Located in New Hampshire, USA

Your #1 Trusted Breeder of Top Quality AKC Chihuahua Puppies

We focus on health, temperament and conformation. 

Tenderheart Chihuahua Puppies are New England's Finest!

QUALITY VS. QUANTITY           We pride ourselves in our high breeding standards and focus to ensure that we are producing only healthy, confident, well socialized puppies with great conformation. All of our  Dams and Sires are AKC registered chihuahuas, have excellent pedigrees with champions lines, and have been carefully selected for temperament, health and beauty. We breed to standard (3-6 pounds) and parents are on our website for your viewing. We retire our little mommas sooner than some breeders and feel strongly that they come first. We won't breed a dog that for any reason isn't a happy or good mom.                       

CLEAN - SAFE- AND ENRICHING ENVIRONMENT          Our chihuahua puppies are raised in our home, with love and patience, not outdoors or in kennels. We use clear view and non obstructive containment pens large enough for them to run and play and maintain a separarate potty area. They run in tunnels, climb over obstacles and learn puppy puzzles and food toys. They are a very interactive part of our lives and very used to being petted, handled and part of the hustle-bustle daily family household.

SOCIALIZATION BEGINS EARLY           We practice puppy massage and classical music therapy, early neural stimulation and follow Puppy Culture method. Our puppies have lots of hands on love and attention. We firmly believe in genetics and socialization are the key foundation for great temperament, to raise a wonderful well adjusted family pet.

Our dedication to ensuring the success of each puppy means we are available for your questions once your puppy comes home. We encourage and welcome puppy updates!  You're receiving a superior chihuahua puppy to join your family as we've invested so much time, love and care.  Our small, family owned and operated, in home hobby breeding program is our passion, we love what we do here and your happiness matters to us. Please enjoy our website and feel free to call with any questions.

  • PUPPIES RAISED WITH PUPPY CULTURE
  • ONE YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY
  • VACCINATIONS TO DATE
  • ONE MONTH FREE HEALTH INSURANCE WITH TRUPANION
  • PUPPY TOY AND BLANKET WITH SCENT
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  • PICTURE UPDATES AS YOUR PUPPY IS GROWING
  • BREEDER SUPPORT
  • REPEAT CUSTOMER DISCOUNTS
  • WE BEGIN POTTY TRAINING, NAME TRAINING AND LOTS OF LOVE AND AFFECTION
  • EXAMINED BY LICENSED VETERINARIAN

Tenderheart Chihuahuas is located in Manchester, NH 03102, USA. Our airport is MHT for those flying in to pick up their puppy. We happily accommodate and cooperate with your approved flight nanny for in cabin flights only. Give us a call today to discuss your puppy transportation needs.

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Available Puppies

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Retiring Available Adults

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Meet Our Pack

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Puppy Application

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Deposit & Privacy Policy

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Chihuahua Resources

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Blog

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Downloads

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Contact Us

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About Us

Chris, Kristen and Family!

Known as Tenderheart Chihuahuas, operate a small in home hobby program breeding chihuahuas, with their family's help caring for each puppy from birth until they join their new homes. The focus is  on producing high quality chihuahuas with excellent temperament, health, and conformation, including chocolates, blues, brindles, creams, merles, and both long and smooth coats. 

Puppies are raised in our New Hampshire home with nutritious food, daily attention, early neural stimulation, and socialization with people, pets, and household sounds. Our dogs live indoors as cherished family members, receiving the love and care they deserve.

Breeding chihuahuas is our passion. Sharing that love with other families, making lifelong connections, and watching our puppies grow brings us joy. Most of our puppies are sold as beloved pets, and some with full AKC options available for the right homes. Every sale helps cover medical care and support for our dogs, and returned back into the hobby program.

We are proud members of the International Chihuahua Club and remain dedicated to raising quality chihuahuas with experience, patience, and heart.

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At Tenderheart Chihuahuas, we believe every chihuahua puppy deserves the best start in life, beginning before that puppy is even born, and our commitment to you and your new puppy begins long before we are acquainted, with our breeding standards and practices.

Our breeding program consists of good-natured, AKC-registered, genetically tested Chihuahuas chosen from champion pedigrees following lengthy research with their breeders, if acquired. Our breeding dogs and hopefuls receive optimal nutrition, genetic testing to assist in avoiding health issues, mostly holistic approach to vaccines as safely possible, an enriched environment with play time and socialization, come from emotionally sound, good natured parents with good conformation and titles in the pedigree to prove good lineage. Our dogs are not kept caged up in a kennel or left outdoors. They are part of our family, sleep indoors on furniture, or in their crate for the night, whatever their preference. They are very much loved and treated with adoration and respect as they should. They have toys everywhere, snacks, fuzzy beds in every room and corner and lots of cute outfits. We love them. We are not a breeding facility. We are a knowledgeable family that breeds only chihuahuas.

