The chihuahua is a very popular and well-known dog. Its small size contributes to its success, above all, which makes it possible for it to accompany its caregivers everywhere. But in this article on our site we are going to focus on another aspect, also related to its physique, and that is that the Chihuahua, in addition to presenting a variety of long hair and another of short hair, stands out for having a wide range of colors and patterns. There is talk of more than thirty possibilities!
Keep reading and discover the accepted colors of the chihuahua, as well as the most popular and common ones.
Colors of the Chihuahua accepted by the FCI
The International Cinological Federation has established a standard that establishes the characteristics that chihuahua or chihuahueño dogs must have. As for the coat, this institution admits two varieties, allowing both a short and long coat. In addition, it leaves freedom for the mantle to be of any color, shade or combination possible. Therefore, the color possibilities in this breed are unlimited, although there is one exception, which is known as merlé
Why is the chihuahua merle not accepted?
As we have advanced, the FCI allows all colors of the chihuhua except merle. This has an explanation. This coloration, which results in a truly striking spotted or mottled coat and can also appear in other breeds, such as the border collie, is related to a recessive gene, also linked to various he alth problems.
Thus, the crossing of two Merlé chihuahuas could cause the manifestation of serious diseases in the resulting puppies. They are above all problems such as deafness or blindness. In any case, due to this and many other drawbacks, the breeding of this and any other breed should be left exclusively in the hands of professional breeders. Merlé is also associated with a blue eye color.
AKC Accepted Chihuahua Colors
For its part, the American Kennel Club adds that the coat can be solid, that is, in a single color, or be spotted or splashed. In addition, it adds a list of colors and marks to register dogs of this breed in your organization, for which it offers a list of different options that describe the dog. Thus, for the colors of the chihuahua, some stand out as standard and others as alternatives, making a distinction according to display purposes. In total, it offers more than 30 color options. Starting with the ones you mark as standard, we find the following:
- Black, although it is rare only black and more commonly occurs mixed with brown.
- Blue and Brown. Blue refers to a grayish hue.
- Chocolate.
- Chocolate & Brown.
- Cream.
- Tawny.
- Tawny and White.
- Red.
Alternate Chihuahua Colors
The AKC proposes an even broader list of Chihuahua colors that it calls alternatives. They are as follows:
- Black and red, black and silver, black and white.
- Black, Fawn & Sable or Silver Fawn Black.
- Blue, blue and white, blue fawn brindle, blue fawn, blue merlé. It must be remembered that the FCI does not admit merle. On the other hand, pure blue chihuahuas also have this color on their noses, pads and even their nails.
- Chocolate and white, blue chocolate, chocolate fawn tabby, chocolate sable fawn.
- Cream & White.
- Tawny Black Tabby.
- Gold, gold and white.
- Red and white.
- Silver, Silver & White.
- White, although pure white is rare.
AKC Chihuahua Markings
In addition to the different colors of the chihuahua, the AKC also offers varieties to register these dogs according to the markings they present, which again differentiates between standard and alternatives. The standard are:
- Black Tabby.
- Black Mask.
- Black Fawn.
- Merlé.
- White marks or splashes.
For its part, among the alternatives the following brands are included:
- Black mask and white marks.
- Blue Mask.
- Cream.
- Tawny.
- Red.
All the marks can have different shapes, a greater or lesser extension and present different distributions on the dog's body. Taking this fact into account, as well as the variety of Chihuahua colors and patterns that we have mentioned, the possibilities in the coat of this breed are innumerable.
White or albino Chihuahua?
Among the colors of the chihuahua we have mentioned white. It is important to distinguish this coloration from albinism. The expression of the white color reveals an absence of pigment, but it does not have to mean the presence of any pathology. Therefore, a white Chihuahua, while less common than other colors, is as normal a Chihuahua as any other. Its nose and nails can be both black and have a lighter shade, such as beige or pink.
On the other hand, albinism does not only involve white hair, but also involves eyes blue or pink skin, truffle included. These dogs can suffer from he alth problems related to this condition. The same thing happens with some chihuahuas that are exclusively blue in color, which in this case is associated with problems with a lack of hair.
If you have discovered that your chihuahua is albino, don't miss this article: "Care for albino dogs".
Chocolate Chihuahua
Chocolate is another of the colors of the chihuahua that we can find. It is a brown that can be confused with other shades of the same color range, such as fawn. A difference can be established based on the color of the nose, which is influenced by that of the mantle. Thus, the truffle of dogs is usually black, but we also find brown trufflesIn this case, we would be dealing with a chocolate-colored Chihuahua, since all copies of this color will have a brown nose.
