Applehead chihuahuas versus deerhead chihuahuas, here are the facts!
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.
In applehead Chihuahuas, the chihuahua has a large dome head with a shorter muzzle. In deer-headed Chihuahuas the muzzle is longer and the head is much less round.
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.
The shape of a Chihuahuas head is simply genetics, the two head types are not their own breeds. Apple head Chihuahuas are said to suffer more with reverse sneezing. Some say they are more prone to dental issues (due to the shorter muzzle).
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skull photo source: skullsunlimited.com/chihuahua-skull.html
183 Comments.
I have a soon to be 5 year old applehead i bought from a couple that couldn’t take care of him anymore. he was 2 lbs when i got him (he was 3 yo) and was so eaten up with fleas. i got that taken care of and now he is 4 lbs. pez is different then other chihuahuas i’ve heard about. he doesn’t bark at everyone and loves kids and i mean loves them. he’s also very attached with me. the only problem i have is that he will not eat dog food. doesn’t matter brand, wet or dry, he will not eat it and i’ve tried them all. he won’t even eat dog treats. i have to brush his teeth because all he will eat is people food. not sure if the previous owners started him off that way or not. i try to include rice and fruit (not always successful). i love him in spite of him being a big baby. lol
To: Steve offen-bittern
Watch the Dog Whisperer – we did, and took our aggressive male deer-faced chihuahua and put him over on his back and held him there until he said uncle – now my husband is the leader of the pack and Chico is 3rd in line behind me! fun and happy dog now.
I love my chihuahua, unfortunatly we did purchase our little guy from a breeder. I believe it was puppy mill. I was unaware there was such a thing. But when I started researching chi’s i did find this out. But our family instanly fell in love with our Poppy (he peed on the couch when we brought him home, just like poppy on Sienfield), hence the name poppy. He is a saucy little guy, has so much personalty. he loves to chase our cat; brutus. Brutus is a huge mane coon. one of the largest cat breeds. it’s a sight to see. the cat is bigger than the dog. Out poppy is 10lbs, everywhere I have read, it states that he is not a breed standard. I don’t understand how a chihuahua could not be one. he looks just like one, acts like one (he does not like anyone outside the family), although he does do tricks. he sits, stays, jumps up and spins; really cute! I would just like clearification that he is a chi, not that it would make a diffrence. He is a pink nosed, deer head chi. I love him so much. I just love the way he acts when I get home from work. He is totally in love with our 11 year old daughter. I am also confused. He tends to like younger childern more, until he want to pet him, then he takes off.
I love my lil deer ChiChi!! Her name is Lily, found her in the hills of escondido, ca as an infant. a hawk snatched her from somewhere and dropped her. fed her with an eyedropper, now she’s 4 lbs. vet thinks 10 months old. best dog i’ve ever had!!!
The chihuahua is the 5th most disposed of breed in the united states. The Florida shelters are so overwhelmed with the breed. So many are euthanized at our shelters. We see so many hydrocephalic (water on the brain) chihuahuas here from the crappy breeders. Did you know that 99% of u.s. pet stores purchase from puppy brokers who in turn purchase from puppy mills? Adopt don’t shop. Save a life. http://www.famouschihuahua.com/beverly-hills-chihuahua-movie/if-you-love-chihuahuas-adopt-one/
I have a deer head chihuahua free to a loving home.call 706-728-6841 for details.
We have a beautiful deer head chihuahua. We love it very much! Someone dumped him and his persian cat buddy off in our Back yard. It took me a week to gain his trust, but now he is a perfect, loving member off our family and sleeps in our bed and gets along and plays with our other 3 dogs who were also dropped off. We love all our pets and make sure they have a good home. I think it is a shame to stunt a breed or or like pit bulls to breed them and train them for aggresion. Both breeds are loving family members. Please adopt your pets from a shelter to save them.
My Aunt has a deer head! It’s a puppy and chews on everything!
Hi! I adopted my Long haired chihuahua (that i’m now finding out is an “apple head”) October 3, 2011. I was told that she was spayed SEVeral times over (even if she wasn’t, I still would have taken her because we bonded instantly). she was rescued from a puppy mill and had been through quite a bit of abuse and trauma. 25 days later, she gave birth to a litter of 4 pups IN my lap at 4am. the main point of this response is that the tiniest one of the litter has a massive “molera” and i’m quite worried about it. I am not by any means a puppy mill or a breeder and feel into the role of a “breeder” unknowingly. I have found homes for all 4 of them (I did ask for a very small price because i wanted to ensure their safety and so that i will have enough money to get mamma spayed). they will be going to the vet next week but can anyone out there put my mind at ease a bit? i have been giving her goat’s milk supplemental feedings and she is growing and developmentally right there with the others.. she gains about an ounce a week and weighs in now at 10 oz. she is going to a fantastic home so i know that she will be in good hands when she is no longer with me.. but i am seriously worried sick about her.
I have a gorgeous deer head chi. He’s full chi and I got him from a no kill shelter (Save-a-pet in IL) at 4 months old. There are so many full bred wonderful chi’s at shelters waiting for homes. It just takes a little looking into. My boy’s temperament is great. He is perfect! Please adopt!
