General Appearance
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 5 pounds.
Proportion – The body is square. Somewhat shorter bodies are preferred in males.
Undesirable – Any dog over 6 pounds in weight. Females are preferred at 6 pounds for breeding.
Head
A well rounded “apple dome” skull, with or without molera.
Expression – Saucy.
Eyes – Full, and protruding, balanced, set well apart-luminous dark or luminous ruby. (Light eyes in blond or white-colored dogs permissible.)
Ears – small, erect type ears, held upright when alert.
Muzzle – Moderately short, and square. 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 is considered a serious fault, undershot bite, is okay to an extend of non visible when mouth is closed.
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 short, carried up, or in a loop over the back, with tip just touching the back. (Never tucked between legs.) Cropped tail is desired.
Disqualifications – kink tail, or broken.
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.
Feet – small, dainty feet with toes well split up but not spread, pads cushioned.
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. (coats with undercoats permissible.) Coat placed well over body with ruff on neck, is un desirable, and more scanty on head and ears. Hair on tail preferred fine.
Color
Solid, or Black& Tan or Chocolate & Tan, white on chest & feet highly Undesirable.
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.
Undesirable
Any dog over 5 pounds in weight. Broken down or cropped ears.