Although Ive only been knitting for a month, Ive mastered the scarf, purse, hat and baby bootie. It’s now time for a sweater for my poor Howie. He keeps expressing his disgust at the Chicago weather! He wants us to move to Mexico, where he belongs.
He’s about 6.25 pounds. All doggie sweater patterns I have found are for dogs no less than 15.
If anyone has a good pattern (simple, please…no foof as Howie is a MAN, for goodness sake!) I would REALLY appreciate it!
Hope these quick links help. I don’t have a dog, but my mother has a Pekingese that roughly falls into the same category as your Chihuaua. I’ve noticed it is challenging to find a pattern for a smaller dog.
I dunno…judging by that picture your male looks pretty submissive!? LOL
I don’t think there is a specific picture for this pattern, the creater say’s its open to creative interpretation…make one or two and you supposedly get the hang of it. But there are pics of other dogs wearing coats there (which I doubt will help). Still, it’s a pattern specifically for a Chihuahua (designed for male or female):
http://www.redlipstick.net/knit/chihswe.html
A link to links of assorted canine patterns, some of which are custom-fit. Among the custom fits is a site where you can enter some measurements and other data and actually get a free custom pattern made for your dog, in a matter of seconds: 
Stitch 'n Bitch Nation has a good sweater pattern called “Casey’s Coat” that I knit for my pup. There’s pic of Willow wearing it in both the FO post and in the Eek LOL post about destroyed projects (so I’ll save you from yet another pic of my gorgeous dog…)
The model for the smallest size in SnB Nation is a Chihuahua, so it would probably work for Howie. I easily adjusted the sizing quite a bit for Willow, so you could do the same.
Good luck,
t.
Thanks, Tammy! Willow is LOVELY! Is she a visla?
I have a question about her sweater…It seems it comes down pretty far on her abdomen. Male dogs need sweaters that stay out of the way of “things”. I DO like the fact that her butt is well-covered. Howie usually ends up sporting a (very fashionable) Donald Duck look. 
Willow thanks you for the compliment! To my best estimation, she’s part Pit Bull and part Whippet… I call her a Pippet!
Because she’s a bit curled up in that photo, the sweater looks like it comes down further than it really does. It actually stops at her ribs when she’s standing… definitely a safe distance from any boy equipment.
This pattern is knit from the top down, so any adjustments to the length are very easy. Willow has broad shoulders and a narrow waist, so I adjusted the pattern quite a bit. I chose the correct size for her chest circumference. Then after I’d knit down past the arm holes, I slipped her front legs through the holes and estimated the length that would fit her. Then it was just a matter of starting the decreases earlier and adjusting the stripe pattern.
If you needed to make the sweater a smaller circumference than the size Small, you could simply cast on the fewer stitches and do a little figuring about spacing the arm holes. Size Small in the book is listed as 12" long and 15" around.
Good luck!
t.