- All colours in all possible shades and combinations, except merle colour
About the Chihuahua
Origin: Mexico
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 1-3 kg
- Height
- 13-20 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI groupFCI divides this breed into varieties, and our sources don’t record which one a breeder works. Ask them which variety their line is.
- Companion and Toy Dogs
- Origin
- Mexico
- Also called
- Chihuahueno
- Known hereditary risks
- 3 documented conditions, with the test for each
About
What is a Chihuahua?
World's smallest dog breed with long, flowing coat and bold, confident personality despite tiny size
Chihuahua history and origins
Ancient breed descended from Techichi dogs of the Toltec civilization, refined in Mexican state of Chihuahua and standardized in Mexico and the US. Recognized by AKC since 1904
Chihuahua appearance and size
Typically 1-3 kg and 13-20 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Companion dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Quick, alert, lively and very courageous”
Quoted from FCI standard n°218. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Small
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Companion dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 2 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 3 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- 3 conditions documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Chihuahua
What you get with the Chihuahua
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Companion dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Quick, alert, lively and very courageous”
What you are taking on
- One serious inherited condition is documented, in heart & circulation. The health guide tab has the test to ask a breeder for.
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Coat is longer, forming feathering on ears, neck, rear of front and hind legs, on feet…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; Chihuahua Club of America - AKC Health Statement. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Chihuahua
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
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
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°218 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the breed standard says
- Size
- “In this breed, only the weight is taken into consideration, not the height. Weight: 1 to 3 kg. Ideal weight: between 1,5 and 2,5 kg. Subjects weighing less than 1 kg and more than 3 kg shall be disqualified”
- FCI states which measurement does NOT count for this breed.
Quoted from FCI standard n°218. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Chihuahua down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Narrow skull.
- Eyes small, deep set or protruding.
- Long muzzle.
- Under or overshot mouth.
- Unstable stifle
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- 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 1 kg and more than 3 kg shall be disqualified
FCI varieties
FCI divides the Chihuahua into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.
- Long-haired
- Smooth-haired
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Chihuahua in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Chihuahua
Known hereditary risks for the Chihuahua breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
3 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Bones & joints
Patellar luxation
Monitor
The kneecap slips out of its groove. A large UK first-opinion veterinary study found 'slipping kneecap' in 4.0% of Chihuahuas, more often than in other dogs, and it is one of the three CHIC-required tests for the breed.
What to ask for
OFA patellar luxation exam (graded 0-4) on both parents from one year of age.
Persistent fontanelle (molera) and its relationship to skull/brain findings
Monitor
A soft spot on top of the skull (molera) is long-standing in the breed and is still mentioned in most Chihuahua breed standards. The breed club's own position, based on older veterinary opinion, is that a molera on its own does not predispose to hydrocephalus. More recent peer-reviewed imaging research (2021) found that Chihuahuas with more and larger persistent fontanelles were also more likely to have low body weight, an enlarged fourth ventricle and a crowded craniocervical junction of the kind associated with Chiari-like malformation and syringomyelia — an association with extreme miniaturisation and skull shape, not proof that an ordinary molera itself causes disease.
What to ask for
No genetic test exists. Ask for the parents' adult weight (the recent research finds the strongest association at very low body weight) and whether either parent has shown neurological signs such as an abnormal gait, head pressing or seizures; a domed skull with a normal-sized molera is not, on its own, evidence of hydrocephalus.
Heart & circulation
Early-onset degenerative mitral valve disease
Serious
A heart valve thickens and leaks with age. Heart disease was the leading cause of death in a large UK Chihuahua study (18.8% of deaths). Screening aims to catch early murmurs so breeding can move away from affected lines.
What to ask for
Annual cardiac auscultation (OFA cardiac exam) by a vet or board-certified cardiologist on both parents from one year of age.
How long the Chihuahua lives, in the records
Median survival 11,8 years
95% confidence interval 11,5–11,9 years, from 3848 recorded deaths among 10.837 dogs
Mortality hazard 1.17 (1.13, 1.21) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12,0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584.734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
Gallery
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Puppies
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