Our Chihuahuas!

Our Chihuahuas....

Teddy -- six weeks (1-7-97) Teddy -- three months

Proud New Papa, Teddy -- 1 year 10 months (9-11-98)

Precious -- one year old (Precious was given away to a loving new mom)

November 5, 1998: Precious went into labor right on schedule around 2:30 a.m. on September 9 and had SIX (6) babies! Back in July (around the 10th), we thought she had gotten pregnant, but when August 10 came and went and Precious didn't look any different, I gave her up as "hopeless". Then it seemed like she expanded overnight and we knew for sure that she was pregnant. She grew to an enormous size and couldn't jump up any longer (up the steps from the den to the kitchen or onto the couch or bed). I never expected her to have so many babies, though. WOW!!!!!! Three boys came first and then three girls. The first boy is tagged "Lucky" and is a very tiny Teddy twin, except that he has a white tip on his tail whereas Teddy doesn't. Precious refused to have anything to do with the pups as they were born, so Lucky nearly died. He was in the sac too long and wasn't breathing very well and just limp. I manually suctioned his tiny nose and he started breathing, but he stayed "lifeless" for over an hour. I was hysterical over this pup, so I was extremely elated when he started moving around and whining :-) He's much smaller than Teddy, has a short body, short legs, and tiny face -- what a cutie pie. Daryth's boyfriend wanted him but his parents said "no"; so we are keeping him!!!!! Precious had the next two boys without the sac attached. "Hercules" was second and is tagged such because the minute he was born, he was scrambling around the basket and whining. You should see him now...I doubt if he weighs over a pound. So tiny and so cute! He is all dark blonde with bug eyes, big pointed ears, and a very tiny nose -- he is a classic "teacup" :-) I'm keeping him, as well!!!! He was up for grabs, but I fell too hard for him and ain't letting him go :-) The third boy wasn't about to be outdone; and he ended up being the tiniest pup. I don't know how he managed to survive birth. He stayed stuck for two hours, hanging by an inch of umbilical cord -- until Precious FINALLY delivered the whole afterbirth and we were able to cut him free. At five days of age, he weighed only 4 and one half ounces!!!! We tagged him "Tiny" but his new family calls him "Rebel"; and from what I understand, he owns them and the house :-) The first girl was born in the sac and she, too, had respiratory problems. We managed to get the sac off faster, so she wasn't as bad off as Lucky was. She perked up real fast :-) We had only planned to keep a girl, and since she was first and looked so unique, the minute I saw her, I knew she was my "Chi-Chi" (aka "Chiquita" or "Cheech"). Chi-Chi isn't really a chihuahua puppy, despite the fact her mother and father are -- she's a horse! LOL At five days old, she weighed eight and one half ounces -- twice the size of Lucky, Tiny, and Hercules. What a doll she is, though! She looks quite similar to what Teddy looked like except she's lighter, has a smaller nose, has a white tip on her tail, and the white line on her face breaks and then she has a tiny white spot on her head. The white on her is almost un-noticeable cause she's so blonde :-) She hops around like a galloping horse. She and her sister (the next girl born) are the biggest pups and rule the roost, but the little ones are fiesty as hell and won't allow their big sisters to hurt them or control them :-) We tagged the next girl "Precious" after her mom cause she has the tiny white tip on her tail (almost un-noticeable). Her birth was uneventful except that she was glued to mama dog for a time thanks to the afterbirth not delivering. She is one heavy pup -- same size as Chi-Chi but much heavier. She's the same color as Herc but doesn't come close to looking like a chihuahua pup. Her skin wrinkles over her eyes and she has a big nose :-) The third girl and final pup was born on top of her big sister; but she suffered no ill effects. Their cords were tangled together :-( This pup is tagged "Princess" and she is a twin to her mother except for the white tip on the tail. She's the smallest girl and is about the same size as Lucky. From behind, we get her and Herc confused at times, though she is a bit bigger than he is. They are all so darn cute and loving, though. These two girls are spoken for; and we are just waiting on their new families to pick them up.

