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Chihuahua
Breed Standards From AKC
Chihuahua Breed Standard
From the American Kennel Club.
Toy Group
General Appearance
A graceful, alert, swift-moving little dog with
saucy expression, compact, 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, but not protruding, balanced,
set well apart-luminous dark or luminous ruby.
(Light eyes in blond or white-colored dogs
permissible.) 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. 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 nose permissible. Bite - Level
or scissors. Overshot or undershot bite, or any
distortion of the bite or jaw, should be penalized
as a serious fault. 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 - Cropped
tail, bobtail.
Forequarters
Shoulders - Lean, sloping into a
slightly broadening support above straight forelegs
that set well under, giving a free play at the
elbows. Shoulders should be well up, giving balance
and soundness, sloping into a level back. (Never
down or low.) This gives a chestiness, and strength
of forequarters, yet not of the "Bulldog" chest.
Feet - A small, dainty foot with toes
well split up but not spread, pads cushioned.
(Neither the hare nor the cat foot.) Pasterns
- Fine.
Hindquarters
Muscular, with hocks well apart, neither out nor in,
well let down, firm and sturdy. The feet are as in
front.
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 curly, with undercoat preferred.
Ears - Fringed. (Heavily fringed ears may
be tipped slightly if due to the fringes and not to
weak ear leather, never down.) 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. 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, with terrier-like qualities.
Disqualifications
Any dog over 6 pounds in weight.
Broken down or cropped ears.
Cropped tail, bobtail.
In Long Coats, too thin coat that resembles
bareness.
Approved September 11, 1990
Effective October 30, 1990
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