....about my Chihuahua.
I've posted about him before. He belonged to an old lady who ended up going into a nursing home, and we took the dog in. He was ten years old when we got him, overweight and with bad teeth. As far as Chis go, he is a VERY nice dog. Even the vet remarks that he's really sweet "for a Chihuahua."
We've had him for a little over three years. He is super high maintenance. All he will eat is chicken (thanks, old lady). And it has to be dark meat chicken. He's not like a normal dog that will eat "when he gets hungry enough." He will starve himself for days if he doesn't like his food, and then makes himself sick. So, okay, we've gotten used to his pickiness and we cook him chicken.
My biggest issue is night time. We started out trying to crate train him, which was a huge failure. He panics in the crate, barks incessantly, throws himself against the bars and destroys his face. So then we tried just corraling him in an uncarpeted room at night (he is not entirely housebroken....it's common to the breed), and he still barks and throws himself against the gate. So, I finally caved and brought him to bed with me. That was great for about six months.
Now, as he's getting older, he seems to be slipping in cognitive function. He will wake me up several times a night under the pretense of having to go outside. I think he's just addled, because he holds it just fine when I leave the house and coop him up. So, after nearly a year of broken sleep, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and started cooping him up in the kitchen (where we coop him up when we're not home) at night.
It's been a little over a week and I'm so frustrated. He barks all night, panting crazily like he's hyperventilating. He jumps up and down near the gate, like he's trying to get over it, and I'm worried he's going to hurt himself. I finally got so frustrated about an hour ago that I dug his crate out of storage and put him in it. He's been barking non-stop. Even with my ear plugs in, he wakes me up.
It's really hard to keep loving him, sometimes. And the thought that Chihuahuas are the longest-lived breed of dog is somewhat discouraging. I don't know if I can handle this for several more years.
I've posted about him before. He belonged to an old lady who ended up going into a nursing home, and we took the dog in. He was ten years old when we got him, overweight and with bad teeth. As far as Chis go, he is a VERY nice dog. Even the vet remarks that he's really sweet "for a Chihuahua."
We've had him for a little over three years. He is super high maintenance. All he will eat is chicken (thanks, old lady). And it has to be dark meat chicken. He's not like a normal dog that will eat "when he gets hungry enough." He will starve himself for days if he doesn't like his food, and then makes himself sick. So, okay, we've gotten used to his pickiness and we cook him chicken.
My biggest issue is night time. We started out trying to crate train him, which was a huge failure. He panics in the crate, barks incessantly, throws himself against the bars and destroys his face. So then we tried just corraling him in an uncarpeted room at night (he is not entirely housebroken....it's common to the breed), and he still barks and throws himself against the gate. So, I finally caved and brought him to bed with me. That was great for about six months.
Now, as he's getting older, he seems to be slipping in cognitive function. He will wake me up several times a night under the pretense of having to go outside. I think he's just addled, because he holds it just fine when I leave the house and coop him up. So, after nearly a year of broken sleep, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and started cooping him up in the kitchen (where we coop him up when we're not home) at night.
It's been a little over a week and I'm so frustrated. He barks all night, panting crazily like he's hyperventilating. He jumps up and down near the gate, like he's trying to get over it, and I'm worried he's going to hurt himself. I finally got so frustrated about an hour ago that I dug his crate out of storage and put him in it. He's been barking non-stop. Even with my ear plugs in, he wakes me up.
It's really hard to keep loving him, sometimes. And the thought that Chihuahuas are the longest-lived breed of dog is somewhat discouraging. I don't know if I can handle this for several more years.