The pups have kept me the busiest. Precious was NOT a good mama. She wanted nothing to do with these things that had caused her so much pain *grin* Here were these six very tiny and adorable babies and the mama had no milk and refused to cuddle them. We ended up taking her and the babies to the doc the afternoon of their birth. Mama was in some distress, but he gave her a few shots -- one to make her milk come in and one to clean out her uterus. She perked up after that, but still didn't mess with the babies for a while. We had been forcing her to lay down and nurse them, and the vet told us that was the way to do it :-) We ended up staying up all night again to watch the babies and make sure they didn't get too cold -- two nights without sleep :-( Precious seemed to take a little interest the following day, but we still had trouble with her to nurse and cuddle. By the day after that, she was cuddling and nursing but she still wasn't making them "go to the bathroom" -- so I had to continue doing that manually! I even bottle fed on many occasions as well. She had tons of milk after the shot, and then NONE cause she refused to eat. Once the pups were weaned, she ate like a horse and had so much milk that she was about to pop. What a mixed up dog!!!! Now, she's over the lactating stage -- thank God! We now have the pups in a playpen with toys and their blankets and food/water; and they are so much fun! Mom and Dad are not nice to the pups, though. The babies whine for them -- Precious growls and snaps at them one minute and then wags her tail at them the next :-( Teddy runs from them LOL

What an experience this has been -- and I can't wait till the next litter :-)))

Here are some pics of my little ones!

January 4, 1999: My three babies are so much fun and so unique. Chiquita is the biggest and wildest. She is so much like her daddy was at that age. She's very rambuncious! Lucky is much smaller but heavy. He's short and thick but oh so cute. He looks exactly like his dad sans the white tip on his tail and his size. He's very timid and gets scared of their water jug (when it bubbles, he runs and will then creep up to it to take a drink) *lol* Hercules is my little man! He is definitely a "teacup" and oh so tiny. He's ferocious and not timid or scared or anything. He'll bark and attack like he's a rottweiler *lol* They are all so cute and spoiled rotten. I love my babies!!!

1-5-99: Brent (Daryth's ex-fiance') has a red laser light that the pups absolutely love! Tonight, I was literally rolling on the floor laughing at their antics! They were chasing the light and trying to eat it off the carpet. They were acting just like cats. They would slowly creep up to the light and then pounce it *lol* I can't remember the last time I laughed so much and so hard :-) Next time, I need to get that on video :-)

I'll try to get recent pics of them ASAP!

1-6-99: My heart is broken and so sad :-( Our second born female puppy, "Precious" (renamed Princess by her new family), died last night. I am feeling quite guilty for selling her because I had a highly negative feeling about her new "mom" to begin with. Then, two days after this woman took her home, she re-sold her to her son and his girlfriend despite her begging me for this pup and telling me how much she loved and wanted her. The woman assured me that the pup was safe and sound and was well taken care of. The poor little darling contracted parvovirus :-( I can't stop crying and/or can't stop picturing her in my head :-( I am highly upset with myself for not listening to my instincts!!!! All the money in the world is NOT worth what happened to that precious little angel :-(

1-7-99: We took our little family to the doctor this morning, for mom and dad to get their yearly vaccines and for the puppies to start theirs. Chi-Chi and Lucky DID NOT like having shots and cried. However, Teddy, Precious, and the tinest of all, Hercules, did not whimper at all. Poor little Herc, his neck bled quite a bit, though :-( Teddy weighed in at 7 1/2#, Precious at 7#, Chi-Chi is a whopping 4 1/2#, Lucky is 3 1/2#, and Hercules is a tiny 2.95# :-) Dad and mom did just fine. The pups seemed to drag all day and slept A LOT. Poor little Lucky cried no sooner than we got home, so off he went back to the vet. He couldn't move his neck or right "arm" without screaming :-( He had a mild reaction to the vaccination and was running a temp; but the doc said he was gonna be just fine. He sent home some "pain meds" and told us to just watch him for a rash. He is much better now and was playing and eating late this evening. Thank God! They have to go back in three weeks for a booster; and that's not going to be a picnic. However, it's for their own good. I love my chis and do not want anything to happen to them!

