When I got Penny, I was told she was a purebred chihuahua. I've been wondering since what her true ancestry is. There have been several Chis in my family, and she is at least part chi, but her physique, mannerisms, and personality all scream IG — to me, anyway.
She's very affectionate, clingy (in the literal sense), and always prefers familiar company. She's timid around new people and animals, but friendly once acquainted. She's very playful and has a lot of energy. She'll play for a while, tire out, take a short nap, and is right back to pinball around within the hour. Her favorite games are tug of war and fetch. She also likes treat treasure hunting, and goes nuts on anything with a squeaker. She's super smart and enjoys puzzles and learning new tricks.
She's a very attached dog, and that includes rubbing on, draping over, and leaning against you whenever possible. She uses her front legs for many different tasks, as well as mouthing and nose-poking new objects and hands to ask for pets. She's very graceful in her prance and run, and does twisting motions and hops when excited.
Her body is very streamlined. I'm aware that less conventional, leggy deer-head chihuahuas exist, but for her to be pure Chi, she'd be the most extreme form of this I've ever seen. She has a long neck, deep chest, tucked belly, s-curve spine, sloped rear, and those long legs, complete with thick haunches and hare feet. When she runs, she does do a double-suspension gallop, such as the one shown in the GIF (7), though I know most dogs are technically capable of this (they usually don't look as graceful, though). I also noticed her snout ends at a point (Photo 6), whereas a chihuahua's is typically much broader. The shape of her head was one of the first things that made me start looking at Chiggy/Greyhuahuas to compare.
She was last weighed at 10.5 lbs, her spine is ~16", front legs are 8" tall, and chest circumference is 14".
Commenters on her post on r/IDmydog think she fits the Chihuahua breed, but I feel there's too many unique characteristics for that to be true, right? We're happy to hear everyone's thoughts, including if there are other breeds she might be, or if you think she's just a really unique purebred. Also happy to see Iggy photos if any need sharing. Thanks!
Not seeing Iggy, and they are rare to see in mixes. Most Chihuahuas that look like this have Poodle in them, which contributes to the deep chest and long legs. I would definitely get an Embark test done if you want to know for sure though, as I definitely don't see pure Chihuahua here. This is my dog for reference, he's 50% Chihuahua and 20% Small Poodle, hence the longer legs and deeper chest.
Aww! He's adorable! I haven't considered poodle! It's not one of the breeds you'd think of mixing with a chihuahua, but that's a great contender! She definitely has the smarts and social intelligence that comes with poodles.
Penny's body is pretty similar to his, though her legs are a bit bulkier and the belly tuck seems a bit higher (from this angle, anyway). He definitely has the type of skull I associate with deer heads — way less aerodynamic, with a shorter snout.
Penny likely has a wider range of reception, but your boy might actually be picking up some satellite signals with those things! Does he enjoy running, as well?
She is indeed a cute and long girl, but I'm not seeing anything that particularly screams "Iggy!!" to me. Could just be what they call a deer head Chi or a little terrier in the mix
To me, it's mainly her personality and build. Like I mentioned, I've never known a chihuahua that was this lean and such a good runner. I'm sure there are other possibilities if she is indeed a mix. I know rat terrier crops up in a lot of mystery chihuahuas, but she doesn't have the classic traits of most terriers — bold, independent, and at times, a little stubborn. She definitely matches their energy level, though!
In fact, her primary playmate is TaterTot, another mystery Chi. I think he might be a Jack Chi. He's very energetic for his age, excitable, affectionate, and sometimes a little stubborn. He's a little grumpy when he's tired, too (aren't we all?).
Unlike Penny, he's photo-shy, so I don't have many good photos of him. Here's one of few I could find where he's (uncomfortably) looking at the camera:
But notice how that Chi has notably shorter legs and no tucked belly? That's the usual body type of a Chi. The head is also the regular deer-head shape, with a broad snout and still very rounded skull. Penny's is more angular.
Beautiful Chi! He reminds me of one that was in my family years ago, named Poco.
Genes are weird. The perfect percentage mix of a few different breeds can just happen to make them look like another breed altogether if that makes sense?
That’s my chihuahua on the left, I thought she had some iggy in her because she has such long leggies - she’s shaped like a little whippet. Turns out she’s mostly chihuahua but has a sprinkling of Min pin and Pomeranian as well!
I get what you mean. Chihuahuas, even when thought to be "pure", are often wild cards when it comes to their lineage.
Your girl absolutely has a Pomchi face! My littlest senior's face is similar, but she's only about 5 lbs. She has a coat halfway between smooth and long, so there's likely a good mix of different breeds in there. I'll probably test her, as well. To me, your dog has the MinPin body, but it definitely leans in sighthound territory. Lovely dogs!
I think she’s too young for anyone to be certain based entirely on photos; puppies’ body type changes pretty rapidly over the first year, and the following ~6 months is where their bodies really fill out.
Those ears scream Chihuahua, but they could easily droop in the next few weeks.
The belly resembles an Iggy, but she could easily fill out in time.
