Expert: Jo Ann - 1/27/2011

Question
Jo,

   Hope you can help pls? I have a 7 month old Chi she is very healthy happy and bubbly, I am concerned though as she sleeps in her sleeping box I let her out a couple of mornings ago, when I was tidying her box I found 2 teeth that she has lost, at first I was concerned she had been chewing and they feel out but I have vigorously checked her bed box and there is no sign of chewing at all, is this normal for her to loose teeth and will they grow back?  Also I am trying to train her to use a small animal litter tray is it possible to buy anything to encourage this as she seems to be getting worse at jus doing her busy anywhere, and she will not go outside as I think the cold floor shocks her out of needing to go?

Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hi Jonathan...

Thank you for submitting such clear and concise questions!  Chihuahuas normally lose their baby teeth at about four to five months of age.  However, Chihuahuas are well known to retain some of their baby teeth much, much longer.  As a matter of fact, many times some of the baby teeth are retained and the new adult teeth grow in next to them - this is often called a "double row of teeth".  Since Chihuahuas are normally spayed or neutered at about 6 months of age, veterinarians generally check for "double teeth" (retained baby teeth) and remove them while the dog is under anesthesia for the neuter or spay surgery.  In the case of your little Chi, it sounds like she had been playing or chewing her food or a chew treat and loosened her retained baby teeth which fell out while she was in her "sleep box" (bed?). Many times a pup will loosen teeth while eating and they fall out and are swallowed and that's why we don't notice the teeth laying around...  I would like to suggest to you that you have the vet check your dog's teeth the next time you're in for a routine visit to make sure that there are no more retained baby teeth.  The problem sometimes with retained baby teeth is that they crowd the mouth and cause plaque and dental problems.  They can also cause the adult teeth to grow in crooked.

Jonathan, it's not uncommon at all for Chis to avoid doing their "business" outside.  They're just too uncomfortable in the cold.  My Chihuahuas use potty pads.  To train a dog to use the potty pads or "pee pads", you must confine the dog to one room or one area at all times when the dog is not supervised so that the dog totally catches on that it must do its business on the pads that are in that confined area.  If you give the dog the run of the house, you're just confusing it.  Also, you need to really clean all of those places where she has been doing her business before giving her the run of the house again.  When she uses the pads appropriately, praise her and tell her how good she is.  Only have her out in the house when she can be supervised - that's very important.  If you see her go use the pad in the area where you usually confine her, then really praise her to no end and give her a treat.  It takes a lot of patience and you must be consistent.  Do not give her full run of the house until you're sure that she understands that she must use the pads. You can go to my AllExperts page and click onto past questions and answers and read the many other answers I have given regarding potty training before.

I'm unsure what you mean by a "small animal litter tray", but I did use a litter box meant for dogs when I first potty trained all of my dogs.  I used newspaper or a pee pad on the bottom and did the training exactly the same way as I have described above.  I don't usually recommend cat boxes and the such.  Dog boxes have one side that is recessed so that a dog can easily get in and out and it takes away that repulsion that a dog can have when it comes to boxes that are the same height on all four sides.

I hope that the information that I have provided is helpful to you.  Please don't hesitate to write again if you have further questions.

Jo Ann