Chihuahua is a very small breed of dog in two exterior variations: smooth-haired and long-haired. Moreover, the second is considered more ancient and the most thoroughbred. There are three theories of the origin of the breed, and all of them have every right to exist. The formation period is considered to be 1500 BC. However, this statement is not certain.
Description
The history of the Chihuahua breed is very ancient, overgrown with legends and fables. Currently, these little dogs have conquered the whole world, having gained incredible popularity. The small size makes it easy to take them on trips and travels, and living in city apartments with these pets is very convenient. But the point is not so much in the compactness and unpretentiousness of the content, as in devotion to the owner and affectionate character.
There are two exterior variations along the length of the coat. Chihuahuas long-haired in the history of the breed are considered more ancient and purebred than representatives with smooth hair. However, more on that later.
The first happy owner of a small chihuahua in Russia was Khrushchev himself, whom he brought puppies of this breed from Cuba and handed Fidel Castro as a gift. A little later, from Algeria, he was presented with two more babies.
All owners of Chihuahuas note the strong and courageous nature of their pets, which does not correlate with their small size. The height at the withers of these dogs reaches only 23 cm and weighs up to 2 kg. The behavioral feature of the character is that a chihuahua chooses one owner from his family and literally does not leave his person for a single step. Specialists are advised to suppress such manifestations in order to prevent jealous-possessive behavior and aggression.
All occurrence versions
The history of the Chihuahua breed has several different versions of occurrence. And some of them are just fantastic. For example, there is an opinion about the alien origin of these dogs, which allegedly communicate with space through a fontanel that does not grow with age.
Telling briefly the history of the Chihuahua breed, one cannot but note a few less fantastic versions. According to one of them, these dogs were bred by the ancient Aztecs, according to the other - Mayan civilization and the ancient Toltecs. The third version suggests that the smallest breed of dog on the planet was bred in ancient Egypt. In addition, there are opinions about the origin of the described dogs in China, Japan and the island of Malta.
The history of the breed in the territory of the Indian tribes in Mexico
The most common version in the history of the Chihuahua breed is the appearance and development of these miniature dogs in modern Mexico. Most researchers are convinced that the largest Mexican state of Chihuahua, located in the north of the country, which borders with the American New Mexico and Texas, can be considered the ancestral home.
It was here in the border areas that Mexican merchants sold miniature dogs to tourists who brought "living souvenirs" home to the United States, being fascinated by the variety of types of these dogs (with different lengths and coat colors).
Techichi
Tribes of the Toltec Indians inhabited the modern territory of Chihuahua from about the 9th century AD. Together with them lived small dogs of techich, which are considered the ancestors of the Chihuahua and which differed from their descendants in longer hair and large sizes.
It is believed that the leakies were domesticated by the ancient Mayans, who used them for food and for sacrifices. Later, animals were mummified and buried with the owners as companions in the afterlife. From Maya, the Toltecs adopted these religious rites.
The history of the Chihuahua dog breed, or leaky, can be traced to drawings, stone carvings, pottery, as well as to the graves of those times where the skeletons of small dogs were found. In addition, about one hundred pyramids were found in the city of Cholula, richly decorated with gold and precious stones. The Olmecs began to erect the largest of them in the 2nd century BC, and the Toltecs finished construction. The walls of this pyramid are decorated with images in which the presence of small dogs is clearly visible.
Much later (in the 12th century AD), the Toltecs were expelled by the Aztec tribes who came from the north, who settled their lands. In the Aztec culture, sacrifice was given a leading role. Small leakages were sacrificed along with people. It was believed that on the back of the sacred leaky dog, the Indian’s soul was crossing the underground river directly to the ruler of the kingdom of the dead - Miktlankutli.
The Aztec priests were engaged in breeding silver-blue leaky, which were considered sacred. Even the richest and most distinguished Indians did not have the right to approach such dogs, since these sacred animals were the guardians of the Blue Stone.
History of feral chihuahua
The Aztec empire in 1521 was almost completely destroyed by the conquistadors from Spain, led by Hernan Cortes. In addition to the fact that in those days everything that was at least somehow connected with the culture and traditions of the Aztecs was destroyed, the sacred leakies were almost completely destroyed by the Spaniards, who ate dog meat.
Quite a large part of the animals managed to hide in the jungle, where they strayed in packs and run wild. There have been suggestions that the Chihuahua is the result of a cross between leaky dogs and Chinese crested dogs, which were kept in large numbers on Spanish ships as rat-catchers. However, DNA tests conducted in our time did not confirm this version.
Mention of a Chihuahua by Christopher Columbus
There is another documentary evidence of the origin of the Chihuahua. This is a letter from Christopher Columbus to the King of Spain, where he reports on the capture of the skeleton of Cuba and that he discovered a small breed of dog domesticated by the local population. These dogs were dumb and could not bark. According to the description of Columbus, they were very much like modern Chihuahuas.
Breed name history
The history of the origin of the Chihuahua breed continued. Around about 1800, several representatives were found among the peasants who lived near the ruins of the castle of the last Aztec ruler of Montezuma. These dogs were described as individuals with a fontanel, developed fingers, huge and expressive eyes. It was very reminiscent of a modern chihuahua.
In the same time period, the same dogs were found in other Mexican states. After that, they were given different names: Mexican, Arizona or Texas dogs.
American pilgrims began to buy these dogs on the state border, mostly from the Mexican Chihuahua. In English manners this name is pronounced easier. So they began to call the little descendants of the techichi - chihuahua.
Further popularization
The history of the Chihuahua breed was continued by a certain James Watson, who was a well-known canine dog at that time and the first breeder of this breed in the United States. In May 1888, he published his recommendations regarding breed care.
Already in 1890, the Book of the American Kennel Club for the first time introduced the Chihuahua breed as a participant in dog shows. The bitch named Midget breeder Ryder of Texas was the first to be registered in the American Cynological Stud Book. After 20 years, 170 individuals of this breed were already inscribed there.
The history of the Chihuahua mini breed in 1907 was continued in England, where the same pedigree book appeared.
In 1914, the first mention of the breed was published in the American press. 1923 was the year that the American Chihuahua Club was founded and developed the standard. The British club was opened only in 1949. And in 1954 the breed was divided into two independent subgroups: a long-haired chihuahua and a smooth-haired, who were judged together in the rings. In the history of the Chihuahua breed, long-haired variations are considered more ancient.
For the first time, the official breed standard was adopted in 1934, then it was updated in 1954, and the most recent was adopted in 1972 and has not seriously changed.
Appearance in Russia
The history of the origin of the Chihuahua breed (udk) is interesting by the appearance of these dogs in Russia. In 1959, during a visit to Cuba, Khrushchev was presented with two long-haired chihuahuas. One of them was the Duke, who was called the Bear, the other - the Duchess, renamed Mushka. These dogs had the full pedigrees of the American Kennel Club.
In those days, the influx of manufacturers from abroad was limited. However, from Algeria to the USSR came a short-haired Ryzhik born in 1966 and a long-haired Linda, who was born in 1967.
Much later, as early as 1975, cosmonaut V.I. Sevastyanov straight from Mexico brought shorthair Icarus. And already in the 90s, a stream of long-haired and short-haired individuals came to Russia from different countries, which radically improved the quality of the livestock. And finally, in 1996, the Russian National Chihuahua Club was created.
The history of the Chihuahua breed is entertaining and multifaceted. There are many versions of the origin of the breed. However, the most reliable of them is still considered "Mexican", which has a lot of undeniable historical evidence.