Maybe I should've said something

[Laurelin]

I dunno. It wasn't hurting anyone but still. I met this girl the other day who told me she had a papillon. I ended up meeting the dog today and er...

The story is that she bought him from a pet store and he was supposed to be a chihuahua. She said he grew up and got bigger and it was obvious he wasn't a chihuahua but a papillon. she thinks this because he's 8 lbs and has ear fringe. I looked at him and immediately thought 'that's a chihuahua.' Nothing about him looked pap at all but I didn't ever say anything, she's convinced he's not a chihuahua for some reason I don't understand. I know the breeds look kind of alike to some people (not to me after having so many) but if you bought a dog that was called a chihuahua, wouldn't the odds be it's a chihuahua? It just kind of struck me as strange.

He looked a lot like this: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Nn9OFoDR_...s400/CH023Chihuahua_SportHorsePhotography.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/dogs/1/0/S/p/1/gizzy_chihuahua_skirt.jpg

I guess people don't know chis can have some ear fringe too.

Has anyone had something like that happen? I should've said something but I didn't want to be rude.

 

[lisabobisa]

Maybe if you let her believe she got the wrong dog she'll be deterred from buying puppies from pet stores.

 

[bubbatd]

This is a hard one !!! Yes , think I would let her know about Pet stores and puppy mills . Don't fault her for it .....If she loves the dog , that's all that matters . If it is a purebred , she should have gotten papers . ( not that they wouldn't have been falsified) . Bet she paid a pretty penny too !

 

[FoxyWench]

She obviously doesn't want to belive the TINY chihuahua she bought (prolly advertised as "tiny" or "teacup" and probably told he'd be "tiny" or stay under a certain weight...could possibly have gotten bigger than a chihuahua should have gotten...didn't you know...if it's over 3 lbs it "must" be a mix or some other breed...

Poor girl would rather belive they sold her the wrong breed than accept that she's got a typical puppymill wowie

 

[Doberluv]

Eight pounds is not very much over the standard max. For Chi's it's 2 - 6 lbs

Jose` is a byb dog and he was suppose to be a Chihuahua. Maybe he is, but to me he looks like a mix. He's about 10-12 lbs and about 7 years old, his ears don't stand up all the way and he just looks weird. LOL. But oh-h-h-h-h so cute, sweet and stable. Show her his picture if you want to demonstrate how off the standard he is. LOL. At any rate, he has the greatest temperament and good health, all except for his patella luxation. That is a real shame.

And Chulita, now about 9 years old and going strong is also a byb (same one) and she does look like a Chi....5- 6 lbs and has no patella problems, no problems at all and a super temperament also. Well, they both get that collapsable trachea but that's not a big deal and very prevelent in toy breeds regardless. I personally like my mooses. LOL. Seriously, 6 lbs is perfect. They tend to be healthier and sturdy. I wouldn't want one of those teensy, weensy ones.

My Doberman from a very reputable breeder (his grandsire was Doberman of the year several times, a very notorious dog, Repo Man and his breeder won breeder of the year awards a couple of times) had all kinds of diseses and died at 4. It makes me question things a little. He had masticatory myositis, 2 kinds of liver disease, Von Willebrand's disease, and cancer. So, it goes to show......something. I'm not sure what it is yet, but something.

I hope your friend has a healthy, good natured dog and that she has lots of good years with him. If he looks like a Chi, but is just 2 lbs over standard, she shouldn't worry about it. That's not much deviation if she's not showing or breeding.... but yeah...she should be warned not to buy from pet stores anymore.

 

[Laurelin]

She doesn't seem too upset about it (a little disappointed it was bigger than anticipated) but she adores her dog and as far as I can tell takes good care of it. She's just convinced he's a papillon though! His name is Yoda, btw and he's a pretty little out of standard tricolor longhaired chi. Nice friendly temperament that I don't see too often in byb chis. Maybe as I get to know her I can politely point out his breed, lol.

And Chulita, now about 9 years old and going strong is also a byb (same one) and she does look like a Chi....5- 6 lbs and has no patella problems, no problems at all and a super temperament also. Well, they both get that collapsable trachea but that's not a big deal and very prevelent in toy breeds regardless. I personally like my mooses. LOL. Seriously, 6 lbs is perfect. They tend to be healthier and sturdy. I wouldn't want one of those teensy, weensy ones.

