Handbag accessory or small dog? The stars from Hollywood are showing the way: these days you carry “dog” in your handbag. The smallest dog breed in the world, the Chihuahua, is particularly popular: the miniature dogs are now one of the most popular dog breeds ever. Due to their attitude, the little dwarves often have little in common with “real” dogs: they are too fragile to play in a pack with normal-sized dogs, their barking sounds thin, and long walks would be too strenuous for the short little legs, for everyday use Business is in a litter box and diseases such as partial luxation are unfortunately commonplace. Nevertheless, the charm of these tiny dogs remains unbroken.
Short Chihuahua breed history
The Chihuahua is not only the smallest dog breed in the world, but also one of the oldest dog breeds. The small dogs come from Mexico, where it is proven that they were bred as early as the 8th century: whether as lap dogs, sacrificial animals or as a supplement to the diet is unclear. With the exploration of South America, the small dogs made their way to America and finally to Europe, where they are now enjoying growing popularity.
The appearance of the Chihuahua
The Chihuahua’s body structure is square and compact, the head is rounded with large eyes and ears. The breed is common in two different coat varieties: long-haired and short-haired. These only differ in their fur length; the remaining body proportions are not affected.
According to breeding criteria, a Chihuahua should weigh between 1.5 and 3 kg and be 18-23 cm high at the shoulder. In order to be approved for breeding and to prevent complications during pregnancy and birth, breeding associations require a minimum weight of 2 kg for breeding approval. However, with the increasing number of “hobby breeding” far away from associations, these criteria are unfortunately given little weight.
Instead, different breeds are increasingly emerging, from the “normal” Chihuahua to the super mini weighing barely 1 kg. However, the breeding of special miniature Chihuahuas is not approved and can lead to massive health problems and even the inability to bear young healthily.
The character traits of the Chihuahua
The Chihuahua may be a dwarf physically, but he is big in spirit: lovers of the breed appreciate his courageous and fearless character. Quick and lively, but always attentive and curious, the self-confident little dogs also take on significantly larger opponents – who are often so amazed that they simply accept the dwarf’s apparent superiority.
Between the perfect city dog and accessory
There is no denying that it is hard to resist the charm of a Chihuahua when he looks at you faithfully with his huge beady eyes and snuggles up to you for warmth and trust. Nevertheless, the negative sides of these dogs should not be ignored: Due to uncontrolled breeding by irresponsible breeders, the breed’s health has suffered greatly in recent years, as parents unsuitable for breeding are randomly mated with each other, resulting in more and more overbred young animals with new genetic defects come to market – and are used again for uncontrolled breeding. However, as long as the Chihuahua remains so popular, the downward trend will continue, because breeds that can easily make a lot of money have always been welcome victims of unscrupulous breeders.
Nevertheless, the Chihuahua of course has its place: Hardly any other breed is better suited as a city or apartment dog: They need little exercise and the daily walk in the city park is usually completely sufficient for them. They feel most comfortable at home, on the sofa and showered with lots of affection. This makes them the perfect dog for the urban person who longs to be close to “man’s best friend” without being able to offer him the necessary environmental conditions.
It is precisely this lack of need for a “dog-typical” attitude that is also the great curse of Chi, because many owners “forget” that they still have a real dog at home who wants to be trained, who wants to watch and protect and whose purpose in life is not to be carried around the city’s shopping streets in a fancy bag. And so it remains to be hoped that the Chihuahua breed will achieve its acurrent existence as a fashion dog and still remains what it is: a small dog – and not a fashion accessory!
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