About the Chihuahua   Description The chihuahua is a tiny dog which averages from 2 to 6 pounds and 6 to 9 inches in height. Tinkerbell is right at 4 pounds. They have small round heads and a short muzzle. Their eyes are round and large and they have pointed ears. Their bodies are muscular and the tail usually curls forward. There are two different coat lengths that the chihuahua comes in – short coat and long coat. The short coat does not require brushing and the long coat may require occasional brushing. They should have a bath once a month and be sure to avoid getting water into their ears. Some have a soft spot on the top of the head, which is known as molera. Tinkerbell has one about the size of my pinky fingertip. It may get smaller as chihuahua puppies grow older but as of now Tinkerbell’s is still the same size as when I purchased her. I was always afraid that something would fall and hit her there because I have read that there is nothing but tissue protecting the brain. We have never had a problem and I have read that that the molera is just a characteristic of the chihuahua and 80 to 90% of chihuahuas have it. Temperament Despite the size of the chihuahua they are very brave and make great watch dogs. They are also very loyal and highly devoted to their owners. They do get nervous when around strangers and Tinkerbell gets nervous when she is taken out of her normal environment. Chihuahuas are very spunky and playful little dogs that do not realize their size. They will go after the biggest of dogs without any fear. Potty Training a Chihuahua First of all I wish you better luck with this than I’ve had! I have Tinkerbell somewhat trained to use a paper and she also goes outside. If she drinks a lot of water and I am not attentive to her needs, she will go elsewhere after her paper gets wet. She does not cry or bark to let me know when she needs out so I have to be paying attention to her and notice her disappear suddenly or just know it is about time to go out. I think part of the problem with house-breaking a chihuahua is because they are so cute that they can practically get away with anything! I have read that you can easily train a chihuahua to use a litter box and I tried with Tinkerbell and it worked for a while, but I used newspaper instead of litter. She just wanted to eat litter and eventually the litter box became a place to crouch down like a cat in pounce position  when she was getting ready to attack Heidi (the dachshund). I finally took the tray up and just put the paper back down. I am sometimes just plain lazy and don’t feel like taking her out so if I think she may be wondering off to do her business I tell her to “potty paper”. A chihuahua should never be hit or spanked. I don’t know how anyone could do this anyway but they respond best to positive reinforcement. If you have a fenced in back yard I would always go out with your chihuahua because they could easily be carried off by a hawk or some other bird of prey. They also could fit through a small space and escape. I have taken mine out several times, only to look up and see a hawk flying over the house or in a tree in my yard, and we live in the city! Naturally, I get the dogs up and inside in a hurry.