I just read this comment at The Chihuahua Kingdom: "After God made one chihuahua, He had to make another one to clean the first one's ears." I tell you, if I didn't know better, that was written for Hercules *grin* That baby is constantly loving on his sister and brother -- yep, you guessed it! He is always cleaning their ears :-)

It was really hilarious this morning when the vet saw all three pups! His eyes flew wide open in surprise and then he asked if all three were from the same litter *grin* When I told him we had two of each size, he couldn't believe it. I was joking when I said that my Chi-Chi is a mutant chihuahua (a giant *grin*); but he said it is possible to have large, medium, and small chis in a litter but so unusual to have SIX with a pair of each size :-) Having so many pups was due to "uncontrolled breeding" *grin* The breeder I bought Teddy from told me it was best to let them breed as much as they wanted so the chances of having a normal delivery with small babies would be greater. I guess it worked :-)

I loved my babies with all my heart! I am biased when I say I think they are the smartest, the cutest, and the most loving dogs I ever knew. My husband was very hesitant to buy me a chi and didn't believe just how sweet chis are. He made snide remarks and said they were snippy dogs and hid all the time and such. However, he bonded with Teddy once I let him go a little (I held Teddy all the time *grin*) and fell completely in love -- and he ate all those bad words he said *lol* Now, he is a total chi lover, too, and thinks they are the best breed of dog :-)

March 7, 1999: Well, Precious finally came in heat again; and it looks as though we're gonna be having more chi pups in two months! :-) I can't wait :-) Our three babies are almost six months old now and still such a joy to be around! Now that I'm a working mom again, they sure do miss me but the kids keep them company a lot :-) I'll update as soon as the new pups are born :-) See yall again soon :-)

May 8, 1999: Well, what a night this has been! I wish Precious would have told me she was in labor :-( My daughter came to my room around 2:00 a.m. and told me that Precious was having the pups. There were two born already! The firstborn was dead :-( Needless to say, I was hysterical :-( He was a twin to his daddy (my Teddy). What a cutie pie and so perfect. Apparently, Precious didn't remove the sac in enough time :-( The second pup is a girl -- a real cutie who is more than likely going to be the one I keep. The name I have chosen for her is Tequilla (Teeki for short). She's real blonde (almost white) and I can detect some white features to her -- it really looks like she has a white streak down her back :-) She's soooo cute! The next births belonged to me :-) I removed the sacs, cut the cords, and massaged the babies to remove the fluid. The third born was another boy -- a real cutie, then another girl, and last was the smallest pup, another boy. I may just have to keep this one, too...he is adorable. I will take pictures and get them up soon. Bear with me! I just bought a new computer and haven't installed my scanner yet :-) I will today -- if I can stay awake long enough *lol*

Precious had a much better time this time, despite not taking care of the first baby :-( She didn't cry at all with these pups and was very attentive upon my arrival. They are with her now and nursing up a storm :-)

My other babies will be eight months old tomorrow -- how time flies. Now that we have the new puppies, these babies definitely aren't "babies" any longer. All three of them were having fits while Precious was delivering. Once I let them run loose, they were very curious about the new pups, and all three of them whined and cried for them :-) They have no idea what those little creatures are and/or why they "cry", but they sure are curious.

As far as Teddy, *lol* Same old story -- he is scared to death of these "things" and runs *lol* However, he finally did come around to the first litter of children, so I have no douts he will welcome the new pups, too -- eventually :-)

I honestly don't know if I ever want to go through this again with losing the one pup :-( My heart just can't take it :-(

Anyway, I will update again when I can and will post pics of the new babies as soon as I get some. Bye for now :-)

5-20-99: You can see new pictures here !

6-30-99: More can be found here !

9-11-99: More can be found here ! Updated 12-12-99.

