These are my baby chihuahua puppies. Okay, they are not really puppies, but they are still my babies. Neva is the white and tan girl on the right, and Charlee is the fierce alpha male on the left. They brighten up my world like you can’t imagine. I dedicated this whole blog to everything about them. I hope you enjoy it!
So I was sitting here thinking of an article I could write for tonight, while I nibble at a bowl of popcorn. The answer didn’t come to me until I looked down to see 4 little brown eyes watching every single move that my hand made into the popcorn bowl and back to my mouth.
How do you deny these little faces of happiness?
So tonight, I decided to write about how much my Chihuahuas love popcorn!
They love popcorn… like, really really absolutely love it. They pretty much get more excited when I make popcorn than any other type of food. In fact, as I type this article, Neva is digging on the couch trying to find crumbs to eat, and Charlee is making sure she doesn’t find anything, because if she does, he will still it. I don’t even think they’d get this excited if I made steak. But the question that has always puzzled me, is ‘why do they like popcorn so much?’
I can’t find a definite answer, but I’m gonna guess that it is because popcorn has potassium, and phosphorous, magnesium, and calcium, which will all help build stronger bones. Popcorn generally has salt on it, and dogs, like most animals, crave salt. They say the reason dogs lick your skin is because it tastes salty. I would imagine that they are just craving the healthy ingredients in the popcorn. Beyond that, why do you like popcorn (if you do)? Because it is a light, tasty, crunchy treat. Dogs like yummy treats too.
The other question people probably wonder is if popcorn is good for their dog? I haven’t ever really worried about it, because I give my dogs popcorn all the time and nothing bad has ever come out of it. I came across a few posts on the interwebs, of people saying that the kernels could cut open the dogs intestines. Think about it: how sharp would a popcorn kernel have to be to cut through their intestines? They are not made of razor blades. My dogs chew up wood chips and eat them, I’m sure a little tiny kernel isn’t gonna do much damage.
In fact, I have read a lot of posts online talking about how popcorn is a great, healthy way to train your dog. If you give them air-popped popcorn, with no salt or butter, it is really low-calorie and healthy. It is rich in healthy carbohydrates, and fiber, which is good for anyone’s body. It is also a lot cheaper than buying a lot of dog treats to train them. So my answer would be that popcorn is actually pretty healthy for dogs. I’m not a complete expert, so if you feel worried about it, I would ask your vet.
The last thing I want to discuss is an interesting observation I came across. ” Dogs are believed to be carnivorous animals. However, before domestication and when dogs were living in the wild, they have to hunt and fill their stomach with anything to stave off hunger. Hunted prey will be eaten – meat, fur, entrails and all. The partially digested vegetation inside the prey’s stomach will be eaten as well causing dogs to develop the habit of eating grasses, berries and fruits. Moreover, the scarcity of food in the wild has caused dogs to eat anything – edible and non-edible. After domestication, dogs generally subsisted on commercially prepared dog foods (sarahsdogs).” I know we tend to be overprotective about our dogs, mostly because we would absolutely DIE if anything bad ever happened to them, but we need to realize that they are still animals with instincts. It is not unnatural for dogs to eat things like popcorn.
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Do you feed your dog popcorn? Leave me comments in the feedback.
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Miss Neva often cleans herself by licking her paw and rubbing her face… exactly how cats clean themselves…
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Have you ever seen a dog do this? Leave me comments in the feedback.
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Well, Charlee is pretty confident and he usually doesn’t shake, but Neva shakes all the time. She will just look at you and shake until you call her name. I’ve heard other people talking about their chihuahuas shaking too, so I know that it’s too uncommon. But I always had to wonder: Why do chihuahuas shake?
Most of the time, shaking is just part of the chihuahua’s normal behavior, and you should have nothing to worry about.
Chihuahuas have a ton of energy packed into their tiny bodies. You can think of it, like drinking too much caffeine. If your body is hoarding a lot of excess energy, it burns it off by shaking.
Neva loves attention. She will jump on my lap and look up at me (just like she is looking in the picture) and she will shake. I usually respond by baby-talking to her. She loves for me to acknowledge her and I always respond when she shakes, so she probably knows she can do it by shaking. I’ve read somewhere in the past, that they have evolved to shake, because people feel sorry for them and pick them up. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it makes sense.
When they are excited to go somewhere or know something exciting is going to happen (like getting a cookie), they will shake. Neva gets the most excited when I say “Do you wanna go to Grandma’s house?” She always jumps around and then runs in her cage, and shakes. She even cries sometimes because she is so excited.
When Neva knows she is in trouble, she shakes. She hates being in trouble, so she gets really upset. The great thing is that I never have to punish her; she punishes herself. For instance, she knows she is not supposed to hop the gate into her uncle Nick’s room and eat the cat food. If I happen to walk by and she is in there, she knows she is in trouble. She will start shaking (and unfortunately, sometimes she pees). She usually hops the gate, runs in her cage, and shakes.
It surprises me, that in the middle of summer (and remember, it gets over 100 degrees here in the summer), Neva will be cold. Her little body is so tiny, and she hardly has any fat or fur, so it makes sense that she would get cold easy. But anyways, she always loves to sleep under the covers and cuddle up to your as close as she can to get warm. Even when it feels to me, like a million degrees outside, she will crawl under a blanket and get warm. Anyways, their body shakes to keep warm, kind of like how we shiver when we are cold.
If they are having other problems or illnesses, accompanied by the shaking, I would consult with your vet. Otherwise, just know that shaking is part of being a chihuahua.
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Do your chihuahuas shake? Leave me comments in the feedback.
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So like most breeds of dogs, Chihuahuas come in various colors. Although, there is no color that is absolutely impossible for a Chihuahua, I want to explain the typical chihuahua colors in this post.
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My dogs are cream and tricolor. What color are your Chihuahuas? Please leave your answer in the comments.
As gross as it is, Neva always loves to lick my nose. She does it when she is excited, when I first come home, or if I am talking to her. I try to push her away, but she gets her little feelings hurt.
I always wondered “Why do dogs lick your nose?”
Some people say that it is simply just because you let them. They say if you curb the habit, they won’t do it anymore. That may be true, but my boyfriend doesn’t let her lick his nose and she still tries. Another theory is that they like the saltiness of your skin.
The answer goes deeper than that.
Licking is a form of communication to dogs. When they first meet another dog, they will lick the face as a sign of greeting. It is also a sign of intimacy and social bonding. If they lick your face, it could mean they consider you a friend.
They also lick as a sign of respect. Lower ranked dogs in a wild pack will lick the alpha male’s nose as a sign of submission. Neva commonly licks Charlee’s face too.
The last explanation is that when they are baby puppies, they lick their mother’s face when they want food. As gross as it is, it triggers a regurgitation effect from the mother so the babies can eat. I’ve never seen this happen, but supposedly it is common in wild packs of dogs. But then again, I have never been around puppies that were just born.
Whether it is submissive, friendly or out of hunger, there is nothing wrong with your dog licking your face. They do it because they love you. It is not unsanitary, as dog saliva has antibiotics in it to protect from bad bacteria and germs. If you do still wish to train them to not lick, it is advised that you train them when they are puppies!
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Does your dog do this? I want to hear your stories in the comments!
If you liked this story, check out A History of Chihuahuas
Yeah. I was making oatmeal, and my electric stove was dirty (I CLEANED IT TODAY!) and so it produced a lot of smoke. The smoke alarm went off and Char freaked out! It’s so cute and so funny at the same time!
