Is a Chihuahua the world's smallest dog?
Maybe not the smallest dog, but it is the smallest breed. On average, the Chihuahua is only six to nine inches tall and weighs only two to six pounds. Aside from being small, the breed features a flattened tail, curved claws more like a bird-of-prey than a dog, and a soft spot on top its head like a human.
The breed was first encountered by Americans in the late 1800's in the Mexican state from which the breed is named. The dogs were bought as novelties to carry around in pockets. The first of the breed to be registered in the United States in 1903, and in 1925 the first club was formed for the tiny animal in America.
The first photographs of the breed from America show dogs with longer snouts, bat ears, and much smaller eyes. Through years of selective breeding by owners looking for a dog that looked more "baby-like," the larger eyes and the much more rounded head came to be. Since the dog looks like an infant, it has become more chic to carry around in one's arms or special purses made just to carry toy breeds of dogs.
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