Over at Skulls Unlimited they're selling this complete Chihuahua Skeleton in a plastic bag. Some assembly required. "This is a One-of-a-Kind Item. Once this item has sold, it will be removed from the web site." Yours for $449.
Notice the molera, or skull hole on top where the skull has not fused and in fact leaves the brains exposed. This defect is considered by some Kennel Club patrons to be the sign of "a good one" as the skull of the dog is too small to cover the brain. The "Chihuahua for Dummies" book, I should note, rushes in to say "a molera is not a defect," which no doubt is comforting news to the dummies. Here's a hint: a massive hole in the top of the skull of an adult animal is a defect. Of course, the Chihuahua community also counts the wrecked dental structure of their breed as simply another attribute as well.
Wow...that's the first thing I noticed, was the massive hole in the skull.
ReplyDeleteHole in head =/= good, healthy dog (or any other animal, for that fact)
I wonder, though, if there's any difference between the larger (6-10 lb) Chihuahuas and the ones that follow the breed standard (<6 lb).
@ viatecio;
ReplyDeleteI think there is a difference between the larger chihuahuas over 5-6 lbs (and yorkies, poodles, etc). Just my personal experience, but the smaller ones are much more likely to break bones, and have open molera's, difficulty during anesthesia, and more severe dental problems than the larger ones. I try to encourage my clients to get dogs that will be larger than 5-6 lbs, but unfortunately, some people really want the tiny ones, and don't always ask for advice beforehand.
I had a look at the website a few days ago. There are 3 chihuahua skeletons on there. One without the molera, one with a huge one, one with a middle-sized one. Turns out the one with the "deer head" is the one without the molera. Biiiig surprise eh? Amazing how paper-thin the domed skulls are compared to the deer skull as well.
ReplyDeleteSo there IS a difference! I always thought those little things with domed heads were hideous, now I know why!
ReplyDeleteBartimaeus, I can only imagine the anesthesia problems with the little guys...can hardly wait until I havea chance to monitor them during surgery (hear the sarcasm?). I think the lightest cat at school is only 7 lbs. Can't even imagine what it's going to be like to have to put a 3-lb hamster-dog under. Do they even make catheters that small? :P