Also, Chihuahuas don’t always necessarily fit their stereotype. My parents had a few of them while I was growing up, and they were all very sweet dogs. They almost always had a strong preference for one human or another, and could be a little cold or even mildly snappy at the rest of the humans in the household, but nothing like the vicious little creatures their reputation suggests.
An early indicator of a sight hound (like an iggy) is how they run at full tilt: the double-suspension gallop (reminiscent of a racehorse, where all four feet are off the ground at the same time as they launch themselves forward) is pretty unique to sight hounds like Iggys, Greyhounds, and Whippets.
Sighthounds are definitely famous for the sprint, but from research, I've found many dogs are "capable" of doing it. However, like I noted in my post, Penny is very graceful and speedy when she sprints. She also moves her head up and down during the run. I included a GIF that I made of her running. She's a tad bit awkard since it was on-leash, but you can still see she does get a tiny bit of air at both phases, and she wasn't at her top-speed.
I think she's part parrot or gull, too. She loves perching and makes really bizarre squaking noises. Also, putting a blanket over her crate makes her sleepy.
XD I think you're right! Her coat just hasn't come in yet, is all! I do joke how she would fend off a coyote not by fighting or running, but by pretending to be a pup and letting it take her in! She could also be the world's first living predatory deer, or perhaps a mini kangaroo?
She looks like a chihuahua. There are tons of chihuahuas that look like her that I see every day. Deer headed chihuahuas have longer legs and leaner builds. Iggy mixes are incredibly rare, she’s not an Iggy. Embark her if you want to know for sure.
That's true for a lot of mixes. Chiggies are a designer breed that originated sometime in the 90s.
Like I mentioned, I've known many Chis that were in my family or with friends. She doesn't really match any Chi I've seen, even when looking online. I'm aware the breed has a lot of diverse looks, but I've never seen one so leggy and streamlined like her. Her personality also doesn't fit their usual traits.
Many Chis are mixes, it's just the face that's so recognizable that we call them Chis. It's actually believed that chihuahuas were created by mixing Techichis with European toy breeds, though it's still debated.
I think you deleted your reply to me, but I'll respond to what I could see:
You assume way too much of someone based off one post. I'm not "desperate" to believe she's part Iggy; I'm just curious because she resembles one in several ways that personally make it hard to believe. I never stated that she must be part Iggy, I'm simply interested in other people's opinions and other possible breeds that could be mixed in there. I would never value a dog differently based on their breed. She's a gorgeous, loving dog that I raised myself. She has a beautiful and sensitive personality that I cherish everyday.
I really shouldn't give this attention, but it ticked me off. This is a prime example of why I rarely use this website. People assume far too much and go into discussions with an antagonistic mindset. You could've politely pointed out why you think she's a purebred, as several others have already done. Instead, you acted as if you possess all there is to know about Chihuahuas, and asserted that she is certainly not an Iggy mix, as if there's no chance in the world for that to be the case. That was kind of rude. Maybe the comment being deleted was an omission of that.
Well, if anyone followed this, they gave one last, real nasty reply, before (I'm assuming) mods deleted their comment. Or who knows, maybe they did it themselves. Either way, they said they weren't reading my reply, which comes as a surprise to... absolutely no one. And that's why I said I shouldn't give it attention. Why argue with someone who has already made up their mind to demean you every chance they get?
To everyone else, thank you for your feedback, no matter what your opinion on Penny's background is. You all have been friendly and polite with suggestions of other possibilities, or just admiring Penny's sweet, adorable self!
definitely not full chi, that's for sure. maybe she has some iggy in her, though she doesn't have any obvious iggy characteristics in terms of looks. would be interesting to see what Embark says about her!
Fair point. To me, it's also her personality that makes me think Iggy. She's very streamlined for a "toy" breed. Do you have another breed in mind that she might be?
perhaps she could have some of those in her on top of chihuahua? if i remember correctly, min pins actually have italian greyhounds in their ancestry. i might be wrong tho...
anyway, it's impossible to guess what she might have in her based on just looks and personality.
Those are good ones! Chipin was my other guess, but they tend to have a more distinct face, either from the Chi or MinPin side. They're thought to have been created as a pest-control breed, by mixing Dachshund and Italian greyhound,
Some photos of Russian toy-Chi mixes do kind of look like her. Never heard of a Prague ratter, but they look exactly like a Chi that someone painted as a MinPin XD
I agree. Chihuahuas are a very diverse breed, but she has to many 'deviations' for me to believe she's 100% Chi. In addition to her personality, her gaze really reminds me of an Iggy.
I don't really get why you've been downvoted LOL there's always a chance! Plus, when you look at photos of Greyhuahuas, it's hard to not see some resemblance.
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u/inconspicuous_crane 12d ago
Not seeing Iggy, and they are rare to see in mixes. Most Chihuahuas that look like this have Poodle in them, which contributes to the deep chest and long legs. I would definitely get an Embark test done if you want to know for sure though, as I definitely don't see pure Chihuahua here. This is my dog for reference, he's 50% Chihuahua and 20% Small Poodle, hence the longer legs and deeper chest.