http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/blog en danny@stage5studio.com Copyright 2008 2008-03-29T00:54:01-06:00 http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/the_spring_update/ http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/the_spring_update/#When:00:54:01Z The craziness of the Holidays and our latest litter has put our blog on hold for longer than expected. Check out the latest news! Things have been very hectic around the house the past few months, with Holiday’s, puppies, new dogs, helping family move and life in general, I haven’t been able to keep up the blog. I’m caught up at the moment and will do my best to get things back on track! Puppies: Well the puppies are 13 weeks now, one has already left for his new home in Houston, the other two are patiently waiting. I can honestly say this is my best litter ever! All 3 pups will most likely be show quality! Both Silver/Blue pups look as though they will keep their color! I’m so excited about these little guys, I will do my best to keep updated pictures of them as they grow! The Silver boy is now available, please contact me if interested. I will be selling him with full papers to a handler/breeder home or limited to a pet home. Boys: Check out our Males section, we have a new stud in town. His name is Hunter and he’s nearly Diego’s twin! He is show quality and we hope to get some great litters out of him soon! Girls: Check out our Females section, we have a new girl her name is Illiana’s Lovable Lightning Lita, Look for her in the ring in 09 and possibly a litter the same year, we’ll just have to see! Things I just like to share: This is an oldie but a important fact. Many Chihuahuas have what is called an open fontanel or Molera. This is a soft spot on the top of the skull, between the ears of the Chi. Its similar to that of a new born child! Only, some Chihuahuas molera’s don’t ever close up. Please be very careful, if you buy a chi with an open fontanel, DO NOT panic! As long as there is no unusual swelling of the brain thru the opening. Its perfectly fine! Max our oldest, still has his and he’s a very healthy 13 years of age! So, when you take your pup in for a check up, and your vet notices it. If he is concerned with it being a defect or fearful it may turn into something like hydrocephalus. Just explain to him/her that’s its perfectly normal. Its important that you check your puppy’s molera, I have heard stories of owners putting their pups down if they had one. What a terrible thing to happen to a healthy pup. I will be updating our Ask a vet section very soon! we have a couple new pictures in our gallery and we’ll be adding a new section: Past Pups and their Owners. I’ve been wanting to do this forever now. So, if you have purchased a pup from us, pleaseeeeeeee, send an updated picture of you/your family and your new family all together. Thank You! Nursery: Future litters, we hope to get some blues from Lita and Thunder in 09. Ruby will be breeding hopefully in August or September, just in time for Christmas Pups! We may breed Carmie again and then skip a heat. She’s so healthy and strong, that beautiful girl is a machine! Of course, we never know what we’ll get from stud services we provide year round, so check in regularly! Have a Great Weekend and God Bless You All! Thomas Parker Illiana’s Chihuahuas 2008-03-29T00:54:01-06:00 http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/december_news/ http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/december_news/#When:23:37:02Z Puppies sold, more on the way and Ruby’s growing up! Sorry, This is coming out soooo Late. Due to circumstances outside my control, I’m calling this update. Our November/December issue! Puppies: One boy is still available, updated pics here. We have a new girl in town, Her name is Lita! Once we’ve made a reasonable determination of color, head and body. We will decide whether we are keeping her or not. We are considering her for obvious reasons, as we already have fawn, red and chocolate, cream and white will expand our colors. She is simply gorgeous. She is out of Bolder, however, she’s kind of small. I don’t believe she will break 4 1/2 lbs. So, she will be a perfect breeder weight and possible show candidate! Just look at her gorgeous markings, short snout and round head! Nursery: Carmie is pregnant! we are taking deposits immediately! please contact me for details. I just can’t wait until they’re here!!!! Females : Ruby is still growing and filling out, she has totally transformed since the last pictures we took of her. She has Changed Colors 4 times, possibly a 5th (still to be determined). Her head is finally filling in and balancing out the rest of her body! She is very square for a dame and doesn’t have that normal longness about her. Her eyes are still hazel and nose/pads are still chocolate! Her coat is just now starting to come in a little. News & Notes 2007-12-19T23:37:02-06:00 http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/about_a_chihuahua_december/ http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/about_a_chihuahua_december/#When:23:56:00Z New segment, tips and tricks from my own life