There’s a list of different household dangers you need to be aware, before deciding to bring home a Chihuahua. These dangers can be: electrical cords, power cords to computers, squeeze-in spaces, dropped paper clips and push pins, rodent and roach poisons, kitty litter, teetering objects that could fall. You must be ever vigilant to watch out for these and other attractive dangers, like coffee tables. If your Chi gets up on one, don’t startle her and make her jump – she could break something.
Electrical Cords
A very common and often tragic home hazard is the electrical cord. For whatever reason, puppies find the texture of an electrical cord irresistible. If the lamp were turned on (with power flowing through the cord) and your Chihuahua chewed through the protective coating and hit live wires, the shock would be enough to kill a puppy or dog. If the electrical cord doesn’t have a current flowing through it and the Chi partially chews through the cord, your little dog has now created a fire hazard for the next time the light is turned on.
Ways to prevent cord problems include covering the cords with a rug or heavy plastic protective strips commonly used for computer cords. Applying a bitter-apple-flavored gel or another chewing repellent to cords can also help—unless your Chi enjoys this flavor, and then you’re back to trying to cover the cords. Additionally, you can unplug the cords when you are not in the room and wind them around a chair leg or the lamp itself. You can also keep your Chi out of this particular room or let her safely relax in her crate when you can’t watch her every move.
Pest Control
Ingestible dangers found in living areas of your home can include rodent, roach, and ant poisons. These poisons in particular are left in areas that a Chihuahua might be able to access-at the base of windows, behind furniture, or against walls. Rodent poisons cause fatal hemorrhaging; pesticides can cause neurological death. They’re nasty any way you look at them.
Many ordinary houseplants can cause illness, particularly in a small dog. Most of these plants cause irritation in the dog’s mouth, but some can be poisonous. For a complete list of poisonous houseplants and her toxicity, visit the ASPCA’s National Animal Poison Control Center Web site (online at www.aspca.org). In case of emergency, you can also call the center at 1-808-420-4435. A consultation fee may apply.
If you’re accustomed to using these methods to keep your home pest-free, you will have to rethink your strategies. You cannot have these poisons out if you have a puppy or dog in the home. It won’t be a matter of if your Chi will investigate and potentially ingest a fatal dose of these poisons; it will be a matter of when. And don’t think you can substitute a mousetrap; this could kill a curious Chihuahua, too.
Garage
If you’re like many homeowners, your garage is used as much for storage as to house your car (if not more). Much of what is kept in the garage is used for lawn or home maintenance. For the Chihuahua, the garage may be an exciting place to run about and explore; however, it is also full of potential dangers.
One danger is that of falling objects. Paint cans stacked on lower shelves, bikes leaning precariously against the wall, and tools such as shovels, trimmers, and trowels can easily injure a Chihuahua, even if they only fall a few inches. If you allow your Chihuahua to keep you company while you dig in your garage for a lawn implement or try to find a touch-up can of paint, be aware of where she is at all times.
Other hazards that are common to garages are chemicals. Fertilizers, swimming pool or spa treatment supplies, ice-melting products, pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides are just a few items that can make your Chi very ill or even kill her in tiny amounts. Keep these items safely stowed in tightly sealed containers, or prevent your Chihuahua from having access to your garage.
Is it true that antifreeze is poisonous?
Absolutely. And its poisonous in very minute amounts. Compounding the problem is that dogs find the taste appealing; antifreeze is very sweet to them. If you spill antifreeze in the garage clean it up immediately. You might also consider purchasing nontoxic antifreeze to use in your car.
Yard or Patio
Be aware that whether you are welcoming home a Chi puppy or an adult, the Chihuahua is a close-to-the-ground kind of dog. For this reason, the breed is particularly susceptible to contact with chemicals, plants, insects, and animals that can be found in your yard.
Small Animals
As the king of lizard chasers, the lion-hearted Chihuahua cannot resist the urge to chase and kill small, moving creatures. Normally this prey drive translates to a few insect body parts or a lizard tail gracing your kitchen floor now and then. Depending on where you live, however, contact with certain types of toads, insects, spiders, snakes, and scorpions could prove deadly to your Chihuahua.
Landscaping Items
Items that are commonly used in the garden or patio that are dangerous to dogs include citronella candles, fly baits containing methomyl, and slug and snail baits containing metaldehyde. Do you have a small pond in your yard? The blue-green algae that grows in smaller bodies of water is toxic. What about a compost pile that you’re waiting to work into your vegetable garden or cocoa mulch spread in your carefully groomed flowerbeds? These are toxic, too.
Many plants, shrubs, and even trees are highly toxic to dogs. (For instance, all parts of the cherry tree are poisonous.) If you have a Chi who likes to explore and chew, either remove these plants from your garden or devise a way to block your Chihuahua’s access to them. If you have any questions regarding a particular plant you are considering adding to your yard or one that is already there, you can check the ASPCA Web site (online at www. aspca.org), which maintains an alphabetical list of toxic plants.
Fencing
The importance of having fencing for your backyard or patio is twofold: to keep your Chihuahua in your yard and to keep other dogs, large predatory critters, and even a would-be Chihuahua burglar out. As you might have guessed, the Chihuahua can be a challenging dog breed to keep fenced in.
Choosing the Right Fence
Six-foot privacy fences will work (in wood or plastic). If the slats are staggered to allow air to flow through them, make sure there’s not such a wide gap that your Chi can wriggle through. A good guide to figuring out if a fence is escapable is by looking at your dog’s head. If your Chihuahua might be able to squeeze his head through the gap, the rest of his body is likely to be able to follow.
When looking at chainlink fences and wrought iron, the same theory applies. If it might be possible for the Chi to get his head through any portion of the fence—whether the fence itself or a hinged gate—it’s likely not to contain your Chi.
You can make any type of existing fencing work if you are willing to invest in a secondary fence. For example, you might consider putting up three- to four-foot high chicken-wire fencing against an existing chainlink or wrought iron fence to provide a safe area of containment for your Chi. For a wooden fence with staggered gaps that could become escape hatches, perhaps the addition of a wooden lattice secured to the bottom half of the fence might work.
In addition to making sure that your fence doesn’t have any gaps in it that might allow your Chi to escape, take a close look at the fence’s condition. Protruding nails need to be removed or hammered back in. Sharp, exposed wires on a chainlink fence should be twisted in the opposite direction or removed.
Other Options
Of course, if your yard is too big to fence, a fence is out of your budget, or you can’t fence your yard because of subdivision or condominium rules, you might consider making an enclosed area just for your Chihuahua. If you have a deck outside your back door, you could put a low fence here with a gate for your dog. You can also set up a puppy playpen in a shady spot in your yard for playtime—as long as you’re able to watch your Chi.
There’s a solution to virtually every fencing quandary. You just need to remember that Chihuahuas can be quite deft at squeezing through small places, digging under things, and jumping over low barriers. With a little foresight and some creative thinking, you can make your backyard a safe environment for your new dog.
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