12-12-99: Well, we now have new additions to our family. Despite my efforts at not having more pups, my Chiquita baby got pregnant two months ago. She went into labor early yesterday evening, and I stayed by her side till 6:30 this morning. Bless her heart, she cried with each labor pain, and when she would push, I would push with her. The first baby crowned around 3 but wasn't born till 4. He was the biggest. Before I could turn around from taking a picture of him, she had already delivered another...a smaller boy. Both boys are identical in looks -- blonde with white markings. They look exactly like their mama and daddy. Chi delivered a third pup around 5:30 a.m., but she was stillborn :-( I took a picture of her, as I couldn't believe just how tiny she was. I doubt that she weighed two ounces! MOF, when she was delivered, I thought she wasn't fully developed, as the "ball" was just sooooo small, but when Chi removed the sac, all parts were there. She was perfect but oh so tiny. I don't know why she didn't make it, except maybe she swallowed too much amniotic fluid. Poor baby, she took one tiny gasp, but despite my picking her up and massaging her, she didn't breathe again :-( I cannot believe just how tiny this baby girl was :-( Mom and boys are doing fine, and what a great mom she is! Unlike her mother, Chiquita was right on target with what to do and what not to do, and she's a very doting mama. She cuddles her boys and is always loving on them. I will put up pics as soon as I get them developed.

12-18-99: New pics can be seen here !

March 25, 2000: This past week has been exhilerating, to say the least. First of all, I don't have as many chis as I used to. I gave Precious away a LONG time ago...she's fat, sassy, and spoiled rotten with her new home. More recently, Tori and Paco moved out, as well...and are living with a family of eight other chis.

Last week, Tequilla, also moved out. The day she moved, Rico was sickly (vomiting and diarrhea -- no blood), so I took him to the doctor -- he had a GI virus. Our vet gave him shots for nausea and an antibiotic, as well as some iv fluids, and by the next morning, he was 100% better. He went back to the doctor, though, for a second set of shots and more iv fluids. The minute we got home, he was eating and drinking again. Now, he is fiestier than ever and just beautiful :-)

Sadly, however, at Tequilla's new home, she got sick. Her new mama took her to the doctor, who said she had parvo :-( I could not believe this was happening AGAIN. She was hospitalized and doing really well, according to the vet. However, despite him saying the first two days would tell the tale (if she survived those two days, she would be okay), she died on the 23rd at 3:30 p.m. I could not believe this. After the recent happenings here, I believe the vet she went to misdiagonsed her and just did not treat her correctly (I wish she had gone to the vet group I use!!!!).

The night of the day she died, Hercules was sick. He was running a fever and refused to eat. Needless to say, I freaked out. He was active, though, and seemed really okay, other than that. Yesterday morning, the first thing he did was eat like a pig *grin* I was sooooo relieved. Yesterday afternoon, however, I witnessed him having a diarrheal episode, and when I checked it, it was maroon. I packed up Teddy, Chiquita, and Hercules, and off we went to our vet office.

It ends up that Chi was also sick, but she had no signs of being sick at all -- eating, drinking, playing, etc. She did have a fever, though, at the office. Herc had been eating and drinking, as well as playing, all day.

Anyway, Teddy checked out 100% fine and weighs 7.6. He received his yearly vaccines and DID NOT like that at all. On the second shot, he growled and turned towards Dr. N's hand *grin*

Other than a GI virus of some sort, both Chi and Herc were fine. Chi weighed in at 5 pounds 6 ounces, and Herc is 3 3/4 pounds. Dr. N prescribed an antibiotic in pill form and some other kind of liquid medicine, plus I am supposed to give them three syringes full of Kaopectate. I have to literally fight both of them to get these meds in them. I ended up calling the office back, but they said to just keep trying. On the secodnd try for the Kaopectate, I managed to get half of the syringe into Herc and not a drop into Chiquita.

This morning, it was a HUGE fight to get the pill and other oral med into them. My son and I are scratched beyond scratched from Chiquita. She's extremely STRONG and refuses to allow us to give her medicine -- I'm scared to hurt her by holding her down. They both managed to get the pill and oral med but not the Kaopectate. I even bought peppermint flavored Kaopectate so it would taste better, but..........

Anyway, both are still eating and drinking just fine, active, etc. Neither one has vomited, and only Herc had the diarrhea once.

