# Head Size & Brain Capacity - it's related ....



## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

I swear it is!!!!

No-one is going to be able to convince me otherwise! I've taken an adequate cross section of the Chi population, namely x 4 of them, and I've come to this very scientific conclusion, and that is:

My 2 x "normal" Chis with normal sized heads (and therefore brains) are the quickest, most intelligent little thangs I've ever had the pleasure of training i.e. sometimes I've only ever had to tell them something once & they've got it for life, or with learning to sit for example, 3 x times, 3 treats & it's locked in for life. A moment's confusion on walking on a leash but within a minute or 2 manage perfectly being thrown onto a couple with a mate & on a leash. Have never had to ask them not to beg for food, not to whinge, whine or stop behaving like a sap! 

No means no, and there's never any argument or dissent!

Conversely, my 2 x "tinies" with teeny weeny heads and corresponding brains .... hmm, a completely different story! What little toads they are with their completely selective deafness, their arrogance, their absolute unwillingness to follow any request, direction or order whatsoever, the way they completely & utterly ignore me unless they want something and sharing each and every naughty, cheeky, downright brattish trait. 

No means, "Hah! To whom do you think you are talking to oh human one, surely not I?" "Moi is a dog on a mission and I'll thank you to get out of my way, cease and desist with your futile protestations, and you just get and make yourself useful by helping me achieve this wickedness I'm set on! Got it? Good! Get on with it human!"

I'd love to be convinced otherwise, but when explaining my tiny to people asking about "tea cups" I've always said, "Well this little fellow, he's a tad retarded in both his physical growth and mental development, so he's different in many ways" - it's not that he's completely dim or stupid, it's more of an arrogance & utter disinterest in anything he deems as unexciting or irrelevant to his needs. Well, I'll be darned if the new girl isn't following in every single one of his footsteps, right down to losing the hair on her neck, the sweetest little grunting noises of delight and approval, the "Tiny Strut My Stuff 'coz I King/Queen" gait, how bizarre is that!


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## rms3402 (Dec 2, 2010)

LOL! I love reading your posts, especially because I just love how you word things!  Maybe it's an Australian thing (I'm just assuming you're from Australia by your username, I could be totally wrong though)? Too funny! I am interested to read what others say about this when they begin to chime in! HAHA!


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Unfortunately the large brain size of the chihuahua is also becoming closely connected with a devastating disease - Syringomyleia.


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## ~LS~ (Oct 29, 2011)

Oh Dee I must disagree. Bella is the tiniest girl around and she is just brilliant,
we've made such progress in such little time, although her head is the size of
a mandarin. I think it depends on the dog, but my oh my Dee did you cheer me
up with your fun post! I love your sense of humor girl, don't ever change, you
are a ray of sunshine.


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## OzChi (Oct 26, 2011)

I think I concur Dee. Chloe, with her smaller sloping head is my special, most loving little angel but she is neither particularly bright or co-ordinated. She took about a month to master sit where as Ax took about 3 days and you just heard that it took her 8 months to work out that she can jump on the couch. She also constantly slams into walls and furniture when she's playing because she's too excited to pay attention and she often trips over when she's in the park and running at full tilt. 

Axle on the other hand, with his huge bulging cranium (he reminds me of The Brain from that cartoon Pinky and The Brain) is ridiculously smart. He learnt to shake in 1 session, he picked up sit and stay and beg really quickly too. He got around our baby gate the first day we got it so we sticky taped cardboard over the gap and then he kept pushing on the cardboard until he forced his way through. So then we got a shoe box with a heavy pair of Craig's shoes in it and put it up against the gap which stopped him until one day Craig wanted to wear the shoes. He took them out and replaced the box but somehow Axle knew it wasn't weighted anymore and immediately pushed it out of the way and got upstairs. He also knows exactly which draw the treats are kept in. If I open any other draw he doesn't bat an eyelid but as soon as I open the treat draw he is instantly by my side no matter where he was or what he was doing - he is freakishly smart!

Here is a pic of his big dome for reference - lots of space for a big brain!


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## OzChi (Oct 26, 2011)

> No means, "Hah! To whom do you think you are talking to oh human one, surely not I?" "Moi is a dog on a mission and I'll thank you to get out of my way, cease and desist with your futile protestations, and you just get and make yourself useful by helping me achieve this wickedness I'm set on! Got it? Good! Get on with it human!"


Dee, do you watch Family Guy? i'm now imagining your little Ollie speaking with the voice of Stewie Griffin and it is very amusing!


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## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

YES!! My Twiggy, love her to death, but train her?? No way. Because of her disabilities, I have not tried to teach her sit or to heel or anything like that, but she is a true diva and I am there just to love on her and stay out of her way. She is one of the few that can't get the "no bark" rule. She is in her own world most of the time.


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## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

Having a mighty giggle!

I knew it!! I just knew it, I don't need no fancy, schmancy university degree to solve some of the greatest mysteries of the world - moral of the story is, "Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT, for the sake of your own sanity set out to buy a Chihuahua with a small head". 