PEOPLE!!! PLEASE DON’T BUY FROM BREEDERS, PET STORES, NEWSPAPER ADS…THOUSANDS OF CHIHUAHUAS ARE BEING KILLED IN CALIFORNIA SHELTERS…PLEASE ADOPT FROM A SHELTER!!!
This is all very well but the dog has just tried to bite me for going near my bag so she is not my friend. She is a mentalist.
Sarah- any chihuahua can have an open fontanel, no matter what their shape of head. You can look at the breed standard on chihuahua clubof america and see what a “well rounded “apple dome” skull”.
the fontanel or molera has been known as a sign of purity in the breed in the past.
omg she is cute cuz she looks like ma dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok i have a chihuahua so and it is apple head
What gets me is how you can set a standard for a dog that comes in all shapes and sizes. Nobody knows for sure the lineage of the chi so how can the chi club of america but limits on the breed. If you are going to do that make it a classification like by weight (under 6 lbs and over 6 lbs) or size like they do poodles ( toy,miniature and standard) or even body type (regular,cobby,deer) no teacups cause that is a fancy name breeders came up with for runts. I wrote the chi club of america why they couldn’t change the standard and they said it was impossible to change. No it is because this is what the breeders want. they want to breed the teeny dogs the unhealthy 2-4 lb dogs. As a vet assistant i can say yes this is bad. Even 5 lbs are hard to deal with i had one so i know how hard it was to do a heartworm test on him cause he was so small. The bigger dogs are healthier and much easier to handle from a medical standpoint. the chi club needs to wake up and make some changes for the sake of the breed. or do we need to split like the siamese cat people the old fashion cat is the thai cat and the siamese is a new skinny version the cat show people came up with that they liked. the chi club of america needs to wake up.
It would be great if people would stop taking advantage of this forum to try and sell puppies.
Description of my deerhead is small head / long thin body / long legs & a white tail. with black on her black.
When I purchased Daisy the bredd advertised as a purebredd with no paper, I was ok with that BUT, people I meet now tells me she is not a pure breed. Because her mouth inside is not black. is that how you reallt can tell if it’s a pure breed chi. thank You
i also have a deer head an a apple head an i love em both
I got my darling deerhead through a breeder recommended to me by multiple local vets. I knew I wanted a Chi and since this was my 1st experience with them I wanted someone reputable. Cusack will be a year old on October 23rd and he weighs in at almost 5 lbs. He’s AKC registered just like his parents. Dad, Midnight, is a short stubby little applehead and Mom, Venus, is a long lean deerhead. After I got him my vet suggested I run genetic testing to accompany my pedigree papers, so I did. Didn’t realize this was to drive up the price if I wanted to breed him, my vet was confused when I called when he was 6 months old to have him neutered as I never planned upon using him as a stud, I thought we were going through all that for health reasons. As many people on this page have claimed deerheads are “mixes”, I can guarantee they aren’t always. My child is pure, I wasted a pretty good amount of money DNA testing to say so. Mine wouldn’t be breed standard (for show), as I have had him neutered. But I think how people are thinking of the Chi now is changing because the Chis you’re seeing in the media such as Gidget the Taco Bell chi, and Tinkerbell Paris Hilton’s chi, and Teaka the famous chi, even some of the Beverly Hills Chihuahua chis are deerhead and before long the standard will have to open up and be rethought because the deerhead is here, beautiful, and getting far more media attention than the applehead.
i HAVE A 5 LB DEER HEAD CHIHUAHUA HER NAME IS “dAISY”. wE LOVE HER TO DEATH, SHE JUMPS IN THE LONG GRASS JUST LIKE A DEER WITH HER TAIL STRAIGHT UP. vERY EASY TO TRAIN ON ANY THING, SHE IS JUST LIKE OUR gRAND BABIES TRYING TO STRETCH THE RULES OF THE HOUSE. dAISY GOES OUTSIDE TO WALK 3 MILES A DAY, iN GOOD WEATHER. lAST WINTER SHE only KNEW HOW TO DO HER BUSSINESS ON SNOW SO WHEN IT MELTED WE HAD TO KEEP LOOKING FOR SNOW UNTIL THERE WAS NONE LEFT THEN SHE FINALLY WENT ON THE GRASS. bEST INVESTMENT i EVER MADE IN MY 64 YRS OF LIVING.
This is an excellent article and I really appreciate the pictures . One thing I would like to question. I was told Apple head refers to the head as you said. Deer Chihuahua refers to more than the head. It is the shape of the body, the long back and legs, their great agility. Much like a deer so it is a deer Chihuahua not a deer head. I was told they do not have antlers on their heads. 🙂
Darlene – are you the one with the missing Chi Oso?
My male chihuahua is a apple head
We have 2 black/fawn/white Long coat girls for sale. The mother comes from a german champion line and the dad comes from the breader of paris hilton’s dogs. his pricetag was definitely hefty and he is a beautiful dog! he is now close to a year old and is also available as a stud dog. if you are interested to know more/get pics – please contact us.