AKC Chihuahua Standard, Revised 1990

General Appearance –
A graceful, alert, swift-moving little dog with saucy expression, compact, 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, but not protruding, balanced, set well apart-luminous dark or luminous ruby. (Light eyes in blond or white-colored dogs permissible.)
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.
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 nose permissible.
Bite – Level or scissors. Overshot or undershot bite, or any distortion of the bite or jaw, should be penalized as a serious fault.

Disqualifications – Broken down or cropped ears.

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 – Cropped tail, bobtail.

Forequarters – Shoulders – Lean, sloping into a slightly broadening support above straight forelegs that set well under, giving a free play at the elbows. Shoulders should be well up, giving balance and soundness, sloping into a level back. (Never down or low.) This gives a chestiness, and strength of forequarters, yet not of the “Bulldog” chest.
Feet – A small, dainty foot with toes well split up but not spread, pads cushioned. (Neither the hare nor the cat foot.)
Pasterns – Fine.
Hindquarters – Muscular, with hocks well apart, neither out nor in, well let down, firm and sturdy. The feet are as in front.

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 curly, with undercoat preferred.

Ears – Fringed. (Heavily fringed ears may be tipped slightly if due to the fringes and not to weak ear leather, never down.)
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.

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, with terrier-like qualities.

Disqualifications – Spayed and Neutered dogs can still compete in conformation events in limited veterans classes at certain shows.

Below is the list of disqualifications that apply to Chihuahuas. The first 11 apply to any dog.

1. Correction of entropion, ectropion, trichiasis or distichiasis.
2. Trimming, removal or tattooing of the third eyelid (nictitating membrane).
3. Insertion of an eye prosthesis.
4. Correction of a harelip, cleft palate, stenotic nares or an elongated soft palate resection.
5. Procedures to change ear set or carriage other than that permitted by the breed standard.
6. Dental procedures for restoration, the use of bands or braces on teeth or any alteration of the dental arcade.
7. The removal of excess skin folds or the removal of skin patches to alter markings.
8. Correction of inguinal, scrotal or perineal hernias.
9. Surgery for hip dysplasia, OCD, patellar luxation or femoral head resection.
10. Alteration of the location of the testes or the insertion of an artificial testicle.
11. Alteration of the set or carriage of the tail.
12. Any dog of 6 pounds.
13. Broken down or cropped ears.
14. Cropped tail, bobtail. In long coats, too thin coat that resembles bareness.

Copyright American Kennel Club.