Yeah Nard is 5 lbs right now. :yikes: He's tall but lanky as can be, you can feel every rib. It's not unusual for paps to be very skinny teens though. Here's to hoping he hits 6 lbs... Summer's more my size she's well over 7 lbs. Mia should be 8 or so.

 

[Bailey08]

In situations like that, I usually say something fairly neutral and inoffensive -- like maybe 'yeah, it seems like chis these days are so small, but the breed standard is really x to y,' or mention that you had a friend with a purebred longhair chi who had ear fringe, etc.

Or I might not have said anything at all. There's really no harm in her thinking she has a pap, lol. At least she's heard of them!

 

[lizzybeth727]

I agree with Bailey... what's the harm in just letting it go.

I do also agree that 8 lbs is a little out of standard, but like Carrie said, the larger chis tend to be a little sturdier and healthier. My chi came from a shelter, but I can only assume she's a BYB; she's 7 lbs and I definately wouldn't want her any smaller. The smaller ones just look so frail and brakeable.

 

[MericoX]

Wow Laur, that's all your guys weigh? I for sure thought they were bigger. LOL

I personally would tell her that no, it's a chi, not a papillon.

 

[Laurelin]

Wow Laur, that's all your guys weigh? I for sure thought they were bigger. LOL

I personally would tell her that no, it's a chi, not a papillon.

Yeah they don't weigh much but they're quite a bit taller than chis are. Under the hair though paps are skinny little dogs, LOL. Summer is the same height almost as Dekka (the dog) but she doesn't weigh much at all. My biggest is only 7.6 lbs! The breed gets up to about 10 lbs though. Well, that's within standard. The biggest pap I've met was 16 lbs but I've seen others on rescue sites that were well up past 20 lbs.

 

[puppydog]

Wow Laur, that's all your guys weigh? I for sure thought they were bigger. LOL

I personally would tell her that no, it's a chi, not a papillon.

That is the thing with Paps. They look a lot bigger then they are. They are all legs, trust me! Ben only wieghs 6lbs. He is pretty muscular though.

 

[~Jessie~]

There was a 20lb chi who used to board at our vet office :yikes:

Anyway, Tucker is a long coat chi, and he has a TON of ear fringe. Definitely looks completely different from a papillon though, haha. Idk... to me, paps and chis look 100% different from one another... and generally, out of breed standard chis have a "deer shaped" head with a really sloping nose.

I'm not sure if I would've said anything either, though... it's hard to tell a stranger something like that... considering she may have just argued back.

 

[DaVinci]

I would have told her. I mean if we tell people on a web board what we think why don't we do the same in person?

 

[Laurelin]

That is the thing with Paps. They look a lot bigger then they are. They are all legs, trust me! Ben only wieghs 6lbs. He is pretty muscular though.

We had a good comparison the other day at the vet's. I had Mia who weighs in at 3.8 lbs and then a full grown chi that actually looked well bred was there. The chi looked so much tinier than Mia but the Chi weighed 5 lbs exactly. Mia was just so much taller and leggier that she looked a lot bigger than it when she was really smaller than it was. The body type of the breeds are just very different.

There was a 20lb chi who used to board at our vet office :yikes:

Anyway, Tucker is a long coat chi, and he has a TON of ear fringe. Definitely looks completely different from a papillon though, haha. Idk... to me, paps and chis look 100% different from one another... and generally, out of breed standard chis have a "deer shaped" head with a really sloping nose.

I'm not sure if I would've said anything either, though... it's hard to tell a stranger something like that... considering she may have just argued back.

I think we need updated Tucker pics to you know er... compare ear fringe.

I agree, paps and chis look 100% different to me too but then again, I've had a lot of paps.

I did it again though, accidentally convincing someone their chi was a papillon by introducing them to Summer today. Well this time part papillon. He's probably about 4 lbs and totally chi looking. But since he has furry ears and as she said he 'doesn't have any of the chihuahua behaviors like shaking or being snappy' she thinks he's got to have pap in him too. I am not meaning to do this at all.

DaVinci, I probably should have said something. Maybe I'll pluck up the courage to next time.