General Appearance
A graceful, alert, swift-moving compact little dog with saucy
expression, 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, round, but not
protruding, balanced, set well apart-luminous dark or luminous ruby.
Light eyes in blond or white-colored dogs permissible. Blue eyes or a
difference in the color of the iris in the two eyes, or two different
colors within one iris should be considered a serious fault.
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.
Stop – Well defined. When viewed in
profile, it forms a near 90 degree angle where muzzle joins skull.
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 noses
permissible.
Bite – Level or scissors.
Overshot or undershot, or any distortion of the bite or jaw, should be
penalized as a serious fault. A missing tooth or two is permissible.
Disqualifications –
Broken down or cropped ears.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] 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 –
Docked tail, bobtail.
Forequarters Shoulders – Lean, sloping into a slightly
broadening support above straight forelegs that set well under, giving
free movement at the elbows. Shoulders should be well up, giving
balance and soundness, sloping into a level back (never down or low).
This gives a well developed chest and strength of forequarters.
Feet – A small, dainty foot with toes well split up but not spread, pads
cushioned. (Neither the hare nor the cat foot.) Dewclaws may be
removed.
Pasterns – Strong.
Hindquarters Muscular, with hocks well apart, neither out nor in, well let down,
firm and sturdy.
Angulation – Should equal
that of forequarters. The feet are as in front. Dewclaws may be removed.
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 wavy, with undercoat preferred.
Ears – Fringed.
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. (The Chihuahua
should be groomed only to create a neat appearance.)
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, projecting the ‘terrier-like’ attitudes of self importance,
confidence, self-reliance.
Sun Feb 07, 2010 11:53 pm
The Kennel Club - Unauthorised Reproduction of Text and Images Prohibited.
Calendar
