Expert: Jo Ann - 4/26/2011

Question
QUESTION: my chihuahua is 10inch tall and her paw pad is still pink and not turning black.. she's 5 months old.. is that normal??

ANSWER: Hi Jen...

I know that you said that your Chi is 10 inches tall and five months old, but do you know if she's what's called a "merle"?  What color is her nose and what color is her coat?  Did you see her parents?  If so, what did they look like?  

It's not unusual at all for a pup to have "pink" paw pads that darken with age due to a change in pigmentation, but genetics can play a large part in this, too.  For instance, in the Maltese breed, pink paw pads or toe pads are unacceptable in the show ring. Schnauzer pups always have pink paw pads and toe pads that later turn black or brown.  A mix of Jack Russel Terrier and Chihuahua (which I don't advise that anyone should aim for purposely) can have paw pads that range from pink to brown depending on the coat color of the dog.  The Chihuahua standards don't mention anything about paw pad coloring.  I looked at all of my dogs and everyone had black paw pads except for one dog who had ONE pink toe pad!  Probably a genetic thing with him since I don't know his whole background...  However, my dogs are much older than your 5 month old puppy. Now, if a Chihuahua is what's called a "merle" they can have mottled black/pink/brown paw pads. From what I've researched any breed of dog that is bred to be "merle" can have this pattern in paw color.

You're most certainly welcome to answer this post and provide me with answers to some of the questions that I've asked above.

Jo Ann



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I saw her mother and she's tall also but her father is a small chi.. the color of my dog's nose is black.. and her hair color is white and brown.. i have upload a picture here.. I'm just curious as to why she's big.. She's very tall and thin

Answer
Yes, I have to admit that she's certainly a large Chihuahua if she's already 10 inches tall at five months of age.  Are you measuring her from her feet to the top of her shoulders?  I just measured my largest Chi and he measures 10 inches to the top of his shoulders and he's definitely a larger Chi, but also much older. Have her ears ever stood up?  I ask because a Chi pup's ears may start to stand and then go back down when they're teething.  Generally, Chi pups begin to lose baby teeth at four to five months of age, so she's definitely in that age range right now.  I can't see her body composition very clealy in the picture that you've uploaded, but I think I see her backbone?  Is that true?  Do you know how much she weighs? Do you know how much her parents weigh? Has she been examined by a qualified veterinarian?  One that is familiar with the breed?  I just want you to be sure that there are no medical reasons for her being so thin at such a young age.  Feeding a good quality, human grade dog food would be a good idea (if you're not already doing that).

Are you saying that she is tall and thin like her mother but you're wondering why that is so when her father is a smaller Chihuahua?  The size of the parents isn't always an indicator of what a puppy or a whole litter of pups will look like.  You can have a whole litter with pups that vary in size or that will obviously vary in size as they get older. I have a Chi here that is HUGE - he's around 10 lbs. and his mother was five pounds (I actually saw her) and I was told that the father was 3 lbs. I have another Chi here that is very small at 3.5 lbs.  I saw both parents and they were maybe 7 lbs. and the other pups in the litter were mostly larger than her.  She does, however, resemble her grandmother who also has longer, more fragile legs.

I hope that I've sufficiently answered your questions.  Don't hesitate to write back if you have further questions or wish to answer the questions that I've asked above.

Jo Ann