Grooming Your Chihuahua 101

Regular grooming of your Chihuahua puppy not only keeps him attractive and free of matting and tangles (if he's of the long-haired variety), but it also keeps him healthy by allowing you to spot any problems before they become serious, such as ticks, lumps, infections, cuts, skin irritations from fleas, etc. So grooming isn't something that only show dog owners do - it's preventative health care for your Chihuahua too. Grooming involves brushing your Chihuahua's coat, bathing, checking his ears and eyes, inspecting his skin, and trimming his nails.

Brushing

If you owned a short coated Chihuahua you get off easy! Shorthaired Chihuahuas require only occasional brushing using a grooming glove or slicker brush or soft bristle brush. You may tend to neglect brushing if you if your Chi only has a short coat, but i recommend you stick to a weekly schedule because you'll be able to check him for fleas and ticks and you'll get some quality bonding time too.

Longhaired Chihuahuas, require a once or twice weekly brushing with soft bristle brush and then a medium steel comb to keep the hair matt and tangle free.

If you have a longhaired Chihuahua you should always brush him before you bath him, and then again after his bath. If you don't brush before the bath the tangles are a lot harder to get out.

Skin

As you're brushing your Chihuahua examine his skin to see that it is not red, dry or infected. Look out for fleas and ticks, run your hands through his coat to feel for any of these nasty parasites. If you find a flea or a tick the best way to remove it is with a tick or flea remover (available at pet stores or your Vet) or with a pair of good tweezers. Don't worry if you only get the body and the head stays in the skin. Your Chihuahuas white blood cells will destroy the head which is left in the skin. Simply keep an eye on the area for a few days to check that it hasn't gotten infected.

Bathing

You should bath your Chihuahua whenever he needs it - depending on how dirty and smelly he gets. Bathing once a month will be sufficient if he doesn't get to dirty. If he frequently gets dirty then you may need to bath him once a week, or once every two weeks.

Here are some tips for bathing your Chihuahua:

Ears and Eyes

Check your Chihuahua's ears and eyes. His ears should not be foul smelling (it pays to smell his ears when they are clean so you know what clean ears smell like) and there should be no wax build up. Use a reputable ear cleaning solution from the pet shop or your Veterinarian to clean his ears. Dampen a cotton ball with the solution and wipe inside his ear flap and the outside of his ear canal. You want the ear canal to be clean and dry so don't use to much solution on the cotton ball. Also, don't clean to deep into the ear canal. Now, take a look at his eyes and clean away any discharge. If any part of the ears or eyes look infected see your Vet.

Nail Trimming

Your Chihuahua's nails keep growing just like our toenails and need regular clipping. If you let them grow to long it will be uncomfortable for your Chihuahua, and you! You can get nail clippers in the guillotine and scissor varieties. I prefer the guillotine style nail clippers, myself. Your Chihuahua puppies nails have a blood vessel running through them. The problem here is if you nick this vein it will bleed, and your Chihuahua will probably cry. The trick is to trim the nails beyond this vein. However, everyone nicks the vein from time to time so be sure to have some Kwik Stop powder on hand to stop the bleeding if you do nick the vein. If your Chihuahuas nails are clear you can easily see where the vein is so as to avoid it. If your Chihuahuas nails are darker, however, you will need to shine a light behind the nail. When you're ready to start clipping, clip back the nail little by little. If you do hit the vein, simple apply some of the Kwik Stop powder.