Chihuahua Info
CHIHUAHUA BREED STANDARD
"Toy Group"
General Appearance:
A graceful, alert, swift-moving compact little dog with saucy expression, and with terrier-like qualities of temperament.
Size, Proportion, Substance, Weight:
A well balanced little dog not to exceed 6 pounds. Proportion ? The body is off-square; hence, slightly longer when measured from point of shoulder to point of buttocks, than height at the withers. Somewhat shorter bodies are preferred in males.
Disqualification? Any dog over 6 pounds in weight.
Head:
A well rounded "apple dome" skull, with or without molera (soft spot). Expression? Saucy. Eyes - Full, round, but not protruding, balanced, set well apart- luminous dark or luminous ruby. Light eyes in blond or white-colored dogs permissible. Blue eyes or a difference in the color of the iris in the two eyes, or two different colors within one iris should be considered a serious fault. Ears? Large, erect type ears, held more upright when alert, but flaring to the sides at a 45 degree angle when in repose, giving breadth between the ears. Although a deer head may be preferred as a pet, it is not considered a breed "standard" and may have point(s) deducted in a show.
Stop:
Well defined. When viewed in profile, it forms a near 90 degree angle where muzzle joins skull. Muzzle? Moderately short, slightly pointed. Cheeks and jaws lean. Nose? Self-colored in blond types, or black. In moles, blues, and chocolates, they are self-colored. In blond types, pink noses permissible. Bite? Level or scissors. Overshot or undershot, or any distortion of the bite or jaw, should be penalized as a serious fault. A missing tooth or two is permissible.
Disqualification? Broken down or cropped ears.
Neck, Topline, Body:
Slightly arched, gracefully sloping into lean shoulders. Topline? Level. Body? Ribs rounded and well sprung (but not too much "barrel-shaped"). Tail? Moderately long, carried sickle either up or out, or in a loop over the back with tip just touching the back (Never tucked between legs.)
Disqualification? Docked tail, bobtail.
Forequarters:
Shoulders ? Lean, sloping into a slightly broadening support above straight forelegs that set well under, giving free movement at the elbows. Shoulders should be well up, giving balance and soundness, sloping into a level back (never down or low). This gives a well developed chest and strength of forequarters. Feet ? A small, dainty foot with toes well split up but not spread, pads cushioned. (Neither the hare nor the cat foot.) Dewclaws may be removed. Patterns? Strong.
Hindquarters:
Muscular, with hocks well apart, neither out nor in, well let down, firm and sturdy. Angulation ? Should equal that of forequarters. The feet are as in front. Dewclaws may be removed.
Coat:
In the Smooth Coats, the coat should be of soft texture, close and glossy (Heavier coats with undercoats permissible. Coat placed well over body with ruff on neck preferred, and more scanty on head and ears. Hair on tail preferred furry. In Long Coats, the coat should be of a soft texture, either flat or slightly wavy, with undercoat preferred. Ears? Fringed. Tail? Full and long (as a plume). Feathering on feet and legs, pants on hind legs and large ruff on the neck desired and preferred. (The Chihuahua should be groomed only to create a neat appearance.)
Disqualification? In Long Coats, too thin coat that resembles bareness.
Color:
Any color - Solid, multiple, combination with marked, patterned or splashed (see section below).
Gait:
The Chihuahua should move swiftly with a firm, sturdy action, with good reach in front equal to the drive from the rear. From the rear, the hocks remain parallel to each other, and the foot fall of the rear legs follows directly behind that of the forelegs. The legs, both front and rear, will tend to converge slightly toward a central line of gravity as speed increases. The side view shows good, strong drive in the rear and plenty of reach in the front, with head carried high. The topline should remain firm and the backline level as the dog moves.
Temperament:
Alert, projecting the terrier-like attitude of self importance, confidence, self-reliance.
Disqualifications:
Any dog over 6 pounds in weight.
Broken down or cropped ears.
Docked tail, bobtail.
In Long Coats, too thin coat that resembles bareness.
