Why I Shoud Get a Puppy Part 2
By Izzy
7/30/20
One of the cutest puppies I've seen on Petfinder is a Chihuahua Terrier mix so I decided to read up on both breeds. The puppy's name is Fuzz and she's 4 months old. I want a smaller dog that I can cuddle with, which is why Fuzz would be perfect -- she's estimated to be around 15 pounds fully grown. Fuzz is a blend of Chihuahua and Airdale Terrier, which petguide.com says makes a playful, protective, energetic dog.
The Airdale Terrier is known as an athletic and intelligent dog. Some cons of having an Airdale Terrier are that they can be very vocal, stubborn when training, and they are very active and need a lot of exercise. They also have a more wiry coat so they don't shed as much, which would be amazing compared to the amount of Noodle's fur we find everywhere.
I generally don't like Chihuahuas because they aren't the cutest, but after some further reading I learned that they are pretty easy to train because they like to please their owners. I also read that they don't need much exercise because they are so small and are pretty good watchdogs even though they are tiny. Some cons are that they aren't as easy to house train and need a lot of attention. Since Fuzz is a mix, you can't be sure which traits she would have from each breed but her description says she's sweet, smart, and good with other dogs.
I also looked up training a puppy to get along with guinea pigs. A promising article from wagwalking.com said, "Many dogs are perfectly suited to living in peace with guinea pigs despite their instincts for hunting." I think that raising the puppy around the guinea pigs wouldn't be too hard with strategies like letting the puppy smell the guinea pigs' scent from the door as thenest.com suggests. An article about teaching your new dog to get along with your current dog from puplife.com says that most adult dogs will growl at puppies when they're too playful but it's necessary to set boundaries. Noodle isn't a super friendly dog so we would have to make sure that they get along before we took the puppy home. He's growled at other dogs who aren't even puppies, so our biggest concern is him not liking the puppy.
Chihuahua + Airdale Terrier =
Fuzz is really cute and what an interesting combination he is!
ReplyDeleteOur neighbor, mary Clyde, has an Airdale breed though he is bigger than
the one shown in the picture so probably not a terrier. He is very active and also sweet and surprisingly not too vocal. I think that was once reason she chose him.
Our pup Marvel is part terrier, and it's my favorite part. I love the wire-y hair that makes these dogs look like they have beards. :) Good luck with your quest for a new puppy!
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