Foods Chihuahuas Should Avoid

While you love your chihuahua dog and want him/her to have the best foods, it is vital to know which foods to consume and which must be avoided at all costs.

There are specific foods that are toxic to dogs, including chihuahuas. The below table is a list of foods to avoid feeding your chihuahua. In my opinion, Chihuahuas should just eat chihuahua dog food and avoid human foods at all costs.

* Chart from Foster & Smith Inc.

Items to avoid	Reasons to avoid
Alcoholic beverages	Can cause intoxication, coma, and death.
Baby food	Can contain onion powder, which can be toxic to dogs. (Please see onion below.) Can also result in nutritional deficiencies, if fed in large amounts.
Bones from fish, poultry, or other meat sources	Can cause obstruction or laceration of the digestive system.
Cat food	Generally too high in protein and fats.
Chocolate, coffee, tea, and other caffeine	Contain caffeine, theobromine, or theophylline, which can be toxic and affect the heart and nervous systems.
Citrus oil extracts	Can cause vomiting.
Fat trimmings	Can cause pancreatitis.
Grapes and raisins	Contain an unknown toxin, which can damage the kidneys. There have been no problems associated with grape seed extract.
Hops	Unknown compound causes panting, increased heart rate, elevated temperature, seizures, and death.
Human vitamin supplements containing iron	Can damage the lining of the digestive system and be toxic to the other organs including the liver and kidneys.
Large amounts of liver	Can cause Vitamin A toxicity, which affects muscles and bones.
Macadamia nuts	Contain an unknown toxin, which can affect the digestive and nervous systems and muscle.
Marijuana	Can depress the nervous system, cause vomiting, and changes in the heart rate.
Milk and other dairy products	Some adult dogs and cats do not have sufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose in milk. This can result in diarrhea. Lactose-free milk products are available for pets.
Moldy or spoiled food, garbage	Can contain multiple toxins causing vomiting and diarrhea and can also affect other organs.
Mushrooms	Can contain toxins, which may affect multiple systems in the body, cause shock, and result in death.
Onions and garlic (raw, cooked, or powder)	Contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia. Cats are more susceptible than dogs. Garlic is less toxic than onions.
Persimmons	Seeds can cause intestinal obstruction and enteritis.
Pits from peaches and plums	Can cause obstruction of the digestive tract.
Potato, rhubarb, and tomato leaves; potato and tomato stems	Contain oxalates, which can affect the digestive, nervous, and urinary systems. This is more of a problem in livestock.
Raw eggs	Contain an enzyme called avidin, which decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin). This can lead to skin and hair coat problems. Raw eggs may also contain Salmonella.
Raw fish	Can result in a thiamine (a B vitamin) deficiency leading to loss of appetite, seizures, and in severe cases, death. More common if raw fish is fed regularly.
Salt	If eaten in large quantities it may lead to electrolyte imbalances.
String	Can become trapped in the digestive system; called a "string foreign body."
Sugary foods	Can lead to dental problems, and possibly diabetes mellitus.
Table scraps (in large amounts)	Table scraps are not nutritionally balanced. They should never be more than 10% of the diet. Fat should be trimmed from meat; bones should not be fed.
Tobacco	Contains nicotine, which affects the digestive and nervous systems. Can result in rapid heart beat, collapse, coma, and death.
Yeast dough	Can expand and produce gas in the digestive system, causing pain and possible rupture of the stomach or intestines.

Chihuahua Personality

The chihuahua personality is one of the most unique traits of this toy breed. Like humans, each dog is an individual and can have different personalities (shy, outgoing, etc.), but there are general personality traits for chihuahua dogs. Some of these traits can be seen as a positive, some as a negative.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) describes the chihuahua personality as "terrier-like". But what exactly does "terrier-like" mean? This can be described as intelligent and loyal, along with bold and confident. Chihuahuas have a very alert nature and are suspicious of strangers. This makes it an excellent watchdog. Chihuahuas are very sensitive, and thrive on affection and companionship. They are very clannish, preferring the company of their own breed to other dog breeds.

This "terrier-like" personality makes the Chihuahua not for everyone, because of their clannish tendencies and suspiciousness of other people. But the curiosity, intelligence and extreme loyalty of the breed make them an excellent pet for the elderly, individuals and disabled people.

The Chihuahua was bred to be a companion dog to man. They are extremely affectionate with their owners and do not like to be left alone. They prefer being with humans, or other chihuahuas. They usually become attached to just one or two individuals and want to be spoiled.


Chihuahuas tend to have a 'big dog' personality and have earned the reputation of being yappy and snippy with strangers. Despite their small size, they are quite protective of their owners. They aren’t aware of their small stature, and you can typically see them acting much bolder than other dogs that are much bigger in size.

Since the Chihuahua is extremely loyal to just one or two individuals, they become highly protective or possessive of these people. This can cause a violent reaction, since chihuahuas are usually wary of any new guests introduced to their territory. Chihuahuas have even attacked family and friends of their owners, even if the Chihuahua met these people before. Although not a very good guard dog, this trait makes the Chihuahua an excellent option for a watchdog.


Chihuahuas are definite lapdogs and human contact is a must, as they will need a lot of general attention, and petting. They like nothing more than to be in physical contact with their people at all times. They have been known to sit with their owners for hours, sometimes on a lap or cuddled next to them. Without enough attention, the breed will resort to various attention getting tricks, such as being mischievous. While some find this makes their dog a bit too needy, you will gain a lot of loyalty from your Chihuahua in exchange for attention, love, and care.

So is the chihuahua the breed for you? Hopefully this article on the chihuahua personality traits helped.

Chihuahua Rescue Guide

If you are looking to adopt a chihuahua, why not get one at your local chihuahua rescue? Chihuahuas are one of the most popular toy dog breeds in the world. The popularity of this dog has increased greatly throughout the years, with the recent release of a popular movie featuring these dogs. But with this boom in popularity, comes a down side. This down side is an increase in abused, unwanted, and neglected chihuahuas.

These dogs need a good home, and this is where the chihuahua rescues come into play. They provide food, shelter, and vet care for these dogs until they can be adopted. Unlike some shelters, these facilities do not kill any of the dogs they take in.

Most chihuahua rescues are non-profit, so adopting a dog there can go a long way. Every dollar these facilities get goes to helping support these chihuahuas.

There are many great places to get chihuahuas, from chihuahua breeders, to shelters, to chihuahua rescues. If you are in the market for one of these loving dogs, please consider all possible options.