Chihuahua puppies are a popular breed for plenty of reasons, and you might know them simply as Chis!
It’s no secret that baby chihuahuas are adorable, but you’ll probably be surprised by these 10 little-known baby Chihuahua facts!
Written by Becca Choi, a passionate dog person and proud plant mom living in sunny Los Angeles.
Her first ever pet was a lovable Husky-Shepard mix named Marley, but her favorite breed will always be Dachshunds!
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Chihuahua puppies either have a deer head or an apple head.
In addition to being separated by sub-breeds (like long-haired and short-haired), chihuahuas can be categorized by their distinct head shapes!
That means your baby chihuahua either has an apple-shaped head or a deer-style head with facial characteristics resembling a young deer. Deer head chihuahuas tend to have:
- a long muzzle
- long ears
- flat-topped heads
- wide-set eyes
- long legs
Meanwhile, apple head chihuahuas have:
- short muzzle
- short ears
- apple-shaped heads
- prominent close-set eyes
- short legs
Is your chihuahua puppy an apple head or a deer head?
If you don’t know what their parents look like, only time may tell!
Teacup Chihuahua puppies don’t actually exist.
If you’re on the hunt for a teacup Chihuahua, I’m sorry to break the bad news.
Teacup chihuahuas are not a real breed.
The term teacup Chihuahua was made up to help market chihuahua puppies.
For those looking to adopt a teacup Chihuahua, it’s important to know that all Chihuahuas are teacup-sized.
Although some Chihuahua puppies may be particularly small, there’s no way to tell how big they’ll grow up to be.
On average, Chihuahua puppies weigh less than an apple.
When Chihuahua puppies are born, they generally weigh between 2-5 ounces—which is less than a medium-sized apple, which typically weighs about 5 ounces!
At less than a third of a pound, Chihuahua puppies are the smallest puppies on earth!
They can comfortably fit in the palm of your hand.
You can expect a chihuahua puppy to remain this small until they reach two weeks old. After that, they’ll start growing rapidly!
Chihuahua puppies are usually born with just 2 siblings—or less.
Most dogs give birth to about five puppies when a litter is born, and some litters even contain more than ten puppies!
But that is not the case for Chihuahuas.
Due to their small stature, most Chihuahuas give birth to just three puppies at a time.
And, it’s not uncommon for a chihuahua to have just one puppy at a time.
So that means your chihuahua puppy likely has just two siblings—or even less than that!
Many Chihuahua puppies are born via C-sections.
Since baby Chihuahua puppies have such large heads compared to their little bodies, Chihuahua mothers often face difficulties giving birth.
As a result, many Chihuahua puppies are brought into the world via cesarean sections rather than natural births!
Chihuahua puppies have floppy ears—not pointy ones!
Chihuahuas are well-known for their signature erect ears, but many Chihuahua puppies are actually born with floppy ears!
If your baby Chihuahua has floppy ears, you should know that they usually become erect during your puppy’s first three months of life—although it may take your Chihuahua puppy a bit longer to grow into their ears.
It’s normal for Chihuahua puppies to sleep for 20 hours a day.
If you have a chihuahua puppy at home, there’s no need to worry about them spending too much time in bed.
Chihuahua puppies sleep between 16-20 hours every day (lucky them!).
It’s common for Chihuahua puppies to struggle to stay asleep throughout the entire night since they tend to wake up for a few hours between long naps and quickly tire themselves out.
Chihuahua puppies reach their full-grown size after just one year.
In their first few months of life, baby Chihuahuas grow rapidly.
And in just their first few weeks, you can expect a baby chihuahua to double in size!
Between 3-6 months, a baby Chihuahua will continue to grow, but at a much slower rate.
Then, by the end of their first year, your baby Chihuahua will be a full-grown adult (and no longer a baby at all)!
Baby Chihuahuas have a soft spot on their head, known as a molera.
It’s well known that human babies are born with soft spots on their heads, but did you know Chihuahua babies also have soft spots?
Although baby Chihuahuas aren’t the only puppies born with soft spots on their skull, they are the only breed of dog where a molera is a defining feature.
In fact, breeders used to look to a baby Chihuahua’s molera to determine if it was a pure-bred dog!
Most of the time, your baby Chihuahua’s molera will close before they reach one year old, but many Chihuahuas live with their soft spot for their whole lives.
Chihuahua puppies are named after a place in Mexico.
Chihuahua, Mexico is a real place, and this tiny dog breed was named after the location—not the other way around!
Chihuahua puppies come from a long line of dogs with a rich history in South America.
Their ancestors are the ancient Techichi dogs of Mexico, which lived during Mayan times.
Now, how many Chihuahua puppy facts here did you know? 🙂
Photo by Manuela.
