History of the Chihuahua (from CCA Illustrated Standard)
Study of the breed’s origin have uncovered Chihuahua-like images in many parts and times of the world, including China, Egypt, Europe, Malta, Mexico, and South America; some dating, perhaps, from the ninth century. Many historians have documented similar-appearing little dogs found in artifacts, written descriptions, and art works, including a 1400’s Botticelli painting in the Sistine Chapel!
Chihuahua history in the United States began in the mid-1800’s when Americans began acquiring the dogs in Mexico. Many were purchased from the area of Chihuahua, ergo, the breed’s name, Chihuahua. Both varieties were popular and the presence of a molera (open fontanel) was a breed characteristic.
Maxwell Riddle in This Is the Chihuahua, writes, “Whatever its origin, the mod ern Chihuahua is a purely American dog. The American standard is world wide and probably every registered Chihuahua in the world traces to purely American blood. “In the Chihuahua Guide, author Hilary Harmar states that “the Chihuahua has been developed to its present standard by American breeders during this century (20th).”
AKC recognized the breed in 1924.
The first three AKC registered Chihuahuas were Long Coats.
The Chihuahua Club of America was formed in February 1923 and adopted the breed’s standard.
“The AKC first recognized the varieties (with trophies) at the Sesqui- Centennial in 1926.” Smooth Coats and Long Coats were divided into varieties in 1952.
The standard has been revised several times; 1934, 1954, 1972, and 1990.
From the original standard of 1923 until today, the words that describe the general appearance of the Chihuahua have remained the same: a graceful, alert, swift-moving little dog with saucy expression; compact, and with terrier-like qualities. These words represent the essence of the breed and are of tremendous importance.
The first Chihuahua was exhibited in 1884 at the Philadelphia Kennel Club show. During the 1890’s less than 10 Chihuahuas were shown in the “listed dog” class (so designated for unregistered dogs).
During the 1890’s less than 10 Chihuahuas were shown in the “listed dog” class (so designated for unregistered dogs).
The first Chihuahua champion, “Beppie” (f), was listed in the American Kennel Club’s 1908 Stud Book.
In 1916 approximately 50 were exhibited in all shows combined.
There were 50 entries in the Chihuahua club of America’s Specialty in 1923.
At the 1949 Chihuahua Specialty held in Chicago in conjunction with the Western Specialty Club’s Association, the entry was 109. In that same year, 1949, the Chihuahua was 8th in popularity in the U.S. with 7,156 registered.
In 1951, Ch. Attas’ Gretchen, a Smooth Coat female, was the first Chihuahua to win an all breed Best in Show.
In 1975, the first Long Coat to win an all breed Best in Show was also a female, Ch. Snow Bunny d’Casa de Cris. The first CCA rotating specialty was in 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1987, the AKC registered 21,398 Chihuahuas; almost 15,000 competed in AKC shows and 265 earned championships.
For the year 2000, the breed ranked 8th in popularity; 43,096 were registered; 388 attained championships, 20 earned obedience titles.
TThe Chihuahua has consistently ranked among top ten breeds in popularity and leads the Toy Group in the number of championships attained each year.