This "Small Head Syndrome" as it is known is only recognised, and thus experienced, by those owners who have a pack of these tiny creatures. Those unfortunate people who go out and purchase 1 only small headed creature are lucky because, to some degree, they are blissfully unaware of how beligerant, obnoxious, toadish, disobedient, ignorant, arrogant and downright stupid (but well-meaning) the little apple of their eye is, because they have nought to compare it to. So they continue to live in ignorant bliss, UNTIL they meet a "Normal Head" and, alas, that is when the buyer's remorse may set in.

Next time you see a pack of these tiny creatures frolicking about, sit quietly, observe and take note ... the largest of them will all be happily gallavanting about sharing their immense love for one another, one eye always on their pack leader (their human) and one ear cocked in case they are called to order, given a direction or such like, hear the treat jar being opened etc. You will see the smallest among the tribe will be sitting in the middle of the largest most comfortable resting place, surrounded by as many treats and/or bones as they have legs, snapping, snarling, growling, hissing and spitting at any animal that may have the audacity to come within coo-ee, be that dog, cat, bird, fly or earthworm. 

When called, they turn their tiny head even more sidewards, away from the direction of the voice and roll their eyes skyward. If approached, no matter how stealthily, they will grab as many toys/treats as their teeny, weeny shark like jaw can gather up in a nano-second and scarper under the nearest low-lying furniture where they cannot be wrestled from and you will hear continuing and unabated crunching from deep underneath the sofa, bed, bureau etc. They MAY emerge for the next meal, they may not, but do not bother expending your energy to call, it is futile. A glimpse of a walking harness will see them wedging themselves between the pedestal of the handbasin and wall to a point that removal would result in certain death, so you crawl out backwards, straighten up to plan your next move, as they shoot off and find that hidey hole that no-one knows exists where they can spend days holed up in there if necessary because they've stashed enough poo, juicy bones, ground meat and "stuff" in there to sustain them through a nuclear holocaust.

Just when you think all is forgiven and things are back on a normal keel (well as normal as things get with these teeny weenies), you give their salubrious big blankie on top of your duvet a shake to make it comfy for the masses visitatioin, and several (fortunately) rock hard pellets of doggy-doo spray around the room, and it's only the "Tiny Heads" that are looking at each other questioningly; the "Normal Heads" are perfectly capable of going up & DOWN the stairs when they need potty and they do so because they know their person is smart enough to be able to discern whose poo is whose!.

No, I don't watch Family Guy, and Bella is a one and only exception, I guess.


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## ~LS~ (Oct 29, 2011)

I'm sitting here reading and giggling, crying almost. I wish I was as clever as you Dee, really.  

And yes there is always an exception to the rule.  (luckily for me)


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## pastel (Jan 12, 2012)

hahahaha you just made my day


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## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

Lmao That was awesome. The one thing Twiggy doesn't do is eat poo. I have enough that do. And she doesn't ever get in trouble because she doesn't really play with other dogs or with toys, she likes to lay on her back and play with her feet. That's why she needs a cat break-away collar, because she kept getting a front leg stuck in her collar and she already only has three good legs. But she really doesn't listen and thinks she runs things.


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## OzChi (Oct 26, 2011)

I don't think Chloe is wilful or arrogant, she's more like a loveable bimbo with a heart of gold. She does turn into a demon if one of the others so much as looks at a jerky strip or bully stick of hers though - she bares her teeth, the hair goes up on her spine and she literally shakes with anger, it is a sight to see!

Sometimes I think Axle is an evil genius. Winston I'm not sure about yet, I can't get past how cute and pretty he is.


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## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

Pffft, you may well all laugh .... I got a brand spankin' new video camera here, dang thing fits in the palm of my technophobic old hand - if I wasn't such an idiot and could even find the "On" button and then figure out how to actually use it ..... hey, no-one said anything about getting the film off the camera, into this here computer and then onto any darn website .... now things are getting completely out of the realms of possibility into the realms of "It ain't never gonna happen" .... I'd take videos of all that I've said and prove to you that I have not exaggerated, embellished nor told even the slighest white lie about what these clowns do and how they react or, more to the point, fail to react.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

AussieLass said:


> I swear it is!!!!
> 
> No-one is going to be able to convince me otherwise! I've taken an adequate cross section of the Chi population, namely x 4 of them, and I've come to this very scientific conclusion, and that is:
> 
> ...


LOL LOL LOL So what is your theory on my GIbbs? His Basset brain is large compared to my chis but he is the not too smart debartment and constantly out witted by my chis?


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## Kalisee (Jun 1, 2012)

AussieLass said:


> Pffft, you may well all laugh .... I got a brand spankin' new video camera here, dang thing fits in the palm of my technophobic old hand - if I wasn't such an idiot and could even find the "On" button and then figure out how to actually use it ..... hey, no-one said anything about getting the film off the camera, into this here computer and then onto any darn website .... now things are getting completely out of the realms of possibility into the realms of "It ain't never gonna happen" .... I'd take videos of all that I've said and prove to you that I have not exaggerated, embellished nor told even the slighest white lie about what these clowns do and how they react or, more to the point, fail to react.


