Have you heard the saying; “Chihuahuas’ are like potato chips, you can never have just one”? How very true that is! In my blogging journey and as someone who works in a very busy veterinary hospital, I know that there are many more people that have multiple Chihuahuas than there are that have just one.
Here’s a fun fact: Chihuahuas are the only dog breed that actually prefer the company of their own breed than they do other breeds.
So, have you thought about bringing home a new Chihuahua to your pack of Chihuahuas? Or are you thinking of bringing home a new Chihuahua to your multi-breed household? Either way, this article on how to bring home a new dog to your pack of Chihuahuas will help you to prepare for a new member of your family, errr, pack.
My Latest Experience
I am a very experienced Chihuahua owner, but it had been about five years since I brought home our Remedy Jane into our pack of two Chihuahuas, so I was a little rusty and a little apprehensive about bringing home our newest addition to the pack.
If you haven’t yet heard, we lost our precious Chico on July 17, 2020. He was 17 years old and had been by my side since he was 8 or 9 weeks old. Although, of course, I could never ever replace Chico — there is only one Chico — I still had room in my heart and enough love to give that I knew that I would get another Chihuahua, I just didn’t think it would be this soon.
Sometimes Life Happens!
However, life has a way of making some strange twists and turns. As a result, we adopted little Corazón (Cora) on October 18, 2020. Be sure to go to our “About” page to read all about her. So, bringing her into our pack made me realize that sometimes it can be a fairly simple thing, and sometimes it can be quite a challenge!
For instance, bringing Cora home was so much easier and smoother than when I brought our Miss Remedy Jane home. Remedy was a puppy, only 8 weeks old when she came home and Chico and Pebbles were 12 and 9 years old at the time. Poor Remedy just wanted to play! She was a rambunctious little puppy among older dogs who did not want to play with a rambunctious puppy!
Cora on the other hand is 6 and Pebbles is 14 and Remedy is 5 years old. Remedy and Cora are about the same age, so my number one advice is, don’t bring a puppy into a pack of older Chihuahuas! Although Pebbles is 14 and in ill health, doesn’t want to play, Cora and Remedy do play together!
How To Safely Bring a New Chihuahua Into a Multi-Pack Household
Whether you bring home a puppy or an adult Chihuahua to a household of Chihuahuas or a household of other breed dogs, preparation and patience is the key!
Preparation
First, gather the things that your new Chihuahua will need. Don’t make the dogs you have share their toys, bed, etc. with the new Chihuahua.
Have Needed Supplies On Hand
You will need some supplies for your new addition and it is best to have them already on hand before he or she arrives.
You will need a bed, collar, leash, halter, food bowl, water bowl, and of course, toys. Don’t forget to get an I.D. tag as soon as possible. You can feed your new Chi what you already feed your dogs, but be sure to switch them from the food they have been eating gradually, so as not to upset their tummy.
House Rules
Establish house rules. Dogs are sometimes just like children and need to know the rules and what is and is not allowed it is the same when you bring home a new dog. Before the new one arrives, know ahead of time who will feed him, who will walk him, where will he sleep at night, whether he is allowed on the furniture or not, and whether there are rooms that will be off-limits for the new arrival.
When You Arrive
Plan For Their Arrival. If you work outside the home, try to bring your new one home on a weekend or when you can take some vacation time off work. You will need to spend time with him and bond with him. Be sure you have plenty of time to just cuddle with him and play with him.
However, do not ignore the dogs that you have! Be sure to also spend plenty of time one on one with each of them during this time. You don’t want jealousy to rear its ugly head!
Housetraining Needed?
Plan for housetraining. Assume your new dog is not housetrained. Even if you rescue an adult dog it does not guarantee that he or she is housetrained. Even if they are housetrained, they may need some re-training in a new environment.
That was true in my case with both Cora and Remedy. Remedy was only 8 weeks old, so of course, she was not yet housetrained. Cora on the other hand was housetrained, however there were some complications.
At our house, our dogs have to go down 6 stairs to the dog door. When they get out the dog door there are 2 more stairs they have to go down to get to the backyard where they do their business. Cora had never learned to navigate stairs and had never used a dog door. So training was involved.
If you need some help housetraining, subscribe to my “Weekly Tips” and get my free e-book; How To Housetrain A Chihuahua.
Health ✔️
Be sure all are healthy. If you got your Chihuahua from a shelter, keep in mind that rescue organizations and animal shelters take in all kinds of animals with a wide range of backgrounds. Before you bring your new one home make sure that your dogs at home are up to date on all their vaccines.
Shelters and rescue organizations usually have veterinarians on staff or at least take them to a veterinarian to make sure they are healthy before they adopt them out. But don’t just assume that your new one has a clean bill of health. Make sure they provide copies of all veterinary care while they were in their facility.
If you get a puppy from a breeder make sure that they provide you with copies of all the vaccines that have been done.
More tips on all the procedure of introducing a new Chihuahua into your pack peacefully and safely are coming soon!
Next up: Why You Should Never Walk A Chihuahua Without a Harness.