Chi-Information
Chihuahuas are one of the WORST breeds to housebreak.
Chihuahuas often become stranger un-friendly as they age.
Chihuahuas like other toy breed dogs but LOVE other Chihuahuas.
Chihuahuas can be extream in their protection of their owners.
Chihuahuas are not Good pets for children under 18 yrs of age.
Chihuahuas are one of the breeds that exhibit fear-biting and because of this are often put to sleep in shelters because they can't be placed.
If your not going to commit to owning this breed for it's life (could be 20 years) do NOT buy one.
Chihuahuas because of their popularity are being over-bred and sold on a whim to just about anyone. People think these dogs are just too cute and they'll make great little things to carry around. This is far from the truth, 6 out of 10 Chihuahuas bought by people wanting to be like those ditzy STARS (not mentioning any names here), will not live with their buyer for more then a year, 4 of those 6 will go to rescues and be placed maybe several times before they find true homes. And 2 of those 6 will be put to sleep in a shelter. BEFORE YOU BUY FROM ANY BREEDER PLEASE THINK ABOUT ADOPTION OF AN OLDER CHIHUAHUA WHO REALLY NEEDS YOU.
Often times breeders will place their retiring dogs after they have been spay/neurtered. And most of these dogs are under 10 years old and have been very well cared for, often they were show dogs at one time.
These dogs have another 10 to 15 years to live in alot of cases. Please contact your Chihuahua breeder and ask them if they are going to be retiring any dogs soon and will they be going up for adoption. You might end up shareing your home with a Diva-Dog who is just waiting for you to spoil them.
Chihuahua's come in a diverse range of colors and patterns.
Below is a shortened list of colors and markings...your dog may vary,with a Chihuahua nothings out of unusual.
SOLID BLACK, BLACK & WHITE, BLACK & TAN, BLACK & RED, BLACK & SILVER, BLACK SABLED FAWN, BLACK SABLED SILVER, SOLID BLUE, BLUE & WHITE, BLUE & TAN, BLUE BRINDLED FAWN, BLUE FAWN, SOLID CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE & WHITE, CHOCOLATE & TAN, CHOCOLATE BRINDLED FAWN, CHOCOLATE SABLED FAWN, CHOCOLATE & BLUE, SOLID CREAM, CREAM & WHITE, SOLID FAWN, FAWN & WHITE, FAWN BRINDLED BLACK, SOLID RED, RED & WHITE, SOLID WHITE, WHITE/MULTI, SOLID SILVER, SILVER & WHITE, SOLID GOLD, GOLD & WHITE.
These are some MARKINGS Chihuahua's have.
BLACK MASK, BLUE MASK, RED MASK, CREAM MASK, BLACK BRINDLING, BLACK SABLING, WHITE MARKINGS, CREAM MARKINGS, SPOTTED ON WHITE, FAWN MARKINGS, RED MARKINGS,MERLED RED OR BLUE FLECKS
AKC Chihuahua Breed Standard
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.
Chihuahua (Long Coat) 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
Defects
Here are some congenital defects that can afflict a Chihuahua...in order to find out if your dogs have the genetic markers to pass these on you need to contact your vet and ask them where they you have genetic testing done...most vets can take the blood work and x-rays(for ) and have them sent out to be tested.
Collapsing trachea's-a contdition where the cartilage rings in the trachea are malformed and weak and fall in on themselves causing choking and breathing disorders.
Corneal dystrophy-a condition where the cornea of the eye has shallow pits on the surface, this can cause night blindness.
Factor VIII deficiency-this is hemophilia type A- it is a clotting disorder of the blood,it is the leading cause of bleeding deaths in all mammals...it is a sex-linked recessive disorder and is carrier by the female and passed on to male offspring.
Hepatic portosystemic shunt-a malformation of the blood vessels in the liver that causes problems in the flow thru the arterie and veins in and around the liver and shortens liver life imparing proper function.
Hydrocephalus-abnornal ammounts of fluid collect on the brain,in some cases the fluid can be drained and regularly and the condition may pass without harm.
Hypoplasia of dens- a conditon where the part of the second vertebra fails to develop and cause instability of the spine.
Hypothyroidism- an endocrine disese where the body produces abnormally low thyroid hormones.
Keratoconjunctivitis sicca-a condition where one or both eyes do not produce tears.
Lens luxation-a condition where the lens of the eye is displaced to the side.
Mitral valve defects(huge problem in those so-called t-cups) a group of abnormalities in the mitral valve of the heart.
Neuronal ceroid lipofusinosis-a condition where fatty pigments are deposited on the brian and cause brain dysfunction.
Osteochondritis dissecans-a specific form of inflammation of the cartilage of the joints which causes painful and sever arthritis in young dogs effecting sholders,stiffle,hocks,hips and elbows.
Patella luxation-the knee slides out of place and causes pain and immobility.
Pulmonic stenosis-a condition where on valve in the heart does not open properly.
***We offer conditional health guarantee against conditions mentioned above.***
We also offer a conditional 10 day viral health guarantee on all puppies, dogs and birds sold here.
Hypoglycemia is NOT hereditary, it effects very small breeds and is a condition that is grown out of in most cases.
Hypoglycemia-a syndrome where the animal has low blood sugar levels.
You can get more information about joint and bones disorders here...http://www.offa.org/ and here is a good site for genetic testing information...http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org