good day today. Chloe broke our "no accident" run, though. My fault - I shouldn't have let her down without watching her more carefully.

Tony is getting into the habit of laying on top of the sofa, in front of the window, like a cat. His ears go up at any unfamiliar sound, even things Jake & Max don't hear. They're excellent little watchdogs - much more so than Jake & Max. Their senses just seem sharper.

They've been chewing rawhides, and playing with their Kong, and running around. They ate Jake's food and Jake didn't even get mad at them!

Tony looks cute in his Harley bandana, by the way. I'll have to get some pics.

[Glacier]

Originally posted by stacwase
I don't know if 4 dogs is a good idea.

Do any of you have that many dogs?

Four, only Four?? That's easy! Things don't get truly complicated until you hit double digits! :D

I currently have 23 dogs--20 who live here either permanently or as fosters, two that I am dogsitting and one neighbor's dog who never goes home anymore!

Seriously, with small dogs and as long as they get along with the other residents, I don't think four will be a problem. It will be more expensive and time consuming, but once you get a routine down things can be fairly smooth.

[stacwase]

Originally posted by BCBlondie
I have four dogs! :D I want another dog though.. :p but the city limit is 4 per household. :( It's actually not as hard as you think, especially with two of the four being small dogs. But I guess it depends on the people as well... some people just can't handle more than one or two dogs.

The only thing about having 4 dogs is that everything takes longer and is more expensive. All four of mine are medium - long haired (well...I recently shaved my Sheltie so I guess that makes him short-haired now :p ), so it takes me about 2 hours to just wash them and then another 3 or so to groom them all! :eek: Also, the more dogs you have, the more food you have to buy! You also need to have more time to spend with each of them. Other than that, 4 dogs are great companionship and lots of fun!! :D

You and I must been typing at the same time. I didn't see your post until now.

What do people think when they come to your house and see all your dogs? Is there an odor?

I really don't think there's any extra odor with these two. And they eat so little, their food is no biggy. They hardly shed at all.

They require a completely different type of attention than Jake and Max. When I take Jake and Max out to the trail I don't bring the chis. When I sit on the sofa they like to cuddle with me, and that's not taking away from Max or Jake since they're not cuddlers. So really - once they're housetrained I don't think they'll require much extra time.

Vet bills will be unreal, though. That in itself is enough to make me think twice. Or more than twice. Well - they won't need lime or giardia vaccines, and probably won't need flea & tick meds.

Look at me trying to talk myself into keeping them!

[stacwase]

Originally posted by Glacier
Four, only Four?? That's easy! Things don't get truly complicated until you hit double digits! :D

I currently have 23 dogs--20 who live here either permanently or as fosters, two that I am dogsitting and one neighbor's dog who never goes home anymore!

Seriously, with small dogs and as long as they get along with the other residents, I don't think four will be a problem. It will be more expensive and time consuming, but once you get a routine down things can be fairly smooth.

LOL - I was typing at the same time as you, too! Won't it be funny if I go post this and find out somebody else was typing at the same time?

23 dogs. Wow. All indoors?

Speaking of neighbors' dogs. When we move to the farm I'll bet the neighbors dogs will be at our house constantly. Then it will be like we have six!

[Glacier]

Originally posted by stacwase

23 dogs. Wow. All indoors?

Speaking of neighbors' dogs. When we move to the farm I'll bet the neighbors dogs will be at our house constantly. Then it will be like we have six!

They all get turns indoors. I've had up to 16 of them inside at once. Usually, it's about 8 per night. The two I am dogsitting are inside all the time as that's what they are used to--they aren't used to being in a fenced pen. I have three huge pens on my property, total is close to two fenced acres. The dogs are divided up by who gets along best.

My two oldies, Preacher and Sleet go on tieouts during the day and then are inside whenever I am home.

I have four more who are on trolley style tie-outs. Kayleigh is dog aggressive and highly food protective. She can't handle having other dogs near her stuff, although she likes to play with some of them in neutral areas. Heyoka hates being fenced and will bust out of anything so he's on a trolley and loose when I'm around. Bandit doesn't speak dog very well so he gets beat up in the big pens. He prefers to be close to the house, but not inside. Goldie is on a trolley too as she is fussy about her friends.