CHIHUAHUA COLORS
The Chihuahua is unique in that it has an almost endless variety of colors, markings, and patterns which can be found on both the long and smooth (short) coat. Below is a list of the main types of colors and combinations thereof, as well as types of patterns and markings. Not all of these markings may be recognized by the AKC (refer to the AKC recognized list below) or other kennel clubs.
Fawns:
Fawn - Fawn is the proper term for a tan or light brown Chihuahua coat color. The fawn color is the most common, as well as most popular color of a Chihuahua; the color of the “Taco Bell Chihuahua.” The color resembles the color of a young deer (a fawn). Although with Chihuahuas, there are many different shades of fawn, from very dark fawns to an almost white fawn (called a cream fawn). Fawn may have undertones of red and referred to as a red, copper and tan. Markings with fawns are often black and white marking to solid fawns. They often have a dark or black mask or muzzle.
Blue Fawn - A very light, pale color combination, as you can see. The blue fawn will be a diluted black which creates blue & fawn which is a very light tan.
Fawn & White - Cream colored with white markings usually around neck, chest, head, feet.
Sable Fawn - A sable color is any color that is darker on the top layers of hair than the under coat, usually it is black sable but can be brown, chocolate, and blue. The blue sable pups are usually born blue changing to fawn later.
Black Sable Fawn - Sable refers to black tips hairs. Therefore, the base color will be fawn and the tipping of the hairs will be black. This creates a textured appearance that is quite beautiful.
Gold - A deep, rich amber color; resembles the color of honey. Shinier than fawn; particularly noticeable when the Chihuahua is outside.
Gold & White -
Red Fawn Sable - This is sabling - which are black tipped hairs- on a base of red fawn. This Chihuahua would be listed as a red with sable markings.
Red - Darker and richer than the cream, almost a brown/orange color, also called an apricot blonde and copper, can get deep red as an Irish Setter and may be referred to as mahogany.
Red & White -
Cream - Cream colored almost white, sometimes with white markings. Cream colored are also called blondes, champagne, and beige colored.
Blacks:
Black - The most dominant color and also a very common color, usually most solid colored dogs have some sort of white marking as a full, as solid black is very rare.. They have dark eyes and a black nose. Show dogs Chihuahuas with very dark coats are not favored as the darker the color, the easier it is to hide flaws, but a darker color is often preferred by pet owners, besides that's where the deep rich chocolate and blues come from!
Black & Tan - Primarily a black Chihuahua, typically with tan above the eyes, cheeks, chest, legs, and sometimes underside of the tail.
Black & Tan with White Markings - Also call a black tri-colored. The white markings are also called Irish-marked, where the chest, legs, blaze, and neck ring (can also be a partial neck ring) are white.
Black & White - Mostly black with white on the face, chest and sometimes the legs.
Black Spotted on White - A whitish colored dog with black markings or splashes of black, sometimes with tan also. If three colors then it is a tri-colored black & white.
Black & Red -
Black & Silver -
Blues:
Blue - Is determined by skin color. It is the skin pigmentation that classifies a Chihuahua as blue; the paw pads, lips, eye rims and nose will be blue. Blue is the "official" term for grey and can range from silver to a dark slate or steel; the coat may appear to be any shade or variance of black (dull, muted or shiny). These areas may appear black; however, under bright light or sunlight, there will be a noticeable bluish tint. Blue is a fairly rare, unique color which carries a diluted black gene. In some cases, the dog's eyes may also be blue.
Blue & White - Mostly blue with white markings on chest, face, tail, and legs. Can also be spotted or splashed with white on blue or blue on white.
Blue & Tan - Blue, as described above, with tan points, usually with tan tips on the paws. Some have tan around the ears and/or above the eyes.
Blue & Tan with White - Also call a tri-colored blue, it is a blue based color with tan usually around eyes, chest, legs and back, with white on chest, legs, underside of tail, blaze or white on face.
Silver & White -
Silver and Grey Difference - The element that makes silver, is that white slivers will slice through the grey coat, producing a color that is shinier than an otherwise standard grey.