Dr. N said that it's just a virus and was definitely not parvo. (They were vaccinated, but....they can still get it, which is always a HUGE worry for me since it seems to be everywhere around here -- even though my dogs don't go outside -- Herc, Chi, and Lucky never have touched the ground, but......that doesn't mean that they can't get sick.) I have to bring them back in Monday or Tuesday for a check and their yearly vaccines, if they are no longer running fever. Rico and Lucky live in a kennel on a concrete slab, complete with cover and a big dog house, and Rico will try to get out when we feed them and such. Yesterday, he scared me to death. He ran out and I couldn't find him. I was screaming like a fool in the front yard, and all the while, Rico was on my porch looking at me through the lattice work with this expression on his beautiful face as if to say "You crazy woman, I'm right here!" I laughed so hard at him -- the look on his face was funny. I was frantic, and I guess he didn't know why I was so frantic....he knew where he was! I just got so scared he would run into the street :-(

Anyway, right now, they are all playing here in my bedroom :-)

Speaking of Lucky, he's as fine as fine can be and doing well :-)

May 17, 2000: Time seems to get away from me these days....anyway, I need to update about my little guy...Hercules. Last Tuesday night, I came home to find him all bruised up and swollen from his neck up. Poor little guy! Other than being extremely swollen and bruised, he was playing and seemed fine. I cried all night long, especially not knowing what happened to him. He had no teeth marks or scratches...except on one ear. My first thought was one of my kids has accidentally hurt him, but Herc is very aggressive and growls when he doesn't want the other dogs around him. So, I had to consider he got into one bad fight with another dog (more likely with Lucky cause Lucky is really aggressive -- I think he's jealous of Hercules, and I have witnessed him attacking Herc on several occasions!!!).

The following morning, I took him to the doctor, and I'm ever so grateful I did. We still aren't 100% sure what happened, but my guess is that my youngest child foolishly knocked the "baby gate" onto poor little Herc -- then again...... I think it would have killed him OR he had a bad fight and lost :-( Anyway, Herc was bleeding into his lungs, and the bruises seemed to have gotten worse, but he showed no signs of distress at all. He was eating, drinking, and playing. The doctor kept him for the day, which tore my heart up. He gave Herc several shots, took xrays, etc. His first thought was also a "fight", but he changed his mind. He kept questioning me about "rat poison", and my answer remained a firm NO WAY. There is no such thing in my house to begin with, so I knew this was definitely not possible. With the way Herc was bleeding, that's the only thing the doctor could think of. I honestly think the doc did not think Herc was gonna live. He called me around 4:15 at work and told me Herc was in congestive heart failure and that he found two heart murmurs. He wanted me to take him to a cardiologist -- the nearest one being in Baton Rouge. I cried all the way to the office and picked up my little guy. He came to work with me for the duration of the evening -- ate, drank, ran around, etc. He came home with two meds -- one for pain/inflammation and one for abnormal bleeding (vitamin K).

I brought him back to the doctor the next morning, and the swelling had gone down considerably, plus there was no more fluid in his lungs and/or noisy breath sounds. Herc was 100% better. I think the doc was even amazed! I know I sure was, but I had faith in my baby boy!!!!!!! He's tiny but he's strong!!!! Thank God! I still don't have any answers to what really happened to Herc, but........!!!!!! I've had my oldest daughter "babysitting" Herc since while I'm at work, and when I'm home, Herc is right by me at all times. The swelling continued to dissipate, and all the bruises disappeared. My little guy is back to normal. I took a bunch of pics of him, but I've yet to get them developed -- soon I hope. I sit in awe that my little guy survived this horrible incident!!!! He's so tiny and fragile, and this gate is so big and heavier than he is -- to think it hit him on the top of his head and nose and DID NOT break his neck is unreal!!!!! So, I tend to think more of a "dog fight" with Lucky. Thank God my boy is okay!!!!!!

Anyway, he goes for a checkup tomorrow, and we'll go from there. The one thing I don't understand is about the murmurs......Herc received a complete checkup a month prior and got his yearly vaccines. The doc (a different one) did not hear any murmurs. It's strange that he now has two murmurs a month later. I think this was a mistake, and I will find out more about that tomorrow. I will update again soon.

