# Big Chihuahuas?



## Sandra1961 (Oct 14, 2005)

Ive seen afew photos around the internet of big chihuahuas...whereas i thought they stayed really small?

Like this (only an example)

http://www.planethunt.com/k9/assets/hobiegrins.jpg
http://www.purebredpups.com/Long Hair Chihuahua Puppy for Sale1.jpg

but ive found pictures such as these....


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/xxgraphicnature/a1hercules.jpg

How come there quite big....?
Is it something to do with there parents, or how much there fed?


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## chichime (Jan 30, 2005)

Now that is a chihuahua!


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## Sandra1961 (Oct 14, 2005)

which, the one in the last picture?

all the puppies in the pictures look like little darlings dont they 

But, i was just thinking...i assumed, and always thought that chihuahuas stayed small...but am i wrong?
Is the 'teacup' really true? I was told the whole teacup thing was made up


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## 2pups622 (Apr 17, 2005)

chihuahuas are all size just never seen one over 17 pounds i think 4-10 pounds is pretty normal


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## Sandra1961 (Oct 14, 2005)

Ok, well im totally clueless when it comes to size and weight...thats why i posted this topic  

so could anyone possibly show me a picture of the average adult fully grown chihuahua puppy size/weight?


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## *Tiffany* (Sep 27, 2005)

It all depends on the parents to...usually their size is what its puppies will be. there is no such thing as "teacup" anything its just a really small dog.


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

My guy's above the average... he's around 10 lbs, give or take 1/2 a pound.

The "teacup" thing is a term breeders use to describe smaller pups that are most likely the runts or the premature pups in a litter. The 2 lb. adults don't live as long (usually) as the bigger chis. Breed standard is 3-6 lbs, I think and those are what you usually get unless you're lucky and wind up with a Cooper!!  

Here's a pic from our last chi meetup... the little brown and tan towards the back of the group is Chula and she weighs in at about 2 1/2 lbs. The black and white is a pup and the white dog the lady is feeding is about "average" chi size.


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## Ruby's Ma (Jun 15, 2004)

Chihuahuas arent actually all sizes as 2pups66 stated. A 17 pound chi can't really be a purebred chi, there must be another breed in there as well to get that big. They should really be between 2 and 6 pounds to meet the breed standard but in saying that there are a few cuties out there that are defintely purebred chis that are over that 6pound mark. I hope that made sense! lol


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

I have to disagree with Ruby's mom... I had a 14 lb AKC chi from champion lines that would go up and down from 12 - 17 lbs during his life, always evening out at about 14 lbs. 

You wanna fight? :boxing: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Ruby's Ma (Jun 15, 2004)

oh really? thats crazy! I bet that was a 'one in a million' chi baby. 

Most purebreds don't get to be that size though, is it ok to say that? It's not just the size but all the features that determine whether they're purebred, and it seems that most of the heavier chis that are around are the ones that often dont have very chi-like physical charactaristics, but of course there are the the bigger ones like Cooper, Sophie and your old chi (that must have looked like a perfect example of the breed other than his size) that are without a doubt purebreds.

Sorry! that was a bit of a ramble, I dunno if anyone will even be able to see what I'm getting at, lol.


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## Sandra1961 (Oct 14, 2005)

so would you say this is an example of the average Chihuahua adult?

http://www.welpen.de/hundezuechter/bilder/Chihuahua.jpg


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## Ruby's Ma (Jun 15, 2004)

hmm, its quite hard to tell from pics without anything really to compare it to, but looking at his height in comparison to the grass he's next to, he looks pretty small to me, maybe 2-3 pounds, could be wrong though? the average is about 4 pounds


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

I'd say these guys are about "normal" size.. they go to our meetups too and I think they're about 4 lbs.










And Ruby's mom... I was kidding with you... Poco was a HUGE chihuahua and the breeder all but gave him to my mom to get rid of her horrible black mark on her otherwise perfect breeding record. LOL He was quite unusual in size.


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## Sandra1961 (Oct 14, 2005)

Cooper said:


> I'd say these guys are about "normal" size.. they go to our meetups too and I think they're about 4 lbs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


ahhh right, so there average adult size for a chihuahua?

and when you get a chihuahua, how can you tell how big there going to turn out? Is the way you feed it, the parents etc..?


