Interesting facts about Chihuahua

Standard and Description of Chihuahua breed

Origin of chihuahua: Mexico.

Type: Companion Dog.

FCI Classification: Companion dog in Group 9. Section 6, Chihuahua, without working trial.



General overview of the Chihuahua breed: A compact dog. The head has a characteristic apple-like or deer-like shape. The tail is quite long, raised and carried aloft in the form of a sickle or can be slightly bent, with the tip of the tail Chihuahua is directed strictly along the spine.

The major proportion of Chihuahua: Length of the body is slightly greater than the height at of the withers, a square form in males is more often. Females of Chihuahua have a more extended body form.

Character / Behavior: Alive, alert, lively, very brave.

CHIHUAHUA HEAD

Skull: The head is round like an apple (a characteristic feature of the Chihuahua breed) with a small parietal "fontanel" or without it. The transition from forehead to muzzle is well-marked, deep and wide, because the forehead is rounded at the base of the muzzle.

CHIHUAHUA FACE

Nose: Very short, somewhat turned up, can be of any color.
Muzzle: Short, seeming straight in profile, broad at base, tapering to the nose.
Lips: Dry, tightly pressed.
Cheeks: mild, very dry.
Teeth: Scissor or pincer bite . Overshot or undershot, as well as any other anomaly in the upper or lower jaw in Chihuahua  allowed.
Eyes: Large and rounded, very expressive, not very prominent, very dark-colored, light-colored eyes are acceptable but not desirable.
Ears: Large, erect, broad at the base, slightly tapering and rounded at the ends. A bit "hanging" in a relaxed state.
Neck:  Neck topline is slightly arched. The length of the neck is average. Shape: more volume in the male Chihuahua than in females.
Skin: Not hanging, smooth and elastic all over body. The long-haired Chihuahua is highly desirable to have so-called "frills" of a well-developed feather.

CHIHUAHUA BODY

Compact and well built.
Topline: Straight.
Withers: Slightly showing.
Back: Short and strong.
Loins: Strongly muscled.
Croup: Broad and strong, but not steep.
Chest: Ribcage broad and deep, ribs well rounded. They seem to be bulky from the front, but not excessively, reaching to the elbow, not barrel-shaped.
Lower line: Formed by noticeably tucked up belly. Chihuahua with weakly tucked up belly is acceptable but not desirable.
Tail: Set high, of sufficient length, thick at the base, gradually tapering towards the tip. Chihuahua's tail should be raised and slightly bent in the form of a sickle or bent in a semicircle, so that the tip of the tail points towards the back, which makes the dog's body well-balanced. The way Chihuahua carries its tail is an important characteristic feature of the breed. The coat of the tail must comply with the dogs coat in general. In the long-haired Chihuahua feather on the tail forms a so-called "plume". In repose the tail is lowered and slightly bent.

CHIHUAHUA LIMBS

Forelegs: Straight, of good length. Looking from the front, the foot forms a straight line with the elbow, when viewed from the side of the Chihuahua they stand upright on a slightly sloping and elastic pasterns. The shoulders are dry and not very muscular, there's a noticeable arked angulation between shoulder blade and upper arm. The elbows are pressed closely to the body, which gives Chihuahua a free movement of the front limbs.
Hindquarters: Well muscled, set vertical and parallel to each other, with good angulation hip and hock. The hocks in Chihuahua are with a pronounced short Achilles tendon. When viewed from behind they look parallel and stand upright. There should not be a narrow hock in Chihuahua.
Feet: Very small, oval, with well-spaced, but not splayed fingers (no rabbit-like or cat-like), curved claws, and long enough, pads well developed and very elastic. Dewclaws in Chihuahuas should be removed.

CHIHUAHUA MOVEMENTS

Steps are broad and flexible, energetic and active with good forward movement of forelegs and strong push of hindquarters. Chihuahua's hindquarters should move almost parallel to each other, so that traces of hind and front paws were almost the same. When increasing the speed, the limbs tend to shift the gravity center. Chihuahua movements , however, remain free and elastic, without much effort, with its head  held high and strong back.

CHIHUAHUA COAT

There are two types of coat in this breed.
Smooth-coat Chihuahua: The coat is short, fitting close around the body, and if there is an undercoat, hair may be slightly longer. In the stomach and the throat there may be a rare wool. The fur on the neck and tail is slightly longer, and short on the head and ears. The coat should be shiny and have a soft touch. Hairless dogs are not good quality.

Long-coat Chihuahua: The coat should be soft and silky, straight or slightly wavy, not very thick undercoat is desireable. The coat is longer, forming so-called "feathers" on the ears. The back of the front and rear paws are adorned in the same manner. The feathers should be well developed on the chest, hindquarters and tail. Too fluffy wool, like Bolognese, is not good quality.

CHIHUAHUA COLOUR

All colors and their shades and combinations of colors are good.

CHIHUAHUA SIZE AND WEIGHT

Size: There's no specifications of the Chihuahua size described in the standard.

Weight: varies from 500 g to 3 kg. The most preferred weight of Chihuahua is from 1 kg to 2 kg. Dogs weighing more than 3 kg get disqualified.

Chihuahua males must have two well-developed testes descended into the scrotum.




DISADVANTAGES IN CHIHUAHUA

Any deviation from the standard of Chihuahua breed are classified as defects. The disadvantages, in particular, include:

• a narrow skull
• small, sunken or bulging eyes
• long face
• ears too pointed at the tips
• short neck
• curved or swayback spine (Lordosis or Kyphosis)
• long body
• short legs
• separated elbows
• narrowly set hind limbs
• narrow chest
• flat chest
• sloping croup
• tail badly set, twisted or very short
• overshot or undershot
• absence of some teeth
• deformed jaw
• double row of teeth
• loss of the patella.

ELIMINATING FAULTS IN CHIHUAHUA

• the long-coat dogs have too lush and long wool like the Bolognese
• the smooth-coat Chihuahua have alopecia (bald spots)
• no tail
• drooping, or too short ears
• weight over 3 kg
• too stretched body
• too light, or atypical.

Origin of Chihuahua breed.

As for the origin of Chihuahua, there are different versions. The most likely one is that they are descended from the sacrificial dogs bred by the ancient Mexican Aztec priests in the VIII century. Chihuahuas were favorites of the Aztec noble ladies, and according to their religion they were considered guides of the dead souls to the underworld. For this reason, at the burial ceremony they put a dead Chihuahua into the grave next to the corpse. But the Chihuahua were not only sacrificial animals, but also a part of the Mexican Indians diet.

Short description of the Chihuahua breed

1. The smallest of dog breeds, with its head in the form of an apple and a short, pointed muzzle.
2. Chihuahua Standard requires a scissor bite.
3. A typical Chihuahua have big ears like a bat.
4. The eyes should be proportional to the nose, so that when viewed from the front you can see three points of the same size.
5. The length of Chihuahua body is greater than its height at the withers.
6. The limbs are straight.
7. Tail of medium length, carried up or over the back.
8. There are two types of coat: short coat and long coat.
9. The long-coat dogs have a fringe on their ears, pronounced "collar" around the neck. The tail is fully covered with fur. Chihuahua coat is always smooth or slightly wavy, with little undercoat.
10. The short-coat dogs have a thick, shiny, tight-fitting coat.
11. The color may be cream with dirty-yellow markings on the back, the occipital and sides, or black and white, or tricolor, or blue-ice (very rare), with white spots on the forehead and chest. There may be other variations of colors and shades as well.

If you are going to adopt a Chihuahua puppy and don't know how to choose a Chihuahua puppy read more articles about Chihuahua.