Does anyone here have Chihuahuas?

Do any of yall have Chihuahuas? If so, how do they get along with other animals (small and large)?

The reason I ask is because the other day when the family was over for Christmas dinner, my cousin was telling my grandmaw that his Chihuahua was pregnant (the dad is also Chihuahua) and asked if I could have a puppy from the litter, she apparently said yes. He came into the living room and told me. I was completely caught off guard, my grandmaw has always said no and been completely against getting another dog. I'm guessing it's a Christmas present. I have never owned a Chihuahua and don't really know much about them. My main concern is how it would be around other animals, inside and outside. My current dog, Laci, is an 8 year old Pomeranian (7.4 lbs) and gets along great with every animal we have and new ones that come in. I got her when she was about 6 weeks old though and trained her myself, she was introduced to all kinds of animals, people, places, etc. She is very well behaved and very sweet. I am a little nervous though, it has been a long time since I've had a puppy!

Any advice and information is greatly appreciated!

We owned a Chihuahua for 14 years before he passed. HE ran the house. TOP DOG. He actually attacked the neighbors Rottweiler because it came in his yard. Most small dogs suffer from big dog syndrome, they have no idea they are small. Their personalities are huge.

On the flip side, he was very sweet, slept on my pillow every night, and loved to go for car rides. He was not a barker unless someone knocked on the door, or came in the house.

I would "test" any new dog with your current pets first of course. Take them to neutral territory for the first introduction, someplace like a park or something.

I have found that they seem to be difficult to housebreak. Do some research, maybe find a yahoo group on Chihuahuas and ask some other owners.

Good Luck!

I have one. He's about 3.5 years old now, he is a wonderful dog. Great with the goats but he LOVES to chase the chickens and ducks. Which is not allowed at all. He also freaks out around the horse and gets a little crazy so he is no allowed near the horse or birds or goats anymore lol.

He has good days. Some days he wants to chase, some days he wants to eat **** and ignores the birds.

Like most dog breeds, there are extremes. Chi's are getting over the bad breeding were they "shiver" and shake...I bet most everyone has run into a chi like this.

I have a friend who breeds them, and her chi's are little dogs who act like a normal big dog...they just happen to be cute and small dogs. And so you know, she is also a show breeder, so her dogs are within standard and nice looking too. They are out competing in many dog sports and live in homes with other big animals.

Please do your research and due diligence with this breed. They have been grossly overbred by BYB and puppy mills now that little pocket dogs are in style.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I've been doing research on them and talking to some friends that have them. My cousin did say his were a little snappy and had attitudes. I'm guessing the puppies will probably take after them. Also their other dog they have does chase animals. I have to watch him everytime they come over because they let him loose outside and he goes after the chickens and barks/snaps at the rabbits through the cage. I also have to watch him in the house because he tries to get to my hedgehogs and other small animals I have in here. They say he's just playing, but I don't tolerate that behavior and get onto him when he does it. I've never seen their chihuahuas, but since they told me they like to 'play with animals' too, I'm assuming they mean how he 'plays' with them. :/ I'm not sure it's the right dog for me, I'm going to try to talk my grandmaw out of getting it but she seems dead set on it now. If I can't change her mind and it does behave that way, how would I go about correcting/stopping it? Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll be like my other cousins chihuahua (she was a mix) and be the sweetest thing in the world and not have any problems

Oh I know, I was just joking when I said that!

Train the dog like a real dog and you won't have any issues. You allow it to screw around and think it's "cute" when it barks and nips at people, then that's your own dimwitted-ness. A dog is a dog, no matter the size and none should be the top anything.

Thanks