CHIHUAHUA - BRIEF HISTORY

Chihuahuas are members of toy group of dog breeds and are known to be one of the worlds smallest dog breeds, the smallest weighing less than an ounce and could fit in a teaspoon when born.

The breed's origins are mysterious but they are believed to be direct descendants of the Techichi, a small dog of Chinese ancestry that dates back to Mayan times. The Mayan, Aztec & Toltec civilizations viewed them as a guardian/companion in the afterlife. From this ancient ancestor, they likely bred with other dogs such as the Chinese crested (see Chinese crested blog entry for more info). Eventually, this formed the chihuahua we are familiar with today although early examples of the breed would have been much larger, the breed seems to have shrunk over time due to cross-breeding.

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FUN FACT -

Century-old folklore suggested that people believed that chihuahuas could help cure respiratory ailments such as Asthma and allergies. There is no scientific evidence to support this but nonetheless it was popularly accepted that owners of the breed would have their ailments absorbed into the dog and in turn, would heal themselves. Many people kept chihuahuas for this very reason.

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As the breed became more popular and moved around the globe a large group made its home in Chihuahua, Mexico (i know its actually a place I was surprised too). This Mexican state is where the breed name was taken and where all modern chihuahuas derive from. Unlike some other breeds, chihuahuas prefer to stick around the company of others in its breed due to there inherent clan-like behaviour. Packs of wild chihuahua were common throughout Southwestern U.S in the late 1800 and early 1900s. Even today you can still find wild chihuahua roaming certain parts of the U.S, in 2014 thousands of them were sighted in Pheonix, Arizona.

It is unknown how the breed ended up in Europe however, some say that Christopher Columbus had brought some back from his travels as he had referenced the breed in a letter to the king of Spain.

There are actually only two official varieties of the breed one being the long-haired & the other known as the smooth coat variety. although you may not think it the long-haired chihuahua sheds less often than the shorter smooth coat. Chihuahuas have one of the longest lifespans of any other dog breed, living 14-16 years old on average. The longest ever recorded was a long-haired chihuahua called Megabyte who lived to the ripe old age of 20 years and 265 days old and passed away on January 1st 2014. This is helped by the relatively few health issues that the breed is predisposed too.

Although small in stature chihuahuas can have a fierce attitude especially when young. A study found that the pups show increased aggressive behaviour towards humans and other dogs outside of there breed than most other conventional dog breeds. to combat this owners are encouraged to socialise them from a very early age to acclimatise them to humans and dogs. In relation to there small size, Chihuahuas have the biggest brain in the dog world, helping them be trained although they have small bladders so toilet training may be a problem. Being desert dogs originally they are also not too fond of the rain or cold climates so wrap them up warm in the British winters.

At some point in their genetic evolution, the breed separated into two variations: the apple head and the deer head. The apple headed obviously named because of the apple-shaped head, also distinguishable by having more prominent, close-set eyes and shorter ears and legs. Deer headed named because the skull resembles that of a young deer, they have a longer muzzle, larger ears, a flat-topped head, wider set eyes and longer legs. It is only the apple head variety which meets the breed standards and is therefore favoured by Kennel clubs and can be shown. Because the size of there heads is large in proportion to the body it is common for female chihuahuas to face dystocia whilst giving birth. Another prevalent health issue in the breed is dental crowding caused by the smallmouth area, this can lead to tooth decay, gum disease and in serious cases stroke. Even though there are no sure-fire preventative measures to combat this, it is in the best interest of the owner and dog to restrict sugar and carbohydrates in the dog's diet. As well as tooth brushing or other dental products and even vitamins and supplements can help (unfortunately Arlo and daisy do suffer from dental issues).

Since owning 2 of the breed I have become such a fan and wouldn't hesitate to re-home or adopt another. Whilst the bred can get a bad name for itself as some are known to be yappy or very protective of there owners which can result in aggressive behaviour towards others. I am happy to announce that I must have been lucky as both Arlo and daisy are as good as gold and I wouldn't replace them or any money on earth.