experiences with Chihuahuas! Here’s a new segment I want to call “About a Chihuahua” I get several questions about my Chi’s some beginner some advanced. But one of the most common is “Why don’t your Chihuahuas look like the taco bell dog?” The first and formost thing I want to bring out is my pups are not in the same line at the “Taco Bell Dog” =) Honestly, I think for breeders like myself others who have show quality Chi’s. There should be a seperate classification. For example, the taco bell dog, is a Mexican Chihuahua. Where as, I would consider my Chihuahua’s to be a North American Chihuahua, or American Chihuahua, or LongCoat American or, you get the picture. I try to breed to the standard, so my chi’s usually have nice apple dome heads, straight lines, short muzzles, square bodies, balanced eyes and ears, straight/even bites but most important wonderful temperments!!! I don’t breed to have bulgy eyes, over extended foreheads, or deerheads for that matter. I try to avoid the curly tails, the long muzzles, and of course all the recessive genes that are out there. If anything is discovered that could hurt my line, that female/male is immediately spayed/neutered without question! The Chihuahuas I raise and have grown to love 3rd in my life, behind God and my family, give unconditional love! These Chi’s would die for their owner. All of my Chi’s run freely in our fenced in acre, males and females together. You would think the males would have killed each other by now, but no they all get along perfectly! In good harmony with no fighting. There are so many things I do to raise my Chi’s this way and starting in January, I will giving my personal tips. I’m not saying my methods are perfect, but they have worked for me. The next time I post any new info, there will hopefully be plenty of new puppies to show off!  Take Care! About Chihuahuas 2007-12-02T23:56:00-06:00 http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/ask_a_vet_october_edition/ http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/ask_a_vet_october_edition/#When:23:23:00Z Every month we will take reader questions to be answered by our local Expert Veterinarian, Eric A. Lange, DVM We are adding something new to our Blog, its called Ask a Vet! Every Month we will be asking our local Expert Veterinarian important questions that effect the well being of our little loved ones. Dr. Lange has been gracious enough to make time out of his busy day for our little site and we want to thank him for that! Eric A. Lange, DVM, La Cantera Animal Hospital 15503 Babcock Rd. San Antonio, Texas 78255 Years Practicing Veterinary Medicine - 37 If your ever in the area and you want your pet treated with the utmost care and consideration, drop on by to see Dr. Lange and his office of proffesionals! Here we go! Q: What dog food do you recommend? Dr. Lange : There are several brands to choose from, but in my experience, I’ve found there are four that meet the daily nutritional needs a growing pup. They are: Science Diet, Iams, Nutro and Purina ONE. Q: At what age should a pup receive their first immunization vaccine? Dr. Lange: 6 weeks is preferred If any of you want to ask Dr. Lange a question, send them into me and I will pick 2 every month. Thank You and have a blessed day! Ask a Vet 2007-12-02T23:23:00-06:00 http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/news_from_our_nursery/ http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/news_from_our_nursery/#When:23:07:00Z Looks like Santa might bring us more than presents this year! We hope to have a new litter of puppies as well If everything goes well, Thunder and Carmie will be expecting Christmas pups!! Yes you heard me right, if (BIG IF) everything goes as planned, the due date for their litter will be Christmas day! A little background on Carmie and Thunder, Carmie comes from a Blue Tri color father and a Chocolate Tri color Mom, Carmie is Fawn with white markings and overall a very nice Chi. Thunder is a Tri and comes from a Blue Tri mom and a Red/White Dad, Thunder is our Champion and that says it all (click on his awards history, if there are any questions =) So, I’m expecting AMAZING things from this litter! Once I have confirmed, that Carmie is pregnant I will send out an updated email notifiying everyone. For those of you interested I will be accepting deposits on the pups at that point in time. Current Females: as most of you know, we have decided to keep Ruby. She’s going thru the uglies right now...BUT! somehow or another, she’s still really cute! We’re hoping to show her spring/summer of ‘08! Current Males: Bolder and Thunder are available for Stud service, just give me a ring or shoot me an email! Puppy’s for sale: We have two gorgeous males ready for homes now! The fawn and white male is show quality and the Black and tan male is very high pet quality to low show quality. We would prefer show homes for these guys, but its not required. We are adding something new to our Blog, its called Ask a Vet! Every Month we will be asking our local Expert Veterinarian important questions that effect the well being of our little loved ones. Read the first Ask a Vet post now! 2007-12-02T23:07:00-06:00 http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/thanks_for_the_recognition/ http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/thanks_for_the_recognition/#When:22:59:00Z Our new website has been mentioned on several sites that feature beautiful websites! Thanks guys!  