The Chihuahua is the smallest of all dog breeds, and it is also the only "natural" toy breed, which means that it was not bred down from larger dogs, as other toy breeds are. It is believed that the Chihuahua originated in ancient Toltecs ,which is now Mexico, in the ninth century. During the ninth century,the ancient Toltecs made stone carvings of a dog called the "Techichi". The Techichi was a long haired dog that looked like today's Chihuahua, but a lot larger. The Techichi is believed to be the ancestor of the Chihuahua.

It was also used in the Toltecs religious ceremonies (ancient Toltecs believed the Techichi had spiritual powers). In later years, Chihuahuas became pampered pets of everyone who was rich. Breeders are not sure how the "Techichi" developed into the modern Chihuahua that we have today. Some breeders believe that the small Mexican dog was bred with even smaller hairless dogs that were brought from Asia to the Americas back in the Prehistoric Times. There were absolutely no records of any Chihuahuas after the Spanish Conquest.

The Chihuahua was named after the Mexican state in which they were found,which is Chihuahua. Chihuahuas were unknown to the public until the 1920's. Chihuahuas began to appear in movies and on TV shows with Xavier Cugat, a popular bandleader. Then,they finally got the widespread exposure that was well-deserved. Chihuahuas were registered with the AKC in the early 1900's, but it wasn't until the 1960's that the Chihuahua became very popular all over the world.