Chocolates:
Chocolate - Is brown, ranging from milk chocolate to red, to dark chocolate. True chocolate Chihuahuas have chocolate noses, nails, feet pads and even chocolate eyes.
Chocolate & White - Your Chihuahua can be a solid chocolate or with white markings, can be found on the face, legs and chest.
Chocolate & Tan - Chocolate with tan markings usually around the eyes, cheeks, chest or belly and legs.
Chocolate & Tan with White - This is a chocolate based tri-color. Chocolate is the main color with tan around eyes, cheeks, legs, with white on chest, legs and face. They can also be white with chocolate and or tan splashes, sort of a reverse tri-colored chocolate.
Isabella (aka: Lilac) - A pale, greyish brown. It is a result of a diluted chocolate gene and is a rare color seen in Chihuahuas.
Whites:
White - Is the rarest color of all. It is extremely rare to find a true white Chihuahua, most of the time there is some trace coloring of fawn or cream on their coat. White Chihuahuas can have black noses, and toenails. They may also have pale colors such as pink and beige for their eyes and nose.
This little guy is a perfect, solid white Chihuahua. As you can imagine, with all of the possible colors that exist in the bloodlines, a solid Chihuahua is rare and a solid white such as this one is exceedingly rare.
MARKINGS/ SPLASHED/ PATTERNS
Black Mask, White Markings - This is a very rare marking. This puppy has the black coloring around the eyes and muzzle and then white markings chest. The base coat of the Chi may be any color and this pup has a base of fawn.
Brindle - Is actually a pattern. Brindle is a series of stripes or streaks of a darker color than the base coat (typically black over fawn). It is also called “tiger striped.” There is a reverse brindle which is just an over concentration of black stripes making it appear black till close examination.
Irish Marked - An Irish Marked Chihuahua is any color combination of a darker color with a white chest, legs, neck ring, and sometimes a blaze. The neck ring does not have to be full ring.
Kiss Marks – Kiss marks on a dog are not reported as an official marking; however they are quite stunning. This refers to a patch of color on the dog's eyebrow area; which accentuates the face very nicely.
Marked - A marked Chihuahua is any solid color with a few markings on the face or body that are not common enough or specific enough to warrant a named marking.
Merle - A Merle is actually not a color but a pattern of mottled or marbled colors in a dog's coat. It is a splashed pattern, usually with blue or black splashes. This color may carry through to the eyes as well, which are often blue or uniquely colored. The gene that creates this pattern produces random dilutions to the coat of the Chihuahua. It is important to never breed two Merles together, as it can produce puppies that have issues with sight and/or hearing as well as other health problems.
Piebald or Pied - A piebald happens when only the head, a small part of the back and the base of the tail have coloring, the rest will be white. Often times, versions of the Piebald are called a Black Mask. The white hair in a Piebald dog occurs as the dog's hair has no pigment. The hair that has pigment is usually black, but may be any darker color.
Sable - Sable pattern coloring happens more often and more dramatically in long haired Chihuahuas than in short haired ones because it requires an undercoat, although short coats can also have undercoats. A Sable has darker colored hair in the top coat or tips, and a lighter colored bottom coat. Sometimes the hair itself is lighter at the bottom and becomes darker towards the top of hair shaft. They usually have a black top coat, but it may be brown, chocolate, or blue.
Splashed - A splashed Chihuahua typically has large splashes of color over a solid colored body. Splashes can come in any color, but usually involves white or tan - Black & Tan, Blue & Tan, Fawn & White, Black & Red, etc.
Tri-Colored - Is a combination of three colors with the major color being black or brown variations along with some shade of tan, showing up around the eyes, ears, belly, legs, tail tip. The white is on the underside of the Chihuahua dog such as the chest and feet, a lot of the time the dog has a blaze or spots of white on face.
Wigged -This variety is a little more complicated. The wigged come in a variety of styles and colors.
Coat Changes
It is not uncommon for the coat color of a Chihuahua to change. This often happens during the first year as puppy’s fur lets loose for the adult coat. Sabling can lighten or darken, brindling can lessen or deepen, a color such as tan can lighten to a beige or brighten to a gold. By the time a Chihuahua is 1 year old, the coat color will generally stay the same.