May 19, 2000: Herc went for a checkup yesterday, and he has actually gained six ounces :-) He's doing fine. The majority of the bruises are all gone, and there are no lung problems. Dr. B did still hear a murmur, though, but, he said as long as there are no problems, he doesn't need to see Herc again. We talked again about what might have happened to him, and Dr. B said it could have been that he was playing with the other dogs and ran into something. I firmly believe it's one of the other things I mentioned, i.e. dog attack or gate attack -- leaning more towards sibling rivalry. Anyway....he's doing 100% better now. Thank God.

May 26, 2000: These pics really don't show the full extent of Herc's bruises, but I think you can get a good idea of what the poor little fella looked like....

July 21, 2000: Well, I finally found out exactly what happened to Hercules....it was a "dog fight". The reason I know is because last weekend, he and Teddy got into a big fight, and Teddy tore Hec up -- his ears and "mouth" were bleeding and bruised up. Luckily, I was right there and was able to stop it before Herc was hurt as bad as he was last time :-( Then today, it happened again, but this time, the fight was with Rico...Rico??? The sweetest guy of all. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed that! And, the saddest thing of all is that Herc is the one who instigated these incidents :-( Now, I know. He's small and fragile, but he's mean as all get out at times *grin* I am now keeping him away from the others as much as possible. He thinks he is the ONLY dog in the house and that he rules the roost, but he can't back up his "bark", so to speak *lol* When I broke up the fight today, Herc was madder than a hornet, and that little heart of his was beating 200 to nothing, and he was shaking so badly!!! That was good enough to give him a heart attack! We have to watch him closely now...the little snot :-) Herc is soooo jealous that he growls at the kids when he's near me and they touch him. He is something else -- my little guy :-) He can't stand being away from me, and he stays stuck to me like glue. When I walk out of the room he's in, he follows me -- if I close the door, he's right there waiting on me when I get back. He is just tooo cute :-) Later on this evening, he and Lucky were snarling at each other. Lucky is much more aggressive than Herc is, and he tends to fight with every dog except Rico. Unfortunately for Rico, Lucky is "in love with him". *lol* Lucky is one strange dog, no doubt!!!! It's comical at times, but I don't think Rico appreciates being bothered *lol* Later, yall!

September 3, 2000: Did I ever mention how Teddy has seizures?! I can't remember the exact date and year of the first time he had one, but it scared us all to death. I'll never forget it, though. He had jumped up on my lap for a time, then when he jumped down, he was jerking his head to one side with eyes rolled back, and he couldn't walk. I was hysterical. This only lasted a minute or two but seemed like a lifetime. The vet, of course, told us that it was a normal happening with chis and that we just needed to make sure he got some "glucose" in him. Well, Teddy didn't have another seizure for a while after, and when he did, we just grabbed him up and gave him "sugar water". This one wasn't as bad as his first, and then he had a third one, which was the same as the second. Until tonight, it had been well over a year since he had one. Tonight was horrible...the worst one yet. I will never forget his eyes and how his whole body was completely limp. He had just had an "argument" with Rico, and I guess his adrenaline was just working too much. He immediately had this seizure, and I just knew he was dead this time. I just hugged him and petted him, and it was over. Then we gave him sugar water, and he just wanted to sleep. After a nap, he was back to his old self. We were all pretty hysterical over this incident, though :-(

The sweetest thing happened, though....Herc does not like any of the other dogs except Chiquita, and when Teddy comes near me, Herc will growl and snap at him. Not after this, though. Teddy was laying up against me, and Herc snuggled right up by him, put his tiny head on Teddy, and just cuddled him. He knew something was wrong with his daddy, and it was just so touching and loving. The odd thing about these seizures is that none of the children have had them. Teddy's age is starting to show on him....he is getting so "round", and when he pounces on you, it feels like a ton of bricks has hit you! He's so fat. I really don't understand the seizures, but I fear that one day Teddy will have one and not come back to us :-(

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