If you have ever wanted chihuahua sounds explained in plain language, congratulations on finding someone who has spent literal years decoding every noise these chihuahuas make. My chihuahua produces sounds I genuinely did not know chihuahuas were capable of making. Some of them are cute. Some of them are genuinely alarming the first time you hear them. And absolutely all of them are delivered with maximum dramatic flair.
The Scream Bark
This is the noise that makes strangers on the street think something terrible is happening inside your house. It is technically a bark, but it is also somehow a full blown scream at the same time. My chihuahua unleashes this sound when someone knocks on the front door, when she spots a squirrel through the window, or when the pizza delivery person has the sheer audacity to exist on our front porch for more than three seconds.
The first time she did the scream bark, I genuinely almost called the vet because I thought something was seriously wrong with her. Now I just turn up the television volume and wait for it to pass. You get used to it eventually. Sort of. Your neighbors might not though.
The Gremlin Growl
I learned the hard way that chihuahuas have a growl that sounds absolutely nothing like what you would expect from such a tiny chihuahua. It is low, rumbly, surprisingly menacing, and honestly sounds exactly like a gremlin that got fed after midnight and is not happy about the situation. My chihuahua produces this noise when you try to move her off her favorite couch spot, when you dare to touch her sacred blanket, or when she is guarding a treat she has no intention of eating but also absolutely refuses to share with anyone.
People who visit our house hear the gremlin growl and nervously ask if she is okay. She is perfectly fine. She is just very opinionated and wants you to know it. The American Kennel Club describes chihuahuas as having terrier like qualities in their personality, and that growl is pure concentrated terrier energy packed into a five pound body that thinks it weighs fifty.
The Reverse Sneeze
If you are a new chihuahua owner, the reverse sneeze is going to scare the absolute life out of you the first time it happens. It sounds like your chihuahua is simultaneously choking, honking like a goose, and gasping for air all at once. I literally drove to the emergency vet in a panic the first time mine did it at two in the morning. The vet looked at me, then looked at my perfectly fine chihuahua who was wagging her tail, and very gently told me it was just a reverse sneeze and that I could go home.
It is actually quite common in small breeds and usually is not a big deal at all medically speaking. But it sounds absolutely horrifying every single time it happens no matter how many times you have heard it before. Your heart still skips a beat.
The Happy Whine
Not all chihuahua whines mean something is wrong, which took me a while to figure out. My chihuahua does this high pitched musical whine when I come home from being out, when it is treat time and she knows it, and when she spots her favorite person arriving at the dog park. It is the sound of pure unfiltered joy pouring out of a tiny body and it is honestly the sweetest and best noise she makes all day.
The key to chihuahua ownership is learning to tell the difference between the happy whine and the something is actually wrong whine. After living with one for a while you just develop an ear for it naturally. It is like learning a whole new language except the language is made entirely of tiny chihuahua emotions and dramatic sound effects.
The Dramatic Sigh
Chihuahuas sigh like they carry the weight of the entire world on their tiny little shoulders. My chihuahua sighs deeply when dinner is running late. She sighs when I stop petting her before she is ready. She sighs when the sun moves across the sky and her warm napping spot by the window disappears. Every single sigh sounds like she is deeply and profoundly disappointed in how her life is going, even though she honestly lives like absolute royalty.
Once you have chihuahua sounds explained and you actually know what each one means, living with these chihuahuas becomes even more entertaining than it already was. They are constantly communicating with you through this incredible range of noises. Barks, growls, whines, sighs, reverse sneezes, and whatever that gremlin noise actually is. It is a lot to process. But it is also one of my absolute favorite things about sharing my life with them.
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