Once our breeding hopefuls are of age and again evaluated for breeding fitness, we make the final decision to add them to our program for what attributes they may bring or decide to rehome them if they have not met our high standards or have other flaws that would not be suitable for breeding. Temperament, health, structure, and the dog’s instinct for breeding all play a key part in this difficult decision. We believe it’s equally important that each dog is comfortable and happy in a pack environment in addition to being emotionally and behaviorally sound for breeding. Not all dogs are happy to be part of a pack. As difficult as it may be, and it’s so so difficult, we sometimes must make adjustments and find suitable homes for gorgeous young dogs that were intended to be bred. All necessary to produce the high-quality companions we’ve come to be known for.

Chihuahuas are our passion which makes raising them a labor of love and sharing that love with other families, making lifelong connections, watching them grow from afar is what we love most. We know our effort is appreciated. We have made many great friends throughout the years.

When we do have puppies available for sale, the money goes back into caring for the dogs, for their food, equipment, supplies and medical expenses. Our puppies are loved and pampered from the moment they are born, just as they should be. They are fed only nutritious high quality foods and receive lots of daily hands on attention. Using Puppy Culture, we practice early neural stimulation, socialize early and acclimate the pups to people, pets and household noises. They are held often and are given the same love and attention they would get, if they were all staying as cherished pets. They are raised in common areas where there is lots of new and familiar faces and voices. When it comes to raising quality chihuahuas, we know that it takes expertise, patience, love, dedication to the breed and lots of commitment! We wouldn’t change it for the world. 

You can always just give us a call anytime!

How We Raise Your Puppy

Early Socialization Using the Puppy Culture Method

Each puppy is gently introduced to home sounds, people, and other pets, promoting confidence and adaptability from the start. This begins at birth with Early Neural Stimulation and continues until they leave our home.

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Ready for Newborns!

The first two weeks are constant monitoring and supportive care for moms and babies alike.

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Comfortable with family environments.

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Prepared for new experiences.

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Our Puppies are raised on Fromm !

Your Puppy Application

Your online puppy application is the first step to becoming an approved home for one of our puppies or retiring adults. We typically review them and respond within 24 hours, as they are sent directly to email. If for some reason you have not heard from us please feel free to give us a call directly. We encourage questions and may complete and approve your application by phone interview. We will not approve any application without speaking directly to the new pet owner. It’s important to find a breeder that is patient and willing to listen to the needs of your family. Once you have been approved and approve of us as your breeder, we can proceed with a waitlist or puppy deposit.

Veterinarian Approved

Each puppy must be fully weaned and thriving independently of Mom, which happens on their own time. Our puppies are important to us and we want them to have the best start in life, which is why we prefer that they stay beyond the legally required minimum of 8 weeks.  Weeks 9, 10 and 11 are beneficial for puppy behavior as Mom teaches them social cues and they continue to navigate their environment in a familiar setting. On average, most pups are ready by 11 weeks of age, but it is truly an individual process, and we want to be sure that your new puppy is equipped and ready for success.

Once your puppy is ready to be vetted, we bring a fecal sample to the lab to check that the deworming process has been completely successful. On occasion, it may need to be repeated or refined, not to worry, we will take care of that here, and your pup will go home once cleared, 

Upon successful completion of a physical health exam, your puppy goes home with a health certificate, details of our one-year health guarantee, and one free month of Trupanion Health Insurance. You will recieve a vaccine record for you to bring along to your first visit once home. We also send home a blanket and toy with Mom and littermates scent.

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Vet-issued health certificate

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Age-appropriate vaccinations

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30 days free Trupanion Health Insurance

Happy Families, Happy Puppies

Real stories from Tenderheart Families

Tenderheart is fantastic! We absolutely adore our sweet boy Kevin. He has the sweetest temperament, he is playful, happy and healthy! We are so fortunate to have found Tenderheart and recommend them!

Milu Sanderson

We got our puppy. Kristen is more than helpful. Keep you updated on puppy progress. Sells only healthy happy pups. Would recommend.

Donna Keays

Our puppy is smart,sweet, healthy,perfect. Kristen has been very helpful when I have questions about puppy training. Kristen is a knowledgeable breeder and obviously loves her puppies.

Elizabeth Sylvester

Bought a whole litter of 3 puppies back in 2021 during Covid. Kristen was very nice and caring towards her babies and offered helpful advice on what to do next. These pups have been the sweetest and most caring. They get along great and make us laugh. I’ve gotten so many compliments on how beautiful they are. Very smart dogs and overall healthy. Would highly recommend.

Hunter Marchand

Kristen was awesome through the whole process of getting my new chihuahua puppy Diego. She was very professional, answered questions and always kept me up to date. Highly recommend if you want a quality puppy.

Phoebe Potter

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