So, then I guess you dont have a very big head yourself 

I am also laughing, I can read all this over and over again. However, I am now staring intently at Kalisee thinking..is her head too small because she seems pretty smart? I admit she does have "selective deafness" on occasion..but I am hoping that she will outgrow that or that her brain will get bigger.. :toothy9:


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## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

Huly said:


> LOL LOL LOL So what is your theory on my GIbbs? His Basset brain is large compared to my chis but he is the not too smart debartment and constantly out witted by my chis?


Ah, now as for Gibbs & his balmy Basset brain (we all knnow they don't mature out until about 8yo when they suddenly realise they are no longer a puppy), it is necessary to get him with a clan of other Gibbs' and view their heads from all angles, even taking some calipers to measure if necessary. 

Unfortunately not as easy nor obvious as Chi cranium testing because they have the obvious "Tinies" that we are not allowed to call "Tea Cups" for all the reasons that are well known to us.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

AussieLass said:


> Ah, now as for Gibbs & his balmy Basset brain (we all knnow they don't mature out until about 8yo when they suddenly realise they are no longer a puppy), it is necessary to get him with a clan of other Gibbs' and view their heads from all angles, even taking some calipers to measure if necessary.
> 
> Unfortunately not as easy nor obvious as Chi cranium testing because they have the obvious "Tinies" that we are not allowed to call "Tea Cups" for all the reasons that are well known to us.


LOL I swear I stalk you on this forum to read your post! You need to write a book! 

We need photos to see the craniums of your crew to prove your expierament LOL


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## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

Kalisee said:


> So, then I guess you dont have a very big head yourself
> 
> I am also laughing, I can read all this over and over again. However, I am now staring intently at Kalisee thinking..is her head too small because she seems pretty smart? I admit she does have "selective deafness" on occasion..but I am hoping that she will outgrow that or that her brain will get bigger.. :toothy9:


Yup, I freely admit to being a "pin head" (therefore devoid of more than 10 brain cells) when it comes to technology, too old & cranky for all that nonsense, beeping, squeaking, flashing lights, vibrations, bells and whistles.

Now, you see, you are one of those who gets to live in ignorant bliss until such time as you get a "Normal Head" Chi and only then will the revelation be made to you that you've been living with a "Tiny Head".

A little earlier I felt I may've been a little harsh in my summation of "Tiny Heads" so I got my Tiny Ollie up here in bed with me, sat him in his fave position, side on to my face in between my bosoms .... yep, I knew it .... he loves me with all his simple little heart, bless him, but he figures if he keeps his eyes shut tight I won't ask anything of him, he can't see the face he desperately so wants to lick but is not allowed to, and if he squeezes them shut really, really tightly the whole time he's up there he figures he can't see me so I can't see him and therefore won't tell him to "git now, that's enough".

I talked, I whispered, I cooed, I twittered but still he kept his arrogant, selfish tiny head turned away from me and eyes shut tight, not even opening them for a nanosecond the entire time he was allowed up here. This dog has got a serious superiority complex going on!!!!


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## LostLakeLua (Sep 6, 2009)

LMAO I love this thread! Dee, I think you need to start an online radio show about dogs... I'd tune in for every episode for sure!!! =D

And I sadly will have to agree. My tiniest Mia Zofia is, well, far from brilliant; though she has a heart of gold. She WILL listen and obeys any command perfectly; sadly she has no common sense though. She pretty much does as she is told; and very little else (unless you count spinning around in usually 2 circles before going through a doorway, but maybe some of Mommy's OCD has just rubbed off.) Though to be fair, she did fall down the stairs when she was 9 weeks (long before she was ours) so I can't imagine that didn't contribute a bit to her, uhm, specialness. =) We love her regardless, lol! Do let us know if you come to any other scientific conclusions based on your pack; I'd love to hear them.


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## Buildthemskywards (Jun 16, 2012)

Hehe! I have only a regular sized chi and he is a smartie pants. He learned sit in one 3 minute session and will do it for anyone with our without treats from word, hand gesture or both. He has learned how to open his crate when he wants to and when he wants something he will get it (unless caught in the act). He's awfully well behaved though for such a young'un. However, I must say that it sounds to me like the tiny heads are much cleverer than you give them credit for. They stock away food and such in case of emergency, they have a number of ways and means to avoid you making them do what they want despite being a fraction of your size and not nearly as powerful, they get away with doing the things they want to do and what is more is they have you convinced that it is not their fault, but yours for having bought a tiny head and therefore there is nothing you can do about it. Sound like evil genius' to me!!


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## Finn (Sep 14, 2010)

Peanut is my biggest girl, with the biggest head, and she is incredibly bright (she is a major diva, too). And then there's my Finny . . . my darling, sweet, beloved Finny . . . such a little boy, such a little brain . . . sigh.


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## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Oh! It is my smallest who is quickest to train, to learn a behavior I am reinforcing and the chick has PERFECT recall. The other two can be hit and miss. 

She is 3.3 lbs. (1.5kg). Her head is the size of a small lemon. Not a huge difference, though between her size and the others, I suppose. They are 3.8lbs. (1.73kg) and 4.0lbs. (1.82kg).


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