At What Age is a Chihuahua Full Grown? Puppies Growth Stages
Do you own a Chihuahua, or perhaps you want to get one? Many owners of this dog breed often wonder when their dog would stop growing. Carefully read this article as we provide insight on this and other related issues.
There is no precise day which you will notice that your puppy has developed into a young lady. The puppy will mature in many forms during her first year, from her behavior to her teeth, bone structure, weight, and height.
Below is a list of the growth stages your Chihuahuas will pass through. We also added ways by which you can help to ease her adulthood process.
Small Dogs Soon Stops Growing
Small dogs grow up faster, and they live longer. Chihuahuas reach sexual maturity in no time (often 6 – 9 months). If your Chihuahuas is an unsprayed female, her maturity will be noticeable when she goes into heat.
By the time your Chihuahuas is 8 – 10 months, she will cease to grow taller, but she might keep filling out till she is two years. Filling out does not imply that she must gain excess weight.
One may notice that her body frame is becoming stockier and wide and her legs are no lanky and long. Her ears may also become more balanced, and her neck will not look so thin.
When Do Chihuahuas Lose All Their Baby Teeth?
You will find your pup’s teeth everywhere around the house by the time they are four months old, the teeth can easily fall out when your dog is eating, enjoying a treat, or chewing on a toy.
Some dogs drop their teeth outside the house, while some even swallow them. Thus you might not see any teeth at all.
Ensure that you regularly check your pup’s gums for telltale gaps. You should also get your dog familiar with giving you access to check their teeth and mouth.
By six months, you should replace the baby teeth which have fallen off with adult teeth. Chihuahuas tend to retain their baby teeth, so their adult teeth may start growing before they lose their baby teeth.
Some baby teeth do not fall out by themselves, so they sometimes require surgery to be removed. Any baby teeth that do not fall out and is not removed will add to the adult teeth and overcrowd the puppy’s mouth. This results in excess tartar buildup. You must check your puppy’s mouth for tartar daily and brush them away.
When to Stop Puppy Food
Most puppy foods sold in the market have more calories and protein than adult dog food. You can also feed your puppies ‘all life stages’ food. They can also eat the same raw food given to an adult dog. The difference is that the amount of adult dog food you will feed your puppy will be higher.
No matter what dog food you feed to your puppies, you have to feed them in large quantities because they need the additional nutrition to boost their growth.
Your puppy will no longer need the additional calories by the time they reach maturity. You will then have to change to an adult formula. Also, you may be required to cut back on portions and meals.
You must ensure that the diet change is gradual so that your puppy can gradually adjust to eating fewer calories. It is recommended to begin at 7 – 8 months.
Perhaps you were previously feeding your puppies three meals per day, then you should change it to two. You can offer them a snack or a small meal for lunch. It might be veggies or fresh fruits.
Your Chihuahua will be fully ready to change to 2 adult-sized meals per day once they are 12 months old.
Training into Adulthood
For your puppy, their socialization should start right from when they are small so that they will keep learning before they are grown. Various experts have posited different opinions regarding the critical fear period faced by a puppy.
Your Chihuahua will be extra liable to becoming fearful of other animals, situations, and new people in this period. Experts have revealed that the concrete fear periods differ from one puppy to the other.
The vital thing to note here is that the experiences your puppies face will impact their behavior. So be careful not to introduce your puppies to traumatic experiences.
Keep meetings predictable and brief. Do not take your dog to a busy dog park, rather introduce her to a friendly and gentle dog you already know. Take your puppy to your friend’s house to meet one or two quiet kids at once instead of taking her to the huge parade in your city.
Best Time to Celebrate Your Puppy’s Maturity
You can decide to celebrate a Sweet Sixteen, a Quinceanera, a bat/bar mitzvah, or the first birthday of your Chihuahua depending on your dog’s religion or ethnicity.
If you choose to throw your dog a bat/bar mitzvah, then it should be at 13 months because 13 years is a long wait. The same applies to your dog’s Quince, which you can celebrate at 15 months, and Sweet Sixteen when she is 16 months old.
It is best to throw your dog a Quincenera because they originated in Mexico, although your dog does not mind. All they care about is getting a tasty treat like tacos.
Do Adult Dogs Still Keep Bad Habits?
When your dog reaches 12 months, she is already well trained not to chew forbidden items and to use her potty. However, some Chihuahuas take longer to get accustomed to using the potty. Some could also still get into trouble and be a bit cold.
The pace at which a puppy learns is peculiar to the puppy itself. But when you notice bad habits after training your dog, you may need to seek extra training help.
You may have to review your training approach and see what is not working, then you can work with an expert trainer to train you to communicate better with your dog.
Avoid working with any trainer who suggests using fear, pain, or force to train your puppy or amateur trainers.
You can solve every behavioral issue with basic animal behavior science. Punishment works, but it carries a high fallout risk.
You and your dog will communicate better with each other as time goes by. You will understand her needs. It is a special privileged to raise a Chihuahua. There will be good and bad moments, but you will gradually grow into it.
