How We Raise Our Chihuahua Puppies, From Birth to Go-Home Day
Every Diamond Chihuahuas puppy is born in our home in Temple, Texas, and raised there by our family until the day it goes home with you. This is what those first weeks look like, and what we do at each stage so your puppy arrives healthy, confident and ready for its new life.
Every puppy we sell is raised by the same person you see here, in the same home, from its first night to go-home day. Here is what those weeks look like.
Our Chihuahua Puppy Raising Schedule, Week by Week
| Age | What the puppies are doing | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Birth to 2 weeks | Eyes and ears closed, nursing and sleeping | Weigh every puppy every day, keep the whelping box warm, watch every feed |
| 3 to 4 weeks | Eyes open, first wobbly steps, first barks | Move to a larger puppy area, start gentle daily handling, first taste of soft food |
| 5 to 6 weeks | Playing, exploring, eating soft food | Pee pad area, new surfaces and toys, first vet check and deworming schedule |
| 7 to 8 weeks | Eating soaked kibble on their own, full of personality | Visitors, household sounds, brushing and nail trims |
| 8 to 12 weeks | Ready for a new home, teacup size puppies a little later | Final vet check, microchip, AKC paperwork, go-home bag and feeding plan |
Newborn Teacup Chihuahua Puppies: The First Two Weeks
Our litters are born in a quiet room in our house, in a whelping box with a warm, washable bed. A newborn Chihuahua can weigh less than 4 ounces and cannot hold its own body heat, so for the first two weeks the mother and her litter are never far from one of us, day or night.
Every puppy is weighed every morning on a gram scale and written in its own log. A healthy puppy gains a little every day. One that stalls gets help the same day, with extra time on the best teat and supplemental feeds if it needs them. That log stays with the puppy for its whole time with us and goes home with you, and it is where our adult weight estimate for each puppy begins.
Weeks Three to Five: Eyes Open, First Food, First Steps
Around three weeks the eyes and ears open and the litter moves to a bigger puppy area in the busy part of the house. This is when they start to hear the TV, voices and footsteps, and when we start handling every puppy every day: picking it up, touching paws and ears, and putting it back with its littermates.
At around four weeks they get their first taste of soft food, a small breed puppy kibble soaked into a mash. Their mother keeps nursing while they learn, and we weigh them through the change, because weaning is when a tiny puppy is most likely to dip.
Weeks Six to Eight: Handling, House Sounds and Pee Pads
By six weeks our puppies are playing, wrestling and eating soaked kibble on their own. A pee pad area goes down away from their bed, and because puppies naturally move away from where they sleep, most of them are using it most of the time by go-home day.
These are the weeks that shape how your puppy handles the world. Each one meets new floors, new toys and new people, including gentle visits from children. They get brushed, have their nails trimmed and are carried around the house. A puppy that has already been handled every day for a month settles into a new home far faster than one raised out of sight.
Why Our Teacup Size Puppies Stay Until 10 to 12 Weeks
Most of our puppies are ready at 8 to 10 weeks. Our smallest are not. A teacup size puppy goes home only when it eats confidently on its own, holds its weight between meals and has passed its vet check, which usually means 10 to 12 weeks. We would rather a family waits two more weeks than takes home a puppy that is not ready. Our teacup Chihuahua low blood sugar guide explains why this matters so much for very small dogs.
Vet Checks, Microchip and Registration Before Go-Home Day
Before any puppy leaves us, it has a vet check, its vaccines for its age and a microchip, and its litter is registered with the AKC. You receive its vet record, microchip number, registration paperwork, the weight log from birth and our written health guarantee.
Every puppy also goes home with a bag we pack ourselves: starter food so its diet does not change on day one, Nutri-Cal or glucose gel, a written feeding schedule and a blanket that smells of its mother and littermates. That blanket helps more on the first night than anything you can buy.
What We Breed For
- Health first. Our adults are examined by our vet before they are bred. Ask us about the parents of any puppy.
- Temperament. We keep and pair dogs who are calm, confident and friendly with strangers, not yappy or fearful.
- Small, predictable size. We specialize in teacup and toy size Chihuahuas, and every puppy gets a projected adult weight based on its parents and its own growth.
Our Promises to Every Family
Every puppy leaves with a vet record, microchip, AKC paperwork and our written 1-year health guarantee. If you can ever no longer keep your Chihuahua, at any age, it comes back to us. That is written into our puppy contract, and we mean it.
| Breeder | A family home breeder in Temple, Texas 76501 |
|---|---|
| Registry | AKC, every litter registered |
| Veterinary care | Vet check before every puppy goes home |
| Health guarantee | Written 1-year genetic guarantee |
| Visits | By appointment, Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
Staying in Touch Before Go-Home Day
Once you reserve a puppy, you can call or text us whenever you want to hear how it is doing. Families close enough to visit can come by appointment once the litter has had its first vaccines.
See the puppies we are raising right now on our teacup Chihuahua puppies for sale page, read our reviews from puppy families, or send the free adoption application.
Questions About How We Raise Our Puppies
Are your Chihuahua puppies raised in a kennel?
No. Our puppies are born in our house and raised there until they go home. Their mothers are family dogs who live with us, and the litter grows up with the normal sounds and people of a busy home, which is why our puppies are used to being handled long before you meet them.
How old are your Chihuahua puppies when they go home?
Most of our puppies go home at 8 to 10 weeks. Our teacup size puppies stay with us longer, usually until 10 to 12 weeks, because a very small puppy should go home eating confidently on its own and holding its weight between meals, not just because it has reached a date on the calendar.
Will my puppy be used to pee pads when it comes home?
Mostly, yes. From around five weeks our litters have a pee pad area away from their bed, and by go-home day most puppies use it most of the time. Expect a few accidents in a new house. Keep the same pads at first and our potty training schedule picks up where we left off.
Can I meet you and the mother before I buy?
Yes. Visits are by appointment, and families who collect from our home meet the mother at pickup. Families who choose flight delivery meet one of us in person at their airport, where we hand over the puppy, its records and its feeding plan.
Do you sell Chihuahua puppies outside Texas?
Yes. Families within driving distance collect from our home, and families further away can have one of us fly the puppy to them in the cabin, or send someone they trust to collect it. We never ship puppies as cargo. Our delivery page explains both options.