Welcome to all our new visitors! Thanks so much for stopping by to check out our new site and our chihuahuas. Illiana’s Chihuahuas was recently featured on several web sites that publish galleries of beautiful websites, and we’re excited we made the list! We worked hard with our web designer, Danny Silva at Stage5 Studio, to make sure that our site was one of the best on net, and we’re glad to share it with everyone. If you have any questions or comments on the site, or anything you think we can do to make it better, please contact us, we’d love to hear from you. Illiana’s Chihuahuas has been featured on the sites listed below. Please let us know if you have seen it listed anywhere else! Thanks again everyone! CSS Beauty Vitamin CSS Based The Daily Slurp CSS Impress CSS Design Yorkshire CSS Clip CSS Mania CSS Drive CSS Elite CSS Green CSS Exchange Most Inspired Dark-I News & Notes 2007-12-02T22:59:00-06:00 http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/our_new_litter_is_here/ http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/our_new_litter_is_here/#When:10:43:00Z We welcomed our newest bunch of show quality Chihuahua pups to our family this week! Ruby, our newest puppy, is something else, she’s our first Chocolate/Sable from our breeding. She’s gorgeous, she is tracking 4lbs as of right now. We are seriously considering keeping her and showing her. If we sell her, she will make any house a happy home! Ruby, already has a wonderful temperament, she’s laid back, but playful, shy but gives a little growl every now and then. She’s quite possibly the best we’ve ever had! You can view pictures of Ruby in our Chihuahua Puppies for Sale section, here. If you are interested in applying for Ruby, please visit our application page to see our health guarantee. Thunder will be available for Stud service, I will type up a contract that will meet all needs. We prefer payment, but will take pick of the litter in some instances. News & Notes 2007-10-08T10:43:00-06:00 http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/thunder_wins_akc_championship/ http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/thunder_wins_akc_championship/#When:10:33:00Z Our show Chi Thunder, won the latest AKC Championship. He is now avaible for stud service.  Thunder is our first Champion period, he not our last, but definitely our first! Thunder is nearly perfect, a very straight line, very square stack, perfectly proportioned body, doesn’t prance when shown, straight bite, perfect distance between ears, eyes, small muzzle. Just a gorgeous boy! Thunder would have finished in a month if we didn’t miss him so much and keep bringing him back home for a month at a time to visit :0 We love showing Chi’s but first and foremost they are all our pets and a part of our family and we love our family. When in the ring for his first major in the San Antonio Specialty, he just stood out like a sore thumb (but in a good way) There was no doubt he was going to win and he did! I felt he should have taken the entire class, but that’s just my opinion Thunder will be available for Stud service, I will type up a contract that will meet all needs. We prefer payment, but will take pick of the litter in some instances. News & Notes 2007-10-03T10:33:00-06:00 http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/how_to_care_for_your_new_chihuahua_puppy/ http://longcoat-chihuahuas.com/site/how_to_care_for_your_new_chihuahua_puppy/#When:10:29:00Z Your first night with your new Chi pup is one of the most important for its development. There are several things… When you first bring home your new Chihuahua Puppy, you need to remember that the pups are fragile, please handle them with the utmost care and love the first few weeks and well, actually for the entirety of their life. When you receive your pup, be sure to have a nice warm place ready for him/her to sleep and eat with plenty of water available. Also, extreme changes have been known to shakeup a little chi’s to the point of exhaustion and/or dehydration. As a rule of thumb a finger tip full of honey will perk the little guy up and help him adjust. Give him honey or syrup as often as he’ll take it until completely settled in. One VERY important point ALWAYS take your pup to your vet,for a complete checkup, within a day or two after arriving home, . Safety and his/her health are always a priority!! If you have small children, please supervise their play with the pup, in most instances I do not recommend a child under the age of 6 handle a Chihuahua unless they have grownup around toys their whole life, like my daughter has =) I will be detailing care for you new Chihuahua puppy in greater detail in the following weeks, including feeding schedule, some basic potty training ideas, and other helpful tips and tricks. Check back soon for more information! About Chihuahuas 2007-10-01T10:29:00-06:00