Standard Chihuahua GB
FCI-Standard N° 218 / 15.09.2010 / GB
CHIHUAHUA
(Chihuahueño)
TRANSLATION: Chris Seidler.
ORIGIN : Mexico.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL ORIGINAL VALID
STANDARD: 28.07.2009.
UTILIZATION : Companion dog.
FCI-CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 9
Companion and
Section 6 Chihuahueño.
Without
working trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : The Chihuahua is regarded as the smallest pedigree dog in the world and
carries the name of the largest state of the Mexican Republic (Chihuahua). One assumes that these dogs used to live in the wild and, at
the time of the Toltec civilization, were captured and domesticated by the
natives. Representations of a Toy
dog called « Techichi » which lived in Tula, were used as
decorations on town architecture. These
statues are very similar to the present day Chihuahua.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : This dog has a compact
body. 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, especially in males. In
bitches, because of the function of reproduction, 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).
Stop : Well marked, deep and broad as the forehead is rounded
above the set-on of muzzle.
FACIAL
REGION :
Nose : Any colour permitted. Moderately short, pointing slightly upwards.
Muzzle : Short, straight seen from side, broad at set-on, tapering towards the
tip.
Lips : Lean and close fitting.
Cheeks : Only slightly 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, perfectly
dark. Light eyes permissible, but
not desired.
Ears : Large, upright, widely open,
broad at set-on, gradually tapering towards their slightly rounded tip.
In repose inclined laterally forming an angle of 45°.
NECK : Upper profile slightly
arched. Medium length. Thicker in dogs than in bitches. 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 : Only slightly marked.
Back : Short and firm.
Loin : Strongly muscled.
Croup : Broad and strong; almost flat
or slightly sloping.
Chest : Ribcage broad and deep, ribs well sprung. Seen from front, roomy but not exaggerated. Seen from side,
reaching to elbows. Not barrel shaped.
Underline and belly : Formed by a clearly tucked
up belly. Slack belly is permitted
but not desired.
TAIL : Set on high, flat
in appearance, of moderate length; broad at root, tapering gradually
towards the tip. Tail carriage is an important characteristic of the breed : when
the dog is moving it is carried
either high in a curve or in a semicircle with tip towards the loin region,
which gives balance to the body, it
should never be carried between the hindlegs nor curled below the backline.
The hair on the tail depends on the variety and is in harmony with the body
coat. In the long haired variety, the tail coat forms a plume. Tail is pendant
in repose and forms a slight hook.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS :
General
appearance : Forelegs seen from the front form a straight
line with the elbows. Seen from the
side, they are upright.
Shoulder : Clean and moderately muscled.
Upper
arm : Good
angulation between shoulder-blade and upper arm.
Elbow : Firm and fitting close to body, which ensures free movement.
Forearm : Straight and of good length.
Metacarpus (Pastern) : Slightly sloping, strong and flexible.
Forefeet : Very small and oval with
toes well apart but not splayed (neither hare- nor cat-foot).
Nails particularly well arched and moderately long.
Pads well developed and very elastic. Dewclaws
are not desirable.
HINDQUARTERS :
General
appearance : Hindlegs well muscled with long bones,
vertical and parallel to each other with good angulation at hip, knee and hock
joints, in harmony with angulation of forequarters.
Metatarsus
(Rear pastern) : Short hocks with well developed Achilles’
tendons; seen from rear, they are well apart straight and vertical.
Hind feet: Very small and oval with toes well apart but
not splayed (neither hare- nor cat-foot). Nails
particularly well arched and moderately long.
Pads well developed and very elastic. Dewclaws
are not desirable.
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 footprints of the hind feet fit directly into those of the
front feet. With increasing speed, the limbs show a tendency to converge towards
the median plane (single track). Movement remains free and springy without
visible effort, head raised and back firm.
SKIN : Smooth and elastic all over
body.
COAT
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 will not be accepted.
Colour : All colours in all possible shades and combinations are admitted, except
merle colour.
SIZE AND
WEIGHT : In this breed only the weight is taken into consideration, not the
height.
Weight : Ideal
weight : between 1.5 and 3 kgs. Weight between 500 gr. and 1.5 kgs tolerated.
Subjects weighing less than 500 gr and more than 3 kg shall 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 and its effect
upon the health and welfare of the dog.
·
Missing teeth.
·
“Double teeth” (persistence of temporary teeth).
·
Pointed ears.
·
Short neck.
·
Long body.
·
Roach or hollow back (Lordosis or Kyphosis).
·
Steep croup.
·
Narrow chest, flat ribcage.
·
Tail : incorrect set-on, short or twisted.
·
Short limbs.
·
Out at elbow.
·
Too close behind.
SEVERE
FAULTS :
·
Narrow skull
·
Eyes small, deep set
or protruding.
·
Long muzzle.
·
Under or overshot
mouth.
·
Unstable stifle.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS :
·
Aggressive or overly
shy.
·
Any
dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified
·
Deer type dogs (dogs with an atypical or extremely stylized
structure: refined head, long neck, slender body, long limbs).
·
Dogs with an open
fontanel.
·
Drop ear or short ear.
·
Deformed jaws.
·
Extremely long body.
·
Absence of tail.
·
In the long- haired variety : Dogs with very
long, fine and billowing coat.
·
In the smooth-haired variety : Bald patch
(alopecia).
·
Merle
colour.
·
Subjects
weighing less than 500 gr and more than 3 kg.
N.B. : Male animals should
have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Updated 2013-12-06