For some senior Chihuahuas, there can be a slight greying to the fur, this is never a dramatic change, but more of graying usually involving the facial hairs and scattered throughout the coat, sometimes only noticeable in bright sunlight.
There are 30 AKC recognized Colors (some are combinations):
Black
Black & Red
Black & Silver
Black & Tan
Black & White
Black Sabled Fawn
Black Sabled Silver
Blue
Blue & Tan
Blue & White
Blue Brindled Fawn
Blue Fawn
Chocolate
Chocolate & Tan
Chocolate & White
Chocolate Blue
Chocolate Brindled
Chocolate Sabled
Cream
Cream & White
Fawn
Fawn & White
Fawn Brindled
Gold
Gold & White
Red
Red & White
Silver
Silver & White
White
There are 11 AKC recognized Markings/ Patterns:
Black Brindling
Black Mask
Black Mask, White Markings
Black Sabling
Blue Mask
Cream Markings
Fawn Markings
Merle Markings
Red Markings
Spotted On White
White Markings
Chihuahua History
Legend and history are rich in tales of the ancestors of the present Chihuahua. He is described as a popular pet, as well as a religious necessity. The Techichi, companion of the ancient Toltecs, is believed to be the progenitor of the Chihuahua. No records of the Techichi are, so far, available prior to the 9th century, but it is probable his ancestors were present prior to the Mayans. Dogs approximating the Chihuahua are found in materials from the Pyramids of Cholula, predating 1530 and in the ruins of Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula.
There is little question the Chihuahuas principle home was present-day Mexico, but the breeds immigration to Europe may be the result of the travels of Christopher Columbus. A historical letter written by Columbus to the King of Spain makes reference to the tiny dog. The Chihuahua as we know it today is a much more diminutive dog than its predecessor. It is theorized that the Chinese Crested, brought from Asia to Alaska across the Bering Strait, was responsible for the reduction in size. Modern Chihuahuas are also found in a myriad of colors. The Chihuahua is an older breed by American Kennel Club standards, first registered in 1904.
The Toltecs, who existed in what is now Mexico as early as the 9th century AD, possessed a breed of dog called the Techichi. The breed was small, but not tiny, and heavy-boned. This breed, regarded as indigenous to Central America, is the progenitor of the Chihuahua that exists today.
The breed derives its name from the Mexican State of Chihuahua, where the earliest specimens of the breed were found. The Chihuahua is clannish, preferring companions of his own breed. Pictures of dogs resembling the modern Chihuahua appear in ancient paintings in Mexico. It is assumed that the small size of the modern Chihuahua results from a cross of the Techichi with the small hairless dog brought from Asia to Alaska over the land bridge that is now the Bering Strait.
World's Smallest Dog - Chihuahuas
The smallest breed of dog is the Chihuahua. It is named after a region in Mexico with the same name. Chihuahuas were believed to be descendants of Techichi, a slightly larger breed that was associated with Aztec royalty. However, most people now think that Spanish merchants brought Chihuahuas to Spain through trading with China and then eventually brought them to Mexico. Chihuahuas were then brought to the United States by those who visited Mexico.
Known for their large erect ears and small size, Chihuahuas come in two varieties: smooth-coat and long-coat. Chihuahuas have a wide range of heights, but are generally 6 to 10 inches tall. Chihuahuas' weights vary as well, as some weigh only 5 pounds when others can weigh more than 10. Chihuahuas also come in many colors, from black to white to spotted to gray to tricolored.
Chihuahuas are liked for their unique personality and their devotion to their owners. They are an intelligent, alert breed who can adapt well to different places because of their small stature. Chihuahuas' average life span is about 15 years. Because of their fragility and size, it is not recommended that Chihuahuas be pets for families with small children. Chihuahuas are also known to focus on one person in a family and are not fond of human relationships that that person may have. However, this can be fixed by socializing the dog. Chihuahuas are also known to prefer being friends with other Chihuahuas rather than other dog breeds. Still, most Chihuahuas tend to not understand their small size and may confront larger animals, which could lead to them getting hurt. Due to their small size, Chihuahuas are sensitive to the cold, which is why some owners dress them in dog sweaters on cold days.
