The Origin of the Chi Chi

It is not surprising that the nickname for a Chihuahua is Chi or Chi-Chi. The word ,chi, means life force in China and most Chihuahuas certainly display plenty of that. Chi-chi is also French slang for fashionable or cute.

Chihuahuas are very active, saucy animals that fall into the American Kennel association category of a ,toy dog., (In fact a chi chi can be described as the worlds only ,natural toy dog., It also bears the distinction of being the world’s tiniest breed.

What does China have to do with this tiny Mexican dog who most of us are familiar with from seeing them cavorting in a Freda Kahlo painting or advertising Mexican food for Taco Bell on T.V.?

It seems that the organ of the dog’s breed is the subject of some debate. The most popular point of view is that the breed originated over 2000 years in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico which is why you see so many of these dogs wearing cute little sombreros in family photographs.

However some experts believe that the Chihuahua’s canine lineage goes back a long way before the birth of Christ. The Chinese just as expert at miniaturizing plants such as the bonsai as they were dogs and horses. It is theorized that this culture may have may have developed the Chihuahua by miniaturizing a dog called the Techichi/ These tiny dogs were also bred for the dinner table, ritual sacrifice and as companions for royalty.

The Techichi was a short-legged stocky dog compared to today’s graceful, thin limbed Chihuahua. It is believed that the Techichi may have been imported to Mexico from Europe by Spanish explorers.

The reason this is not such an implausible theory is that carvings found in the Monastery of Huejotzingo, on the highway from Mexico City to Puebla, show pictures of a dog that strongly resembles both the modern day Chihuahua and the Techichi.

However the reason that many breeders ALSO subscribe to the theory those Chihuahuas are of Mexican origin is because the tiny bodies of Techichi dogs have also been found in the graves of the ancient Toltec and Aztec tribes. This means that despite what was just theorized above, a Chihuahua like dog may have indeed been bred by ancient civilization that long predate the birth of Christ or at least been around in Mexico from the 9th Century A.D. In these cultures the dogs were also employed as ritual sacrifices and companions for royalty.

However the loving house pet that knows today, as the chi is believed to have been perfected as a breed around the early 1850s in Mexico. The breed is well established and the Chihuahua Breed Standard was first recognized by the American Kennel Association in 1904.

These lively and lovable little dogs with their slim, limber bodies and eyes as round as saucers came in three varieties: smooth coat, longboat, or hairless. The hairless version is now known’s the Xoloitzcuintle, or Mexican Hairless. However the two most popular types that you will find as pets in Europe and North America are the smoothcoat and longcoat.

It

All About Rhodesian Ridgies

Friendly enough to romp in a yard with group kids and yet courageous enough to take a pride of attacking lions in Africa, the Rhodesian Ridgeback has been the subject of fine artists since the mid-sixteenth century because of its unusual markings and friendly attractive demeanor. It is a fine beast to walk at the end of your leash as it is a protective, yet well-behaved dog that is easily socialized.

This courageous yet calm canine is a regal subject for a portrait because of its noble bearing, big soft friendly eyes and smooth caramel to gray coat. Its fur is beautiful and silky and drapes with the hand. However it is also a legendary creature with one very special anatomical feature that is found in no other canine breed.

If you look at the back of a Rhodesian Ridgeback you will see that it boasts a long narrow ruff of fur that stretches from head to tail along the length of spine. If you look at this ridge closely it almost seems like one long scratch from a single pronged lion’s nail had raised the nap on the fur in the opposite direction and the hair has stuck up in a ruff permanently.

In fact, the legend of the how the Rhodesian ruff came to be is the scenario that you will see immortalized in old European paintings. In these works of art will often see scenes of a pride of lions attacking a single Rhodesian Ridgeback or you will see a group of Ridgebacks taking on a single lion. Always in these scenes, the back of Rhodesian Ridgeback as it is being attacked is being scraped during a scuffle with a lion.

This long reverse ruff is a symbol of the dog’s bravery that has remained with it and that we can see and feel every time we run our fingers through the Ridgie’s fur. The ruff itself can be quite beautiful with little streaks or whorls about it; it is like a scar of honor that is always there on every puppy that is born as a reminder of the dog’s heritage as a hunter and protector.

There is the legend and then there is genetics of how this beautiful ruff came to be. The Ridge’s full official name is the Rhodesian ridgeback because immigrants to that area of Africa owned them.

German and Dutch emigrants believe the original ridgeback stock produced by the crossing of such dogs as mastiffs, bloodhounds, Great Danes, and terriers brought to South Africa. In addition to its outstanding ability at hunting lions, the ridgeback was prized as a protector of farms from prowling animals.

No matter what its origins there is no doubt whatsoever that the Rhodesian Ridgeback is one of the most beautiful and well composed of mutants, both aesthetically and in terms of temperament.

The Ridgie a smart sensitive and loyal dog, soft and cuddly like a big cuddly teddy bear yet at the same time a loyal watch and guard dog. However unlike the some guard or watch dogs the Ridgie is more mellow; also has the characteristics of a companion dog which makes it a truly unusual pet. The Ridgie truly a masterpiece of breeding and that ruff from head to tail is your indication that you are about to buy one of the best behaved, friendliest and loyal of puppies that exists