Chihuahua Information Center

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Breeding a Chihuahua

Should You Breed Your Chihuahua

Breeding a Chihuahua is different than breeding other dogs.  In fact, it is a difficult challenge and makes one wonder how we have Chihuahuas at all, considering the elements involved in breeding these dogs. 

Chihauhua breeding informaiton is not given to discourage anyone from breeding; but rather to make sure a person understands all of the very real dangers and elements involved.


One must be aware of the process and sometimes unfortunate outcome of breeding a Chihuahua and then decide if they wish to do so.


Chihuahua Breeding

Because the Chihuahua is the smallest dog breed in the world, breeding a Chihuahua difers than breeding other, larger dogs.  The breeding of a Chihuahua is even very different than breeding other toy dogs such as the Pomeranian or Toy Poodle.

If you are thinking of breeding your Chihuahua to produce top quality pups, think this over again.  It takes only a very few male stud dogs to breed, but a large number of female dogs.  In most cases, only the top winning Champion male dogs are considered the high level of quality to qualify as a registered stud.  If your female dog is not registered, an honest breeder would not allow a breed to take place.  Therefore, make sure to obtain papers.

If You Do Not Have Your Chihuahua Papers



You can obtain papers for your Chihuahua even if you lost them or if you never had them.  You can go back to the breeder and ask for the papers of your Chihuahua's mother and father.  If you can not go back to the original breeder, there is still hope:  You can contact the CKC, the Continental Kennel Club and ask for a dog application.  They will ask that witnesses can confirm the dog to be a Chihuahua and will ask for photographs of your Chihuahua.  If contacting this dog club  is not an option because of location; certainly contact your local  dog clubs who may very well have similar policies.




Reducing Breeding Risk

Because the Chihuahua is so small, when a female is going to be matched up with a male, the male should be under 4 pounds (1.81 kg).  Also, the male's parents should be between 4 and 5 pounds (1.81 kg to 2.26 kg ) .  Doing this, will give the female Chihuahua a better chance of being able to have her puppies naturally.  When these guidelines are not followed, there is a huge chance that the female will need to have a cesarean section.
See Chihuahua pregnancy

If you are the owner of a female Chihuahua, think very carefully if you wish to place your dog at risk.  The majority of Chihuahua mothers will end up having a cesarean section;this can be very dangerous to such a small dog.  The statistics of results of dog cesarean births are that only 67% of the pups will be born alive.

Your Chihuahua in Heat

Duration:  21 days on average for heat
Frequency: every 6 months, this can vary
Signs: 

  • A leak of clear fluid for a couple of days
  • A change to a cream colored fluid
  • A change to blood
  • Enlarged vulva, on a Chihuahua the vulva will be extremely enlarged

When the bleeding stops, your Chihuahua may still be in heat for a few days.  If you carefully touch the base of her tail and she moves her tail to the side, she is still in heat.

Keeping Other Dogs Away

It is best to have your Chihuahua spayed if you are not going to be breeding her.  This is the best possible thing you can do for you and it will be best for you also!  While your Chihuahua is in heat, males dogs will be able to smell this from incredible long distances away.  You will not even realize it, but the smell will transfer onto you and any other family members.  Small children can then attract large dogs to them and this can be dangerous.