Chihuahuas need special attention in dental care and birthing. They are also prone to genetic anomalies such as seizure disorders and epilepsy. Another condition to watch out for is patella luxation, as well as hydrocephalus, which is when there is water on the brain. Sadly, some puppies have this condition and die within six months of age.
They are the only breed of dog that is born with an incomplete skull. Their moleras, a soft area on their skulls, needs to be taken great care of as the skull fully forms in the first six months. Unfortunately, due to their large, protruding eyes and their closeness to the ground, Chihuahuas are also prone to eye infections.
Chihuahuas can be picky eaters, so owners must be sure to give them proper nutrition. Also, overweight Chihuahuas can suffer from joint injuries and a shortened life span.
There are also a number of famous Chihuahuas such as Tinkerbell, Paris Hilton's pet, Gidget, the Taco Bell mascot and Ren Hoek of the animated series called Ren and Stimpy.
Some buyers wish to have very small dogs, but this is often unhealthy for Chihuahuas. They can suffer shorter life spans and many problems can come out of dwarfing. They need special care and should not be treated as toys.
Chihuahuas make great pets as long as they have a strong companion and are well taken care of.
Chihuahua Training
A good obedience class to train your Chihuahua is always helpful. However, you don't have to go to obedience classes. Many classes are especially for handling big, out-of-control dogs and may emphasize force methods to try and dominate and calm these dogs. These methods are not good for Chihuahuas, or any dog for that matter. If you run into instructors and classes like this, you are better off training your Chihuahua on your own or with other small-dog owners.
Old-fashioned force-training methods are ineffective and no fun for your dog either. Chihuahuas respond best to amendable training and only the gentlest of techniques.
Some guidelines to keep in mind:
1. Guide, don't force. Chihuahuas want to please you. Your job is to show them what pleases you. If you force a Chihuahua you might bring out that notorious Chi stubborn streak.
2. Punishment does not work. Chihuahuas seldom require anything but a mild correction.
3. Accentuate the positive. Reward your dog for behaviors that please you.
4. Will work for food! Your Chihuahua will work better for training sessions if her stomach is not full. She will be more responsive to food rewards on an empty stomach.
5. Happy endings. Keep sessions short and fun, no longer than 10 to 15 minutes. Begin and end each training session with something your dog can do well.
Chihuahuas are intelligent. Just because your Chihuahua lives a life of leisure does not mean she can't learn tricks. Chihuahuas don't hunt, herd or guard so they don't have an opportunity to show off like some of the other breeds. Obedience and agility trials give Chihuahuas a chance to show what they can do. But you don't have to compete in the competitions to enjoy training your Chihuahua. Training should be a fun time for both of you. Chihuahuas need to have some kind of schooling.
Clicker training works well for Chihuahuas. In clicker training you teach the dog that a "click" sound signals a coming reward. A clicker signal is used because it is fast, noticeable, and something the dog otherwise does not encounter in everyday life. Once the dog associates the click with an upcoming reward, you wait for the dog to do the behavior you want her to do. The instant she does so, you click to tell the dog her behavior deserves a reward. Then you give her the treat. If the dog makes a mistake, no treat. You just wait for her to do it right, then reward with a treat.
Chihuahua Weight Chart
The Chihuahua weight chart is great to use as a guide to estimate a mature weight within a quarter of a pound or so. This table is used only as a guide but many things can affect the mature weight of a puppy. Weight may vary depending on it's bloodline, genetics, how well the animal is fed, etc. It may weigh more or less then it's ideal weight depending on it's diet and if it becomes obese or not. Weight estimates before the age of 8 weeks old are usually inaccurate because the puppy is still nursing or being weaned and may be heavier due to fat from the mother's rich milk. This weight chart only works with purebred Chihuahuas and a breeder that is knowledgeable about their bloodline (not just recognizing a bloodline's name, but recognizing the actual dogs as well).
