we have all heard the term teacup chihuahua, but what do the terms apple head and deerhead mean when it comes to describing characteristics of the chihuahua breed and what exactly makes an apple head chihuahua different from a deerhead chihuahua?
the term apple head is used to describe any chihuahua with a round or ‘dome-like’ head similar to the shape of an apple. the upper part of the chihuahua’s skull is wider than the lower part in the jaw area.
if you look close at the top of the skull of most chihuahuas, you will notice that it is slightly sunken in just like the top of an apple. this area is called molera, a spanish word for ‘fontanel’, or any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus and it is similar to the ‘soft spot’ that human babies have on their heads upon birth.
according to chihuahua breed standards, the term apple head is required in the description of the ‘head’ of a chihuahua that includes an apple domed skull with either the presence or absence of molera. it is also used when referencing chihuahua puppies at an age where it is noticeable.
the term deer head is used to describe any chihuahua that does not have the characteristic apple shaped head. deer head chihuahuas tend to have a longer noses and a head shape similar to that of a miniature young deer. they also tend to have less chihuahua health problems.
in this picture of teaka the famous chihuahua you can see deer-like features, but she is an apple head chihuahua, so it can be confusing at times. at birth she was given the temporary name of fawn, which means a young deer under a year old.
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related: what is a blue chihuahua?
apple head and deer head chihuahua names
clothing for apple head and deerhead chihuahuas
article source: chihuahuadogcare.com/applehead-chihuahuas
skull photo source: skullsunlimited.com/chihuahua-skull.html
Comments 183
I have 2 chis one is a tri colored long coat female with an apple head and the other is a much smaller chocolate and tan smooth coat male with an adorable deer head. If I didnt know better I would think he was a mix of rat terrier/chi or min pin/chi. That is what I think deer or doe head chis look like. But that is the beautiful thing about chis that are so unique and perfectly adorable because they arent as finely breed as other breeds. Much to their credit. I am passionate about chihuahuas!!!
I have a deerhead chi, and she is precious! We handed her to everyone that came in our door, to hold from the time she was 12 weeks old. This fact has made her loving to everyone, as long as they are female or children. For some reason she does not like men. Nothing has ever happened that should have made her fear them, so we are at a loss. She adores my husband, our 36 year old son, and my daddy. She is very “standoffish” to other men. Does anyone have a clue? Is this normal for a small female chi?
I have a darling little dear head chi. She is a rescue dog and the vet ‘thinks’ she is a full breed Chi. I don’t know and do not care. The ‘pound’ called her a Pomeranian, which she clearly is not. She weighed 1.27 lbs when I adopted her, almost 2 years ago. Now she weighs 3.5 lbs. She is called a long haired deer head chi by the vet.
Guess what….I don’t care. She’s a tiny little bundle of love.
I’ve seen/heard that some Chi’s are yappy, but my little one isn’t. She rarely barks. She snuffles and sniffles at night, curled up with me.
I would like to find a male dog to breed her with. Obviously not a breeder to make money from pure bred dogs. I just would like to have 1 litter. I want a VERY small dog, long haired Chi preferred.
Am I out of line?
I have a 5 month old female deerhead dalmation chihuahua named Kitana!! She is the smartest little thing ever (3.5lbs so far). She came home at 8 weeks already potty trained and is making a very good transition going outside. She just loves people and will always greet them wherever she’s at. She seems to like other Chihuahua’s right off the bat, but has to warm up to any big dog before she’ll play with them. She has never learned to bark which i absolutely love!! She is my best friend and i can’t imagine life without her!!
I bought an applehead 6 months ago. She seems to be mixed between an apple & deer head I think.. She’s precious regardless. I just feel as though the breeder was dishonest with me. I’d be more then happy to send anyone of ya’ll pics of my puppy if I can get an accurate answer. Also, she’s supposed to be a long coat but her coat isn’t really growing too much. I need some opinions.
Thanks so much,
Denise
[email protected]
I have both and don’t actually see anything rocksolid consistent in the differences. I think both types can run the gamut. My darling Dangerboy passed away very suddenly at 10 yrs; he was a longcoat applehead and my sweetheart and tiny best friend in every possible way. I always knew he wouldn’t pass in his sleep, a happy old man, though.. he had a history of issues that really are heartbreaking.. he had neurological issues and bronchitis. The meds for bronchitis made him gain weight, too.. at 10yrs he was about 8lbs which was not bad for him but he would have been better off at 7lbs. I got him after he won blue ribbon status but then his teeth came in all weird (another common applehead problem) & they stopped showing him. So he was a perfect applehead and had several strange problems with breathing, etc. Angelbat, on the other hand, is also a longcoat perfect applehead, now 14yrs old and a happy, sweet old lady even after a lifetime of dealing with Addison’s disease, a hernia, floating kneecaps & ulcers. She is sweet and mostly quiet while Dangerboy was Jekyll & Hyde.. I think that personality went with the disorders that cropped up later.. quiet one minute, racing around like a lunatic the next. Now I also have Mojo, a smoothcoat male deerhead. At 9mo and 4lbs he is high energy and all boy and all puppy. I have started to think the “all or nothing” personality is kind of a boy thing, girls are just calmer, even as puppies. I don’t think it has anything to do with head shapes though I do think the shape is indicative of other underlying genetic issues you need to be aware of with applehead chis. All three have been and always will be the tiny loves of my life!
i have two chi’s my oldest Paco. 1 year is awesome hes about 7 pounds hes marked like a rottie(black and tan) and my youngest Bella is about 3 months old. shes tan and white shes his daughter they are a riot all over the place i wouldn’t trade them for anything! oh yeah they are both apple heads!
