I'd been kind of throwing around the idea of getting a chihuahua for awhile but hadn't actually planned on getting one any time soon. Only they had a chihuahua at the store and I couldn't help myself. He was alone in his own little area and I kind of felt bad for him because all the other pups had someone else to keep them company.
I picked him up and instantly fell in love. He was just so darn cute!!! I looked at all the other pets there but I kept coming back to Shiver. Then I noticed that there were some other smaller chihuahuas and asked about them. I was told they were too young yet and wouldn't be available for another couple of weeks. I didn't want to wait and walked back to Shiver.
I picked him up again and knew he was mine. So I bought him!
I was planning to call him Avery but he just shivered and shivered and shivered because he was so scared when I held him in the store. He was only 4 1/2 months old so he was still a baby. He still shivers when he's nervous. And that is how he got his name.
I brought him home and he immediately settled in. It was like he had always lived there. My cat and other dog were not excited by the new addition but Shiver never seemed to notice. Frisky was pretty old already and I'm sure having this hyper little puppy around probably didn't help her any. He wanted to play and chew 24/7 and Frisky was just NOT having it!!!
Sadly, Frisky passed on when Shiver was about a year old so it was just him and the cat. The cat LOVED to sleep in front of the laundry room door. And Shiver LOVED to sneak up on my pretty little kitty and chew on him. Scratches did not enjoy this and would wake up screeching.
The first year of his life, I often wondered if I'd made a mistake. I'd never had a puppy before, all my other dogs had already been adults when I got them so I didn't know what I was in for when I brought him home. He chewed anything and everything and was much more hyper than what I was used to. I remember one night I woke up to him chewing my ear. When I pushed him away and yelled at him, he seemed to think we were playing a game and he then began to chew my fingers. It was a lllloooonnnngggg night! My mom kept telling me to get him some chew toys but he already had plenty. He would much prefer to chew everything BUT his toys and rawhide chews. Eventually he grew out of the puppy stage and became a sweet little dog. And I appreciate him so much more now!
He still likes to chew things now and again. He loves to chew my comforters and bed sheets. If I drop a peice of paper and he gets it before I do, he'll rip it to shreds and wag his tail the whole time. If I'm not paying enough attention to him, he'll find something to chew. He comes over to show me what he has, then he runs off with it in his mouth and proceeds to chew it up and destroy it until I can get a hold of it. Sometimes it's a peice of paper, sometimes it's a sock or something from the laundry, sometimes it's a shoe, it could be anything. I know he does this for attention since he comes and shows me what he has before he runs off with it.
His favorite toy is whatever Chico happens to be playing with at the moment. Shiver thinks all of the toys belong to him and will stockpile them.
If I give him and Chico a treat, he does a poor job of "hiding" his (he'll shove it under a blanket or something and half of it will be sticking out so it's not really hidden) and runs off to try and steal Chico's.
He LOVES attention and gets very jealous if he thinks someone or something else is taking that away from him. He would sit on my lap all day if I'd let him.
He chews his toenails. I don't know why he does this but I let him because that means I don't have to fight him to get them trimmed.
If he thinks I've slept in too long in the morning, he'll chew on me and lick me all over to tell me it's time to get up. Sometimes I'm not ready to get up yet but he doesn't care because he thinks the whole world revolves around him and him alone so it only matters what he wants.
He doesn't like to walk and will usually ask to be held if we go very far. He's gotten better as he's gotten older though.
If I'm in another room and he wants to eat, he'll take a few peices of food in his mouth and carry them to where ever I'm at, drop them and eat one peice at a time. When he's done, he'll go back to the food and repeat this over again until he's had enough food in his belly.
This is Shiver's Story!
1 showed me some love:
What an absolutely delighted and lovely tribute to your little dog.;) And so cute he is too.;)
I have been told that you pick your pet, but they also pick you. The fact that you just knew he was the one, shows this.
I got Batcat the same way; he was born on a farm and on the way there I was already decided for his brother, but once I saw Batcat, I knew it was him I wanted.;)
xoxo
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