Owners of poms, chis, yorkies, and malteses

I have 3 chihuahuas... and I think they are a GREAT breed. Only one of mine is a barker (Rylie), and when I say, "Rylie, stop!" she stops barking right away. She also only barks when someone is at our door.

If bred well, chis are not fragile. My Rylie weighs under 4lbs, and she is like a little tank. I'd actually be more afraid of my badly bred Madison getting hurt, and he weighs 6.5lbs. They run around, jump on the furniture... I've never been afraid of them 'breaking.'

I honestly believe that the pottytraining issues are a myth. If a 2lb dog pees on the carpet, it's less of a deal than a 40lb dog peeing on the carpet, so some owners aren't as dilligent about pottytraining as they should be. Small dogs are still dogs... just because they're smaller doesn't mean they are slow learners.

My Madison and Chloe actually love children... and they are barely even around them. Rylie takes a little bit to get used to them, but she fell in love with my 12 year old sister this summer while my parents were watching them for a week. Madison actually prefers children if we're in a setting with them. None of mine have ever been nippy- I would NOT tolerate that behavior with any dog... whether they are 5lbs or 50lbs.

My chis get along with other dogs... Madison loooooves big dogs, lol :lol-sign:

Chihuahuas do prefer their own breed, so they do well in multiples. As you can see, they are quite addictive (thus why I have 3!).

which breed would best to get in a pair?

For the most part, yes. They still have issues that I believe stem mostly from them being siblings and raised together. Their interaction with other dogs is a good example I think.

(Disclaimer before I start. All of this info is based solely on my observations after living with these two heathens for 16 months, and my meanial knowledge of dog behavior. And there is a real possiblity that I am just spewing random crap , let's get started.)

First off buying two puppies was a complete and utter lack of impulse control on my part. I had no clue what I was doing when I brought them home, but I did research about it as soon as I realized that I had made a boo boo and gotten in over my head. I did everything I read short of completely seperating them for the first year of their lives and only allowing a 15 minute play session 2 or 3 times a week), they ate in seperate rooms, went to seperate obedience classes, took seperate walks, slept out of sight from one another, yada, yada!

Despite all that they have the closest bond I have ever seen in two beings. They live and breathe for each other. They rarely acknowledge Mollie or try and get her to play, and even when she tries to join in their playtime she is usually not extremely welcome, they are just so wrapped up in each other and live in the land of IzFro They have learned that they must listen to me and not the other corgi when I tell them to do something (though that was an uphill battle in itself) and they enjoy alone time with me, but I think that I will always take a backseat to their love for each other and that makes me sad because I don't feel that I have the great relationship that most people have with their dogs where the dog thinks that there is nothing better in the whole wide world then their owner.

As far as other dogs go, it's very frustrating and very trying. Izzy can got to a dog park with me and interact with a bunch of other dogs and there is no problems. Frodo on the other hand, is extremely depedent on Izzy. Where most dogs trust their owners to keep them safe and to guide them through life, Frodo looks to Izzy. I can walk with Frodo and we'll see another dog, his hackles go up and he's trying to puff himself up and he gets stressed out of his mind. I can walk Izzy and Frodo together and we'll se another dog and it's like, Hey look at Izzy she's cool calm and collected guess that means everythings good! and he's absolutely fine. I have been working on desensitization with him, but it just seems like it's going so slow and it's 2 steps foreward, one step back.

For things like playdates I always have to take Izzy first and make sure everything is cool and the dogs hit it off. Only then can I even think about bringing Frodo into the picture, because if Izzy says it's good then Frodo will be okay. With both of them there, Frodo is always hanging around Izzy and freaks if she leaves his sight.

Oy, I have more to say, but I am seriously going to pass out sitting in this chair. If you see anything that you think is wrong that I mentioned, please point it out and maybe anther perspective will allow me to help them in some way.


Some people do it and end up with great results and I applaud them!! I don't know how they do it?!?! I think a lot of it depends on the breed as well as the individual dogs, but I will never do it again, that's for darn sure! Then again, I could never imagine not having both of them in my life

Showing...even in small shows a coated breed like a Maltese will be a MONUMENTAL undertaking as far as grooming....so do bear in mind the HOURS of work you will need to do WEEKLY to keep the dog in coat and in condition...then also factor in the EXTRA HOURS on actual show weekends. It's no joke...keeping a Maltese or Yorkie is show condition is NOT a task for the meek or those on a tight schedule!