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2009The Shivering Chihuahua
Why do Chihuahuas Shiver
They tremble and shiver constantly. What is amiss with Chihuahuas that do this? In most cases, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Chihuahuas that tremble and shake. There is, however, a reason for it.
Chihuahuas may shake due to the abundance of energy that they have. Have you ever had too much caffeine? Did it make you shaky or nervous? If so, you can imagine what your Chihuahua is feeling when he is shaking for this reason. He simply needs to burn off that excess energy.
Chihuahuas also may shake and shiver when they are excited. This also goes back to the amount of energy they have, but many dogs shake when they get excited…just as many people do. This is nothing to be alarmed about, and the shaking will often either simmer down or stop altogether once the excitement has passed.
Chihuahuas shake when they are nervous or upset. Often shaking that occurs because the dog is nervous or upset will be accompanied by barking, whining, and other signs. In this instance, it is important to take careful note of the dog’s environment to see what it is that is upsetting him.
Are there strangers or strange animals in the area? Is there a storm brewing outside? Just look around to find the cause of the dog’s distress, and then either make that distress go away, if it is in your power to do so, remove the dog from the situation, or pet the dog and talk calmly to him to let him know that everything is okay. In many cases, if you are calm and you talk calmly to him, his nervousness will quickly pass.
Your Chihuahua may be shivering because he is cold. These are tiny dogs and they have that high metabolism. They lose body heat quickly, and just as you shake when you are cold, so will your Chihuahua. If he is shaking, he may simply need to be warmed up.
It doesn’t take an owner long to realize what is making his Chihuahua shake and shiver, and to learn the appropriate course of action to take. It’s just a matter of paying attention to the dog, to what is going on around the dog, and trying various things to see if the shaking stops or not. The shaking doesn’t necessarily have to stop, and you should note that shaking and shivering has nothing to do with the health of your Chihuahua.
Kim Granger
Hi, My little 6lb 10 oz Lucy was shaking yesterday for no apparent reason. My son asked me what the heck was wrong with Lucy and I noticed she was shaking too and it did seem rather odd since it was oh let’s say about 100 degrees outside. She was not cold I am sure and she was happy, not stressed or scared. She was acting adorable and sitting pretty like she does when she wants attention or a snack. So I just ignored her shaking but still felt weird about it. Then later on that day a few hours later (I had been at work for a little while) I cam home and let her out of the bathroom (that is where I keep her when I leave the house) she was shaking still and I suddenly noticed a huge lump under her chin and neck area and then around her jaw back towards her ear she had a big lump that was very hard and swollen and red! I took her to the vet and she had a temp of over 103!! Wow my poor baby was sick and had an infection and was given antibiotics and antiinflamatory drugs. We still are waiting for the abcess to go away. Not sure what caused it, a foxtail or a bite, not sure. But she was sahking because she had a fever and was sick. So pay attention to unusual shaking.
Jenny
Javier shakes when he’s excited or slightly stressed. He’s fairly sheltered so it doesn’t happen often. Yesterday when Daddy came home after being out of town for a few days and was greeting all of us, Javier was momentarily ignored and he began shaking like nobody’s business, then started emitting these little strangled yips, until Daddy greeted him by name and gave him a little pat!
What cracks us up is when his hackles go up — the ones at the back of him, near his tail — whenever he sees a squirrel on the fence outside, or senses the nearness of another dog! He’s so comical.
jess
MY baby has only shaked when he is nervous or upset do to ppl screaming he hates that…but last night i got home and he was shaking non stop and i knew there was somthing wrong so i called the vet she asked questions and do to the answers giving she said that it seemed he was shaking out of pain do to a upset tummy and to give him a tums…this worked great… however it was very scary and i was worried somthing was terribly worried that it was serious
amy brown
chihuahuas shake because they are mighty.
Diana
Thanks for the great info! We just adopted a tiny teacup chihuahua and I was very concerned about the shivering. It is good to know that most of the time she is okay but I will know what to look for if there is a problem.
God
I would advise that you need to have a kid, but I wouldn’t subject a child to your insanity.
shell
best. answer. ever.
morgan
my dog is shivering a lot and my dad thinks he just thinks that he wants attention
Karrie
I too have a Female Chihuahua, she seems to suffer from the “shivers” only when she’s in “protection” mode.
Oh and this is for “God” (how dare you even call yourself that) …. NOT EVERYONE CAN HAVE CHILDREN!!! LIKE ME FOR INSTANCE.
What an ignorant & cruel comment!!! Geeeze, you’d think being “God” and all you’d know that!! LOSER!!!
Karrie
You are a cruel, ignorant, uneducated LOSER!!! How dare you make such a comment!!
Not EVERYONE can have children. I’d think that would be something that “God” would know.
I’m sure the Devil has a seat waiting for you in HELL!
Shannon
Thank you for this information. My puppy, Zeus, shakes quite a lot, and after reading the above, I now have an understanding why.
Anonymous
Karrie, there’s no need to get angry at that person’s comment. It’s best to just ignore them and not waste your energy and time on them. Have a nice day and god bless
Hannah
wow how dare you call youself that thats horrible people need help on this page and you need to get a life c’mon you are not “god” if your going to tell people that “you need to have a kid” you are the dumbist person i have ever heard wow thats is messed up chihuahuas are happy cheerfull dogs and they do not replicate a kid ok so go fetch a life JERK you are not GOD
Mochi
How dare you!!!!!!!! People on here are sick!!! Dogs are no replacement for children and a seat in hell is waiting for you like they said! It’s a cruel world as it is and we’re talking about chihuahua’s here not people who can’t have children!!!!!!! This is just wrong!!!
Mochi
How dare you!!!!!! You are not right and that is so insensitive of you to post like that! You should be ashamed of yourself chihuahua’s are the focus here, not dictating whether someone should have a child or not. You are not nice!!!!
Sekai
A lot of chihuahuas shake when there hungry so that’s an option as well
Catherine "
My Chihuahua shakes whenever we are eating around her and we don’t give her any… her way of begging??
DontFeedTheTrolls
Take a chill pill people…. comments like yours are what makes people look at Christians like fanatical idiots. Do you really think he believes himself to be god? Probably not. Think maybe he threw a hateful comment out there to see how many people would take the bait and express their outrage? Probably so.
Do you really think the Devil has a place for him in hell? Do you really believe God would send him to hell for hurting your feelings in a comment on the internet? If so, I would suggest going back and taking another look at the Bible. Even Dante didn’t have a circle of hell for people that “hurt other peoples feelings”. If that really where the case, most people would probably go to hell. More than likely, including yourselves.