I have a applehead boy chi and a deer head female chi they just had puppies this morning! The boy applehead is alot more agressive and protective then the female deerhead i wonder if that has something to do with his sex or his kind? The girl is loving and will let u hold her and shes great with kids but the boy likes his space he dnt like children but hes still a great dog to the ppl he knows and hes so good to my female dog and hes doing great with the puppies!
Author
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I just got my 1st chihuahua puppy and I am smitten with her. She goes everywhere with me like to the mall. So I need a need a purse/bag for dog carrying…any ideas?
I have 2 years old deerhead chihuahua, very cute everyone loves him so much. Now we bought a new applehead puppy of 8 weeks. He is so energetic,wants to play with Rico but he doesn’t want to play. On the top when Max comes to him for playing ,Rico tends to bite him. I am in very frustrating situation What should I do ? I bought little one for companionship of Rico. On the other hand day and night I am on the supervision. Please give me some ideas.
Author
you may want to look more at getting a deerhead chihuahua as they are less likely to develop as many health issues and tend to out live apple head chihuahuas.
I want to get a chihuahua this summer, and am currently doing a lot of research so i no exactly what i want, but i cant decide between the apple head or dear heads. i dont fully understand the differences or the pros and cons of each one. Can anyone help me out x
I have two chis, both apple-heads. Dobby, my oldest, is blonde, and weighs around 11 lbs. My other chi, Miel, is chocolate with white markings and weighs 7 lbs. Dobby came from a breeder. His mother was a long haired apple head and his father was a short hair apple head. Miel was a rescue foster puppy that I fell in love with, so I never saw his parents. He doesn’t resemble the typical chi, because his eyes are very light colored.
It seems to me that lots of deer-head chis don’t look very much like chis at all. Many pics I’ve seen of deer-heads look as though they have been mixed with some other breed, with their long snouts, straight ears, and long legs..there is something about their eyes that just doesn’t say ‘chihuahua’ to me. Not to say they aren’t just as sweet. 🙂
Both of my chis have the deer head shape. Little Man is around 5 yrs old , 9 lbs, black and tan. I do not know anything about his parents. My 2 yr old Chloe is 4 lbs, fawn with green eyes and pink snout. She was the runt of the litter. Her mother was the typical apple head and the father is the thinner bodied, deer head. They are my babies and we all miss my mutt, Angel who recently died of a siezure and stroke.
Author
apple head chihuahuas tend to develop more chihuahua health problems than deer head chihuahuas, they also don’t live as long, but there are exceptions to this of course, this is generally speaking.
my name maria i have a chihuahua that is named chiquita. She has a apple shaped head i wantd to know do thay have more problems than deer shaped chihuahuas.
I have a 2 year old 3 lb male chihuahua. i always thought he was a applehead. But he has the longer deer like legs. So I don’t know what he is to be. He was sold to me as an applehead and he is AKC registered as a chihuahua. So now my delima is looking for another one to keep him company and wanting her to look just like him. How do you know if they are going to have the longer legs when they are 8 weeks old? I couldn’t tell from my Titus when he was a baby until he grew. You can see pics of him on myspace, in my pics myspace.com/jennifersperry
I had never heard the term “deer head chihuahua” until this morning when I was at Petsmart with my longcoat Chi and a lady said, from clear across the store, “IS THAT A DEER HEAD CHIHUAHUA? IT IS! OH MY GOD, THAT’S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHIHUAHUA I’VE EVER SEEN!”
Lol.
Just wanted to share of picture of my deerhead chihuahua baby 🙂
tinypic.com/r/1o8zd0/6
myspace.com/meganfromindy
She’s also a dale jr fan, lol
I have a deer head chi that looks exactly like a minuture pincher in color except she’s long haired and a wonderful dog. I’m new to chi’s but we couldn’t love her more. Does not have the problems of a apple head in the degree of not being able to breath or the open skull. She is bigger then your normal chi but she is very friendly to all she comes in contact with. When I say bigger I mean she is about 11 pounds but very thin. I would have another chi in a heartbeat!!! Don’t care whether she is an apple or a deer head……….
To Stephanie Morris;
The Taco Bell Chihuahua was a deer head chihuahua to the extreme. Definitely not typical of the chihuahua standard.
I have a new Chi puppy, and 2 adult Chis…Luv them all!!! The vet says my new one is a Deer Head. Got him at 7 weeks old…1 lb. But growing fast. Very, very adorable…tan in color…named him Peanut.
Love the comments on deer head and apple head chihuahuas. I have both sort of. I have an apple head name Belle who will be 3 years old this December. And, I have a deer head named Dottie who will be 8 months old this month. However, dottie is not a full blood Chi. She is acually a Chi-Pin. So what do you guys think. Is Dottie a deer head because she is part min-pin? She is so cute. She is white with chocolate circles around her eyes and chocolate ears. She is adorable. Belle is all black with fawn markings on her feet. She is gorgeous. Belle weighs only 5 lbs. and Dottie is pushing 7lbs. She is turning out to be the bigger of the two. In addition, Belle has a smooth coat and Dottie has a rough coat. But, I love them both. They are my sweet babies and they know it. Belle is quite and reserved and Dottie loves to play. She and our cat (Kitty-Kitty) play and play and play. They have so much fun. It is a joy to watch them. I just love chihuahuas!
i have deerhead type too and i like the way he looks more then the applehead .and he is very lean a thin and i notice that a lot of deer type seem to stay thin and not gain as much weight as an apple head he is 7rs and his weight 4lbs since he been 18mos never gains an oz . and if you look back at one time most chi were like a deer head so i think the akc should allow them too in the ring as long asthey are the standard weight and height