Newborn Chihuahuas
Baby chihuahuas are born with their eyes and ears closed. Puppies can touch and taste at birth, but that’s about it. During this period, they are going to be most influenced by their mother (or mother surrogate) and littermates, and will start learning some simple social skills, coordination, and the ranking process. Mostly, they’ll just eat — newborns need to have milk from mom or a commercial milk replacer about every two hours. We begine ENS, Early Nuerological Stimulation, at just 3 days old. Chihuahuas and some other small breeds tend to be about a week behind, developmentally, compared to larger breeds.
Eyes Are Open
A baby chihuahua will open their eyes and their ears will open, this happens sometime around 2 weeks of age. Most of their day is still spent eating and sleeping. They will begin to leave the bed to potty. A dog, even a very young puppy, wants a clean bed. We keep a pee pad just outside of their bed and they will begin to toddle out and take care of business. This is also the age we move mom and her pups out of the dog room and into our living room, so we can add another level to their socialization and early training.
Transitional Period
This stage normally begins for baby chihuahuas around three weeks of age and lasts until they around about 4 weeks old. This is the age when we might hear a first bark and you can feel tiny teeth begin to emerge. We begin to introduce toys and tactile experiences for them, using the Puppy Culture method. There are multiple snuggle sessions every single day for each puppy. A family of five means there is always someone who wants to hold a puppy. This is the age when I introduce them to belly rubs. They do not like laying on their back but once they realize that a belly rub is the payoff, they quickly begin rolling on their back and pawing at the air. They will not hesiste to beg for a belly rub, and I’m not one to resist!
The litter will begin to play with each other, you can often overhear the cutest tiny growls and watch them paw at each other. They are very clumsy and unbalanced at this age and will often fall over during these slow-motion interactions. Seriously some cute stuff. This is genereally the age at which a dominate puppy will emerge, this is common in every dog pack, despite their age. They will become better at walking, tails begin to wag, and their sense of smell and hearing develops.
Socialization Time
Between 5 and 7 weeks we focus on socialization. Why is that so important? You know all those chihuahuas that make people hate the breed? The ankle biters, the shaking nervous ones, the over protective ones? Those are the reason we spend so much time introducing the puppies to the world around them. Nothing beats a great start in life. We introduce a crinkly tunnel, a tiny ladder and slide, a wobble board, a step stool with a hiding spot underneath, a teepee, mini ball pit and a hammock. We carry the chihuahua baby everywhere we go. This is also the time when mom is weaning the puppies.
Most chihuahua puppies take the weaning just fine. A few, more sensitive puppies, will take this strenuous time to heart. This is why I will get up in the middle of the night to check on all the puppies if I hear any crying. I do keep them so busy during the day that they are normally too exhausted to cry at night. Playing classical music keeps them calm during the day.
