| A Chihuahua (Spanish: Chihuahua) is the smallest breed of dog, named after the Mexican state “Chihuahua”, where it was found somewhere in 1850.
History of the breed:
The development history of the breed is somewhat messed-up and is mainly based on theoretical data and assumptions. Nevertheless, it is possible to assume from folklore and from archaeological findings that ancestors of the breed originated from the pre-Columbian period and are the most ancient American dog breed.
The widely propagated version assumes that the Chihuahua originated from the breed Techichi, which Toltecs raised as “pet” dogs by crossbreeding with Chinese breeds, brought by conquistadors to America.
Presumably, ancestors of these dogs were wild dogs during ancient times and during the civilization of the Toltecs these dogs were domesticated. Pictures and sculptures of these dwarfish dogs served the purpose of decorating the city architecture.
“Present day” Chihuahua dogs were found in 1850 in old ruins somewhere near Casas Grandes in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The state has borders with American Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, from where the present breed started its distribution around the world. Since then, the Chihuahua remains one of the most popular pet dog breeds particularly in the USA, where standards of this breed were defined by the American Kennel Club in 1904.
Appearance:
Two varieties of Chihuahua: smooth-coat and long-coat. The “smooth-coat” Chihuahua is called a “Royal Miniature”. The long-coat Chihuahua are named “Solar doggies” and are distinguished by ears with “brushes” of hair, a “collar” on the neck and an average hair length on their body with long hurds on the hind legs and tail.
The Chihuahua is a square-shaped pet dog. The Head has a characteristic apple-shaped form. The snout is short and wide at the base and slightly narrowed towards the nose. The bite is scissor-shaped or straight (undesirable). The eyes are big and round, expressive, not significantly prominent and are dark in color. The ears are standing, big and wide at the base, slightly narrowing and rounded at the ends. The tail is long, lifted and remains in the form of a sickle or slightly bent but always the tail is directed strictly along the backbone. All colors and shades are allowed. Blue, tiger-colored and chocolate shades are considered to be very rare shades.
Temperament:
The breed has a very stable state of mind for dogs of the dwarfish breed. Hysteric members of this breed are encountered very rarely. It is considered that the long-coat Chihuahua is softer and easer to get along with more than the smooth-coat Chihuahua and the smooth-coat - more active and more temperamental. The Chihuahua is very loyal to its owner, sometimes jealous but not harmful.
Popular members of the breed:
* Boo Boo with a size of 4 inches at the shoulder (10.16 cm) - a long-coat Chihuahua, considered to be the smallest dog in the world (weight 1 1/2 pounds or 675 gm) and entered into the Guinness Book of Records in May 2007.
The Chihuahua is a breed of dogs that are recognized as the smallest dogs in the world and even one dog weighing 490 gm, raised in Japan, was entered in the Guinness Book of Records, however the normal weight of Chihuahua is 1-3 kg. According to the breed standard, developed by the AKC, strict restrictions with respect to height are followed but the majority of Chihuahua dogs have 15-23 cm height at the shoulder.
Two varieties of this breed exist – smooth-coat & long-coat Chihuahua. In the smooth-coat Chihuahua dogs, short hair is compact and close to the body, it is soft and silky to the touch and has a characteristic shine in the light. Accordingly, in long-coat Chihuahua dogs, the hair is long, straight or wavy but not curly or dense. Long-coat Chihuahua dogs should have an undercoat, their tail is slightly longer than the tail of smooth-coat Chihuahua dogs and have magnificent backcombing, attractive wide collars can be seen on the neck in this breed of dog. Any of the two Chihuahua types can have a palette of every possible hair shade, both single-colored as well as a combination with spots or marks on a white background.
Fearless, extraordinarily lively, the proud and active dog takes immense pleasure to express love and affection. How amusing the scene would be to watch, when this brave and impudent dog smartly moves on its short limbs so as to avoid the accidental stepping of someone on it. Make note that it can become sufficiently stubborn without appropriate training. Insignificant difficulties are encountered with some dogs in training and breeding, but they are very clever and grasp everything correctly reacting to characteristic commands.
Chihuahua dogs are vulnerable to the cold and shiver. It should wear a warm sweater on cool days. It is necessary to say that the indoor movements are sufficient for these tiny creatures. Chihuahua dogs get accustomed to pans and this is very convenient for people, living in small apartments and who cannot regularly take the dog out for a walk.
These small dogs are unusually tolerant and possess good health. The average life expectancy of the Chihuahua dog is 15 yrs. |
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