History
of breed.
Aztecs gave the world one of the littlest breeds of dogs - chihuahua.
There is a great number of legends about history of origin this
surprising breted. One strange legend tells that chikhuakhua it envoys
of disant space and related to him energy which passes through a place
which does not overgrow in a skull. It is the distinctive sign of
breed.
The name of breed happened from an of the same name province in the
north Mexico, where were first discovered modern chihuahua. Different
researchers name the motherland of chikhuakhua many countries: Japan,
China, Egypt, island Malta. But opinion leads of that the historical
motherland of chihuahua is Mexico. On its territory, in the districts
of dwelling of the legendary tribes mayya, aztecs and other were found
out both rock pictures and clay statuettes with the image of little
doggies, very similar with present chihuahua and their living copies
which we today justly consider as a message the most ancient
civilization of America to the modern world.
Got status of official breed of chikhua in the USA. In 1884 on the
dog-chow in Philadelphia was first presented chihuahua, and in 1904 was
brought in the pedigree register of bough chihuahua (name-Midzhet).
Exactly was there shown (on a base mexican primordial chikhuakhua) out
longed-haired chihuahua, and this variety in a short space of time
conquering exceptional popularity. The triumphal procession of
chihuahua on the world began in the middle of XX. Americans consider
chikhuakhua the national breed and name it "royal miniature dog".
Now chikhuakhua one of twenty biggest-selling breeds of the world.
Separate dogs of breed of chihuahua were in Europe known yet from the
beginning of XX age, but began to date them distributions on a
continent follows the middle of 50-kh years.
FCI-Standard
N° 218 / 11. 05. 1998 CHIHUAHUA
ORIGIN: Mexico
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE
ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD: 22.05.1995.
UTILIZATION: Companion
dog
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I.:
Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs.
Section 6 Chihuahueno.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY:
The Chihuahua is regarded as the smallest pedigree dog in the world and
carries the name of the largest province of the Mexican Republic. One
assumes that these dogs used to live in the wild and, at the time of
civilisation of the Tolteks, were caught and domesticated by the
inhabitants. Illustrations of a Toy dog called " Techichi " which lived
in Tula, were used as decorations on town architecture. These small
statues are very similar to the present day Chihuahua.
GENERAL APPEARANCE:
This dog has a compact body shape. Of great importance is the fact that
his skull is apple-shaped and that he carries his moderately long tail
very high, either curved or forming the shape of a semicircle with the
tip pointing towards the loin region.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:
Length of body slightly greater than height at withers. Desired,
however, is an almost square body shape, specially in males. In
bitches, because of pregnancy, a slightly longer body is permitted.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT:
Quick, alert, lively and very courageous.
HEAD
CRANIAL REGION:
Skull: Well
rounded apple head ( a characteristic of the breed) without or with
only a small fontanel.
Stop: Very
marked, deep and broad as the forehead is bulging over the set-on of
muzzle.
FACIAL REGION
:
Nose: Any colour
permitted. Nasal bridge moderately short, pointing slightly upwards.
Muzzle: Short,
seen from side, broad at set-on, tapering towards the tip.
Lips: Lean and
close fitting.
Cheeks:
Moderately developed, very clean.
Jaws/Teeth:
Scissor or pincer bite. Overshot, undershot, as well as any other
anomaly in position of upper or lower jaw must be strictly penalized.
;
Eyes: Large,
roundish in shape, very expressive, not protruding, completely dark.
Light eyes permissible, but not desired.
Ears: Large,
upright, unfolded; broad at set-on, gradually tapering towards their
slightly rounded point. In repose inclined laterally forming an angle
of 45°.
NECK: Upper
profile slightly arched.
Length: Medium
length.
Shape: Thicker in
dogs than in bitches.
Skin: Without
dewlap. In the long-haired variety, the presence of a neck-ruff with
longer hair is highly desirable.
BODY: Compact and
well built.
