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Standard |
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FCI
standard: N° 218 /16.06.1999. GB
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD
: 24.03.2004.
ORIGIN : Mexico
UTILIZATION : Companion dog |
CLASSIFICATION
F.C.I.: Group
9 - Companion and Toy Dogs, Section
5- Chihuahueño
Without working trial. |
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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. |
BEHAVIOUR
/ TEMPERAMENT |
Quick,
alert, lively and very courageous. |
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.
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HEAD |
CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Well rounded apple head ( a characteristic
of the breed).
preferably without a fontanel although a small one
is allowed.
Stop : Well marked, deep and broad as
the forehead is bulging over 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.
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.
Cheeks : Only slightly developed, very
clean.
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
point. In repose inclined laterally forming an angle of
45°.
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| NECK |
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.
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| BODY |
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.
Lower Line : Formed by a clearly tucked up belly. Slack
belly is permitted but not desired.
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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
: Forelegs straight and of good length; seen from
the front, they form a straight line with the elbows. Seen
from the side, they are upright
Shoulders : Clean and moderately muscled.
Good angulation between shoulder-blade and upper arm.
Elbows : Firm and fitting close to body which ensures free
movement.
Pasterns : Slightly sloping, strong and flexible.
HINDQUARTERS : 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
Hocks : Short with well developed Achilles’
tendons; seen from rear, they are well apart straight and
vertical.
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 must be removed except
in countries where this practice is forbidden by law.
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GAIT/MOVEMENT
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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 a tendency to converge towards the centre point
of gravity (single track). Movement remains free and springy
without visible effort, head raised and back firm. |
| 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.
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| SIZE
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In
this breed only the weight is taken into consideration,
not the height.
Weight : Ideal weight : between 1.5 and
3 kg.
However, dogs between 500 gr and 1.5 kg are accepted. Subjects
weighing more than 3 kg shall be disqualified
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| 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..
- Missing teeth.
- "Double teeth" (persistence of temporary teeth).
- Deformed jaws.
- 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.
- Patella luxation
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ELIMINATING
FAULTS |
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Aggressive or overly shy.
- Deer type dogs (dogs with an atypical or extremely stylized
structure: refined head, long neck, slender body, long limbs).
- Dogs with a large fontanel.
- Drop ear or short ear.
- 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).
- Weight over 3 kg.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural
abnormalities shall be disqualified.
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N.B. |
Male animals should have two apparently
normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
This amended breed standard will become
effective from September 2004.
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