ADULT "HEAVEN" Tallest part of her back she is just under 7 inches tall. Heaven is 3.2 lbs
ANGELFACE ADULT DAUGHTER is 6 1/2 inches in length from shouler blades to rump. She is 3 lbs and chubby
Angelface adult daughter. Another view of length measurement
BUG is 6 1/2 inches long from shoulder blades to rump.The ruler is too close to her neck ( up over her shoulder blades) so it looks like 7 inches but she is a 6
BUG is 6 to 6 1/2 inches tall from floor to top of her back. Bug is 3.0 lbs
elbow is 3 inches, If you go to shoulder you have 5 inches.
Elbow 3 inches, shoulder 5 inches.
The proper way to measure height is by the dog's shoulder which we can see here is 5 inches. So this dog would be listed at 5 inches tall. I though prefer to measure from the floor to the top of back. She would then be 6 1 /2 inches tall from the floor to the top of her back.
I MEASURE HEIGHT TWO WAYS : FROM FLOOR TO THE SHOULDER AND ALSO TO THE TOP OF BACK
To Elbow 3 inches
To Shoulder 5 inches
To tallest part of back 6 1/2 inches.
This photo makes it appear Muffet is 7 inches long but when she stands up and the ruler is held straight her correct length is 6 1/2
3 inch elbow 5 inch shoulder 7 1/2 inch top of back
This is the left side of back, not the top of her back
Shoulder 4 1/2 inches Benny is just under 7 inches tall measuring from the floor to top of highest part of his back. He is 4 1/2 inches tall if you prefer to measure from floor to his shoulder
To Elbow
To Shoulder 5" so this dog would be called 5 inches tall but I like to measure to top of back in my dogs
The tniest dog int he world is 4 inches tall and that is probably the shoulder measurement
Top of back shoulder blades
2 lb adult Mighty Mouse measures 5 3/4 inches
shoulder blades
rump at drop off from back
When a "breeder" promises or guarantees an EXACT adult weight on a young puppy.
RED FLAG!!!
LET US GET DOWN TO SOME FACTS
There is a misconception widespread among consumers that plenty of breeders take advantage of. It is the myth that exact adult weight of a puppy CAN be predicted. Even if possible,does puppy weight predict length or height of the adult Chihuahua ?A large sized Chihuahua can be a skinny 2.5 lb dog similar to a miniature Italian Greyhound
PUPPY WEIGHT-
Thin babies can chart too low for accuracy in prediction of adult weight.
Obese babies with loads of baby fat chart higher then what their final adult weight will be.
FACT: Weight doesn't predict length or height of a Chihuahua.
FACT: An adult Chihuahua can be large with a body length of 13 inches and be a skinny 2 1/2 lbs
CHIHUAHUA BLOODLINES- DIFFERENT GROWTH PATTERNS..
Some lines have rapid growth of newborns up to 6 month of age and then the growth just stops cold. Such puppies are large, fat and chart 5 lbs but end up as 2 or 3 lb adults.
Some lines have tiny babies that grow SLOW over 1 1/2 years. Such Chihuahua puppies stay lightweight and small while very young but keep growing for a long period of time. Plenty of breeders have young Chihuahuas win championship while growth is not complete. Championship is won while the Chihuahua is within the weight standard for the breed. When full grown such Champions end up oversized and title isn't revoked.
There are those blue moon oddball puppies that go against the grain of the line and do their own thing. These are the few times that experienced Breeders who know what their lines well end up looking like fools.
MOTHERS MILK-
Some mothers have such rich milk that their puppies end up little butter balls and large for age. These young pups chart 5 lbs for baby fat alone
The rule of thumb is that the older they get the smaller they chart ! At 5 months most will have lost the babyfat and chart 2 or 3 lbs if that is the size of the line, parents, etc...
Some mothers have poor milk quality no matter what you feed them. You can give them goatsmilk daily, vitamins ,chicken and you name it and their milk is not good,so the puppies are teensy and chart low. Taking these puppies and switching them over to a mother with fattening milk will cause the poorly thriving babies to double their weight in a week or two. So much for accurate charting of puppies in the early weeks!!
PLACENTAS-
Some fetuses end up with small insufficient placentas and do not grow well so they are born extra small and even weakly, but they soon catch up in a matter of weeks to their littermates if they survive. On the opposite side are the few fetuses who end up with over sized placentas . Such puppies are huge at birth causing mom to need a c-section. The growth of these puppies slows rapidly after whelp and they end up similar in size to the other puppies in the litter by 4 to 6 weeks old. They also end up a similar adult size compared to litter mates.
RUNTS-
A single extra tiny puppy in a litter most always means an organ defect such as liver shunt, heart malformation, kidney disease or brain defect. I breed small Chihuahua puppies from small adults, not sickly runts.
SO HOW DOES A BREEDER PREDICT ACCURATE ADULT SIZE WITH SO MANY VARIABLES?
An experienced breeder knows their lines and how the majority of puppies from select breedings end up as adults. They know about mothers milk, about placentas and over growth and stunted growth while in uteri. They know about growth spurts and the flaws in charting and will give their own 2 cents, never going by the chart alone. .
I hope that the information presented on this page helps you fight back against dishonest breeders and scammers who bait you with the the following size terms Teacup, Micro, Pocket Puppy. The size variables above apply to all purebred Chihuahuas.
Scammers "guarantee" adult size just to make a sale and care little about the actual size the puppy will be as an adult. A caring Breeder loves the puppy more then the sale and wants the buyer and puppy to be perfect for each other.