Topline: Level.
Withers: Hardly
marked.
Back: Short and
firm.
Loin: Strongly
muscular.
Rump: Broad and
strong without slope.
Chest: Ribcage
broad and deep, ribs well sprung. Seen from front, roomy but not
exaggerated. Seen from side, reaching to elbows. Not barrel shaped.
Lower Line:
Formed by a clearly tucked up belly. Slack belly is permitted but not
desired.
TAIL:Set on high,
of moderate length; broad at root, tapering gradually towards the tip.
Tail carriage is an important characteristic of the breed : carried
either high in a curve or in a rounded semicircle with tip towards the
loin region, which gives balance to the body. Coat is according to
variety and in keeping with body coat. In the long hair variety, the
coat forms a plume. Tail is pendant in repose and forms a slight hook.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS:
Forelegs straight and of good length; seen from the front, they form
together with the elbows a straight line. Seen from the side, their
stance is vertical.
Shoulders: Clean
with little muscles. Angulation between shoulder-blade and upper arm is
proportionate.
Elbows: Firm and
fitting close to body which ensures free movement.
Pasterns:
Slightly sloping, strong and flexible.
HINDQUARTERS:
Hindlegs well muscled with lengthy bones, vertical and parallel to each
other with good angulation at hip, knee and hock joints, in harmony
with angulation of forequarters.
Hocks: Short with
well developed Achilles tendons; seen from rear, they are straight and
vertical in position.
FEET: Very small
and oval with toes well apart but not splayed (neither hare- nor
cat-foot). Nails specially well arched and moderately long. Pads well
developed and very elastic. Dewclaws must be removed.
GAIT / MOVEMENT:
Steps are long, springy, energetic and active with good reach and
drive. Seen from rear, hind legs should move almost parallel to each
other, so that the foot prints of the hind feet fit directly into those
of the front feet. With increasing speed, the limbs show the tendency
to converge towards the centre point of gravity (single track).
Movement remains free and springy without visible effort, head raised
and back firm.
SKIN: Smooth and
elastic all over body surface.
HAIR: In this
breed there are two varieties of coat.
· Smooth-haired :
Coat is short, lying close all over body. If there is an undercoat, the
hair is somewhat longer; sparse coat on throat and belly permissible;
slightly longer on neck and tail, short on face and ears. Coat is
glossy and its texture is soft. Hairless dogs are not tolerated.
· Longed-haired:
Coat should be fine and silky, smooth or slightly wavy. Not too thick
undercoat desired. Coat is longer, forming feathering on ears, neck,
rear of front and hind legs, on feet and on tail. Dogs with long
billowing coat, as in a Maltese, will not be accepted.
COLOUR : All
colours in all possible shades and combinations are admitted.
WEIGHT: In this
breed only the weight is taken into consideration, not the height.
Weight: Between
500 gr and 3 kg. A weight of between 1 and 2 kg has preference. Animals
weighing more than 3 kg will be disqualified.
FAULTS: Any
departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and
the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in
exact proportion to its degree.
· Narrow skull.
· Long muzzle.
· Under- or overshot mouth.
· Absence of individual teeth.
· Double teeth.
· Deformed jaws.
· Eye small, deep-set or protruding.
· Too pointed ears.
· Short neck.
· Long body.
· Roach or hollow back (Lordose or Xyphose).
· Sloping rump.
· Narrow chest, flat ribcage.
· Tail : incorrect set-on, short or twisted.
· Short limbs.
· Out at elbow.
· Too close behind.
· Luxating patellas.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS:
· Slender, light, long cast, stag-like type.
· Drop ear or short ear.
· Extremely long body.
· Absence of tail.
· In the long- haired variety : Dogs with very long, fine
and billowing coat (as in a Maltese).
· In the smooth-haired variety : Bald patches (alopecia).
· Weight over 3 kg.
N.B.: Male
animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended
into the scrotum.