This fall my husband's shop should be done. Kayleigh will move in there with an attached run and hopefully we'll get another pen up for Goldie. She has a couple boyfriends that she could live with happily.

The neighbor's dog is Daisy. She's a sweetie and doesn't cause any trouble so I don't complain about her. She's a little ignored at home and an only dog. She's highly social so she comes over here to get attention and play with other dogs.

[stacwase]

Glacier,

How on earth do you pay all the vet bills? And the dog food? Holy cow! You must have to work two jobs just to keep them in the basics. Flea and tick medicine alone would be enough to break the bank, hehe.

[heinz57_79]

I think there's a good deal of us who have more than 4 pups. hehe We've got 4 right now, soon to be 5. Plus 7 cats and 2 ferrets. As long as we keep up on the cleaning, there's never an odour.

[stacwase]

I'm just wondering what the neighbors think!

Thank goodness we're moving out to the country, where we can keep our animals in peace! ;)

[Glacier]

Originally posted by stacwase
Glacier,

How on earth do you pay all the vet bills? And the dog food? Holy cow! You must have to work two jobs just to keep them in the basics. Flea and tick medicine alone would be enough to break the bank, hehe.

Well, I do all my own shots, except rabies. There are no heartworms, fleas or ticks in the Yukon--it's too cold--so I don't have to use an preventative stuff for that. I take the cats in for their shots, but in general their bills are lower.

I have a savings account that is simply for vet expenses. There's not much in it right now as Pacer's & Hobo's bills were huge. My Visa gets a work out occasionally too!

Right now they are eating strictly kibble which is costing more than usual. The feed store in town gives me a discount on kibble. They are eating Acana Performance right now. It's a Canadian brand designed for sled dogs. They love it! I go through 3 forty pound bags a week. Once you add in treats, the food bill is about 500 a month. The cats have to eat prescription food and that's about 120 bucks a month.

I only have one working dog food freezer at the moment so not enough room to store fish or chicken. I'll get more of that when it's cold out again. That's cheaper than kibble and helps keep the bill down.

I only work one job! I sell some of my beadwork, but that just gives me money for more beads! LOL The dogs come first around here so there are some things we really need or want that aren't here--We only have one vehicle (which drives me nuts!), the floors are painted plywood because I can't afford to replace the carpets, I desperately want a sea kayak, but I just rent one occasionally for now. I have a magnet on my fridge that sums things up. It says "my life has gone to the dogs, but they are worth it!"

[Glacier]

Originally posted by stacwase
I'm just wondering what the neighbors think!

Thank goodness we're moving out to the country, where we can keep our animals in peace! ;)

My neighbors are great. Fortunately, they are dog lovers. We also live in the middle of sled dog country. So actually, my kennel is considered small. Most serious, competitive mushers have way more dogs than I do!

[stacwase]

Originally posted by Glacier
My neighbors are great. Fortunately, they are dog lovers. We also live in the middle of sled dog country. So actually, my kennel is considered small. Most serious, competitive mushers have way more dogs than I do!

Oh - I meant my neighbors, not yours! hehe. My neighbors are sort of uppity.

Do you race sleds with your dogs?

They have a thing called the "U.P. 200" up here, which is a sled dog race kind of in preparation for the Ididarod (sp?). We watched the racers coming in, once. It was really neat. They come across the frozen lake.

I was so surprised at how small sled dogs actually are. I was expecting big Huskies.

[Glacier]

Originally posted by stacwase

Do you race sleds with your dogs?

They have a thing called the "U.P. 200" up here, which is a sled dog race kind of in preparation for the Ididarod (sp?). We watched the racers coming in, once. It was really neat. They come across the frozen lake.

I was so surprised at how small sled dogs actually are. I was expecting big Huskies.

I don't race the full team yet, maybe someday. I skijor races with Raven.

The UP 200 is a qualifier for the Iditarod. It used to be that any ol' fool could run the I-rod--regardless of how much experience you had. Then a couple rookies almost died on the trail, so now they have a few races that you have to finish in order to qualify.

Most of my sled dogs weigh between 40-50 pounds. My two best dogs weigh 35 pounds, but they can pull all day and are fast! Even a purebred husky shouldn't weigh more than 60 pounds for a male and almost nobody races purebreds anymore!