Toy Group - Chihuahua Breed Standard

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
Smooth	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.
Long	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.
Disqualifications	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	Any dog over 6 pounds in weight. Broken down or cropped ears. Cropped tail, bobtail. In Long Coats, too thin coat that resembles bareness.