The Chihuahua is the tiniest dog known to man today and also the oldest. History points to the fact that the Aztecs bred this dog exclusively for royalty, though the ancient breed was slightly larger than the present one. This dog is a cute diminutive dog categorized as a Toy breed and weighs six pounds or less. It has an exquisite looking face with a sharp muzzle and slightly bulging intelligent eyes crowned by two extra large and pointed ears. Its coat is either short or longhaired.
Grooming your Chihuahua is not a big deal mainly because it is so small. Besides, these dogs are basically indoor animals so there is very little chance for them to get messy. The short hair is easy to manage with a simple brushing every alternate day or so, while the long hair needs a bath once every two to three months.
Besides washing its coat, grooming your Chihuahua would involve de-matting its fur, clipping nails, checking ears and paws, wiping and inspecting eyes for infection and checking for injuries. You would do best to allot a day every week for grooming your Chihuahua and on each of those days you could concentrate on one particular aspect of grooming besides combing the fur.
You would also need to have a special grooming box – something like a first aid box – with the following implements: rubber slicker, a quiet blow drier, a soft bristle brush, nail clippers, cotton balls, saline solution, grooming glove, medium toothed comb, dog shampoo and soap, betadine ointment and scrub and a pair of scissors.
You will find all these items available at pet shops or a vet clinic. Ensure that you know how to use all of these implements before you try them out on the dog. Leave nail clipping to the vet if you are not comfortable with it.
Sometimes it will be difficult to clip the nails of the dog even with the utmost patience and precautions when grooming your Chihuahua. But do not fret, because there are two ways to reduce the length of a dog’s nails. One is to exercise and the other is by having a professional do the job for you.
There are a few tricks that can help you with grooming your Chihuahua. Ensure that it has eaten recently or just before it wants to settle down for a nap. Have a few treats ready and reward it amply after the clipping session. With time it will associate the clipping session with the snacking and will allow you to clip the nails without any trouble.
If you have a cemented courtyard, you could make your Chihuahua run about ten to fifteen minutes everyday with the help of a ball or a Frisbee. The running should apply enough friction on the nails to file them and you will have lovely short nails without any clipping headaches.