Has anyone had a Chihuahua that had hydrocephalus?

I hate to give you this information but here it is: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2109&a...

My wife and I have a Chihuahua named Chiquita. We have had her for a lol over a year now. We got her from a litter of 5 puppys and she was the runt. I imagine she was barely getting food because all the other pups were so much bigger than her. She was 1.4 pounds when we got her and frail. We also knew something was not right with her head. We took her to banfield to be checked and they said she had the worst case of hydrocephulus they have ever seen. She also had hypoglycemia. Which they gave us nutrical for that. She loves it. They also said she would only live 3-6 months. We decided as a team to try our luck and press on. First couple months we took her home was rough. We have 5 cats also so it was scary for us. We were always worried they would pat her head and cause a seizure which I admit, did happen a couple of times. That's a scary feeling when you can't help them just wrap them in a towel, talk, rub, and make sure she doesn't get the foam in her lungs. The towel was so that when she came to, she would trash around because she wast temporarily blind. We ended up putting her on steroids after a long thoughtful process. We didn't like it at first because it changed her behavior but we weren't having seizures. She is now 4.5 pounds and rules the cats around here. She loves her marrow bones and her dog food and runs around with tail up and ears flopping. I can't believe it's been a year already and still going strong. The main problem we have now is potty training. We can't let her outside because exposure to heart worms. She's too small to take any of that medicine. (Preventave care) we tried pee pads, she's not interested. Any ideas? But point of my story is our special needs dog just really needed some loving care. I know the steroids aren't the best thing long term but that is our only option at this time. They can live full lives, you just gotta be patient and take a chance.

Dog Section Regular is harsh but correct. The mother is not a good example of the breed and no, she is not "perfectly healthy and normal" - that phrase would indicate that she's GENETICALLY healthy, which we know she isn't because she's producing unhealthy pups.

Hydrocephalus is a serious condition. I'd advise you to contact a chihuahua breed club and ask for advice from them - you'll only find good breeders there, but they've heard countless horror stories about bad breeders and their sick dogs and will have some honest advice for you.

Most don't make it and the breeder should be giving you a replacement puppy . The vet check should have discovered this before the pup was sold.

Hydrocephalus rarely goes away on it's own. This is a life long condirion in most cases.

In humans a shunt is placed in the brain to drain the excess fluids into the spinal column. I am not aware if this can be done in dogs but it would be an expensive procedure.

I have never had one, but you need to be contacting your Breeder, YESTERDAY.

Gee, I wonder why you were given this "defect."

This dog should be euthanized, she is in pain and is suffering, and does not have a positive outcome in the future.