A deserving Chihuahua should possess a head that is de- scribed in the breed standard, however, an entry should not win on its head type alone. I have selected two head studies as examples of a quality head. Notice the head in profile. The muzzle does not appear too short or too long. The muzzle meets the skull in the desired perpendicular manner. Notice the underjaw of this example. The underjaw extends right out to the end of the muzzle. The eyes are nice and large and well set into the skull. The straight-on example shows the domed top skull. The correct Chihuahua head is both rounded at the stop around to the ears and between the ears on top of the skull. With regard to grooming, I prefer to see a dog present- ed as natural as possible. This is purely my preference. You will see long-coats heavily groomed with no ear fringe inside the ear. Neither of these dogs are at attention. The ears would be held much more closely to one another at attention. The wording “serious fault” is used in our standard to describe a dog with anything other than a scissors bite or a level bit. Undershot, overshot and wry bites are serious faults too often seen in the show ring. The Chihuahua is to be only slightly longer than tall. Shorter backs are preferred in males. The black and tan tri-colored male that appears in this article is to be faulted for possess- ing too long of a body. If the Chihuahua has a front well un- der itself as called for in our standard it should appear to be nearly square. The overhang of the front results in slightly longer than tall. This dog appears to have the desired level topline. This level top line should be present when standing or when moving.
Movement is described in the breed standard as swift. Swift should mean going around the ring swiftly. It does not mean a rapid sewing machine up and down kind of a movement. A judge can make several evaluations of correct movement as a class is sent around the ring. The front should reach rather than lift. The rear should be a driving rear with pads of rear feet clearly visible as the dog moves away. The standard calls for convergence as speed increases. A Chihuahua should not move with its front wide apart like a French Bulldog. Both front and rear should converge somewhat. There are some generic kinds of evaluations that a judge should make just as he/she would judging any breed. These include spring of ribs, pasterns, condition, elbows, etc. The Chihuahua is often considered to be the smallest of all purebred dogs. This is in size only. A typical Chi- huahua is often guilty of forgetting his size and will chal- lenge a dog much larger. Handlers have to be constantly aware of this problem, and not allow their Chihuahuas to go after larger dogs. The Chihuahua has personal space just like a Doberman or a Mastiff. Judges do not get into the face of a Dobe, but there are some judges that think they need to get into the space of the Chihuahua. This is a pet peeve of mine. There is no need to get right in the face of a Chihuahua and talk baby talk to it. Even the most well-behaved Chihua- hua will not tolerate such an invasion of personal space nor should it. This problem seems to happen less often of late. T op N otch T oys , S eptember /O ctober 2022 • 31
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