American Kennel Club: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. 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. 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. Disqualifications – Broken down or cropped ears.
Neck, Topline, Body
Neck – 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.) Disqualifications – Docked tail, bobtail.
Reference: © The American Kennel Club, Inc.
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. Pasterns – 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, marked or splashed.
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’ attitudes 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.
Approved August 12, 2008 Effective October 1, 2008
Reference: © The American Kennel Club, Inc.
American Kennel Club web page http://www.akc.org/breeds/chihuahua/ 1/01/2012
Chihuahuas that are over 6 pounds are ineligible to compete In conformation events, but may still participate in agility. Many chihuahuas start showing competitively and complete their titles prior to a year old. Sometimes they may grow to exceed the 6 pound maximum weight requirement for competition in some events before finishing their titles. Larger chihuahuas greater than 6 pounds make excellent family pets and this does not make them any less Purebred. Structure and bone density, genetics, diet, alll contribute to the adult size your chihuahua will become. The Chihuahua is the smallest dog breed. We can do our best to guesstimate an adult weight based on tracking and trending growth and size of the parents, but there is no possible way to guarantee adult weight. Its recommended that if adult weight is a true deal breaker and your dog MUST be a specific weight, to wait to purchase an adult chihuahua. Many breeders have show hopefuls as we call them, and we hold them back and watch them grow to hopefully meet the show criteria. An honest breeder will tell you that champion lines do not always yield champion puppies. We work very very hard on perfecting our lines to better the breed. Sometimes we place our show hopefuls into loving pet homes as well for a variety of reasons and they may be closer to their adult weight.
Tenderheart Chihuahuas
New Hampshire, United States
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