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

These two are average size too... about 5 lbs.


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## Ruby's Ma (Jun 15, 2004)

Yeah, they look about average 

Haha, I figured you were playing around :lol: but I needed to explain myself better anyways, haha


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

to tell how big they'll be, you can look at the parents and get a good idea. That's pretty much the only way you can tell but that's also not a guarantee of their weight and size as adults.

Nothing's definite but they'll probably be around the size of their parents.

How WIDE they are depends on how much you feed them, as you can see from my boy below. :lol: :lol:


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## Sandra1961 (Oct 14, 2005)

so whats the average you feed a chihuahua to keep them looking like the ones in the 'average' pictures 

And also...someone mentioned to me that Chi's need special food, is that true?


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

Feeding depends on the food... some better quality foods, you only need to feed about 1/3 cup a day, others you can feed up to a full cup of food. It just depends. Of course, they eat more as puppies, too.

They don't need a special food of any kind, but just as all dogs, they need a healthy food. I feed mine Flint River but a lot of folks on the board feed Nutro and Royal Canin (who make a specific chi blend of food).


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

There are so many breeders out there breeding the wrong way so you really can never tell what your pups weight is going to be. You would have to see parents and grandparents to get a true min/max size and then that is not always fool proof. Alot of breeders will tell you anything you want to hear to sale you that pup so be careful and no matter what just love your puppy no matter what size it gets.


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## Sandra1961 (Oct 14, 2005)

I would always love my chi no matter if it was HUGE, or smaller then small lol

It doesnt matter to me the size, it was just, after seeing some pics of bigger chi's, it got me curious, so i made this topic for help and advice

xxx


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

Well you have definately come to the right place for help and advice!! Welcome!


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## Chihuahua Head (Sep 2, 2005)

My chi is kinda like me. She can eat anything and everything and still be a little skinny thing. She is however really tall, so that's where her 9 pounds come from. I'd have to say she's the tallest chi I've ever seen.


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## *Tanya* (Aug 29, 2005)

Now my grandmother will ONLY own chi's. Since i've been alive my granny has had a chi. But she has gone through 3. 

1. Cricket~ He was killed by a bigger dog :angel5: but was normal size. 
2. Sugar~ He got WAY too fat and died on the operating table from heart problem. :angel7: 
3. Sug man~ He's still with us, but is really really fat.

Sugar looked like a watermelon with legs, he even had a fat roll that went over his little tail. And Sug man looks the same, not as big as Sugar, but getting there. We keep telling the woman not to feed them table scraps everyday. But what can u tell Granny right?!?! :banghead: :lol: 

So i know from experience that Chis come in ALL shapes and sizes.


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## iluvmyvikin (Aug 24, 2005)

my Been is 12+ pounds. .he was up to 14 when he played around tons with Jack Russells and had monster thighs 
He is pure chi and his parents were probably 6 pounds or somewhere around there!
I don't know how he got so big and solid, but I heard any of the traits can go back 7 generations! 
He;s always been free-fed as he's the most casual eater


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## chimommy (Jun 29, 2005)

My Angel is pure chi and weighs in at 7 lbs.  She eats about 3/4 cup of dry food per day... varies a bit day to day.


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## MYCHIBABY (Apr 26, 2005)

Ruby's Ma said:


> Chihuahuas arent actually all sizes as 2pups66 stated. A 17 pound chi can't really be a purebred chi, there must be another breed in there as well to get that big. They should really be between 2 and 6 pounds to meet the breed standard but in saying that there are a few cuties out there that are defintely purebred chis that are over that 6pound mark. I hope that made sense! lol


I think you're confusing purebred with breed standard. A purebred is a purebred, no matter the size or breed characterics, or absence of. If you can trace the parents, grandparents, etc. etc. back and have nothing but purebred chis, then you have a purebred, which does not necessarily mean that it conforms to breed standard, or that it even has to be registered. Although, it would be hard to prove that they were purebred if they weren't registered. 

There are a lot of chis out there that don't conform to AKC or CKC breed standard, but are definately purebred, registered chis. Some are over 6 lbs, some are deer type, some there legs may be too long, ears incorrect, have an overbite, etc. etc. Granted, they're not going to be winning any conformation shows, but, who cares if they are a well loved pet. JMHO


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