Hypoglycemia: Is the medical term for low blood sugar. Chihuahua puppies have an increased risk of Hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia has nothing to do with good or bad breeding and is not covered in our health guarantee.
The symptoms include poor coordination, weakness and glassy eyes. Your puppy may seem depressed and not want to eat. In severe cases your puppy can experience seizures, lose consciousness, or even die.
It is important to act fast "YOUR PUPPIES LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!" The first thing you should do is give your puppy a sugar substance such as Nutra Cal or corn syrup, honey will also work in a pinch. If your puppies jaw is tightly shut rub the sugar substance on its gums. Do not force anything down the puppies throat or it may choke.Once your puppy comes around offer it a small meal high in protein such as chicken baby food. It is important to follow the sugar substance with protein, the protein will help stabilize the puppies blood sugar. You may want to follow up with a trip to your vet to make sure all is O.K. In severe cases your puppy may have a harder time coming around & the vet may find it necessary to put the puppy on an I.V to stabilize it's blood sugar. Make sure you administer the sugar substance before heading to the vet.
Causes for Hypoglycemia include: Stress (good or bad), too much exercise or going too long in between meals. A puppy being taken away from it's mom & litter mates can be very stressing on the pup. It is important that you make your puppies first few days with you as calm as possible. It's not a good time to throw a party, move or take your puppy shopping. Remember puppies tire easily and too much simulation can cause Hypoglycemia. Puppies need to eat often, make sure you monitor how much your puppy is eating. The puppy should not be skipping meals. Do not assume your puppy is eating just because you have food down for him or her. If your puppy seems uninterested in their food it may be suffering the beginning stages of low blood sugar. Give it a small amount of a sugar substance, this may gets it's appetite going.....follow up with a high protein meal. Puppies usually grow out of this condition by 4 months, although each puppy is different. Make sure to have corn syrup & chicken baby food on hand.
Molera:The Molera is a small soft spot located on the top of the Chihuahuas head much like a soft spot on a human baby. It is considered a breed trait and is not a health problem. It is mentioned in the written breed standard set fort by The Chihuahua Club Of America. It indicates that the head may be with or with out a Molera. Uniformed vets have diagnosed this breed trait as Hydrocephalus!
This is absurd!! Please make sure you go to a vet that is familiar w/ the Chihuahua. Research has shown that Chihuahuas with Moleras are not predisposed to Hydrocephalus.
Hydrocephalus:Hydrocephalus is the medical term for water on the brain. This is a life threatening condition and puppies who have this condition usually will not live long. Symptoms include: Sudden blindness, seizures, walking in circles, eastie westie eyes and an altered gait.
Retained Puppy Teeth: Retained puppy teeth are very common in the Chihuahua. They can cause Malocclusion (bad bite) since they prevent adult teeth from growing in properly. Retained puppy teeth can also be very uncomfortable. I recommend you have your vet remove any remaining puppy teeth when you have your pet spayed or neutered (on or before 6 months). If you plan on showing your Chihuahua I recommend you have the retained puppy teeth removed before 6 months old.
Make sure to give your puppy plenty of chew toys this will aid in the natural removal of their puppy teeth.
Reverse Sneeze: The Reverse Sneeze is not a sneeze at all. It is expressed by bouts of honking, snorting & Wheezing. It is usually due to a elongated soft palate that is thought to come temporarily misaligned. This is common condition and is not to be confused with "Collapsed Trachea". Episodes can be brought on by excitement, drinking too fast or pulling on the lead. The reverse sneeze may seem scary, but it is only a temporary annoyance and last only a couple of minutes.Try rubbing the dogs throat to encourage him to swallow or make a loud noise, this may end the episode.
Luxating Patella's
Patellar luxation is a dislocation of the knee cap, it can affect one (unilateral) or both (Bilateral) knees.
Clinical signs differ depending on the severity of the disease. In mild forms of luxation, dogs may sometimes pick up the affected leg when they run. As the disease progresses, animals may display increased lameness.
Some dogs may tolerate this disease all of their lives, with minimal consequences. However, this weakness of the knee joint can predispose the knee and hip joint to other injuries such as degenerative arthritis and torn ligaments.
A veterinarian grades the luxation by it's severity.......grades 1 to 3.
Grade 1: The patella can be manually luxated, but easily come back into position.
Grade 2: Patella luxates when knee join is flexed, but may be manually put back into position.
Grade 3: Patella is permanently luxated and can not be put into position.
In severe cases surgery is the best option.
Patellar luxation is very common in toy dog breeds and can happen even when both sire and dam have normal Patella's. Having sire & dam checked before breeding does not guarantee the off spring will not develop Patella problems, but it does decrease the chances. Here are a few breeds that Patella luxation is common to: Poodles, Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, Pekingese, Yorkshire Terriers and Miniature Pinschers.
