Apple head VS Deer Head Chihuahuas

Overview

There is often confusion among Chihuahua owners, potential owners, and even hobby breeders in regard to the applehead Chihuahua and the deer head.

Before diving into the details, there are a few elements to note:

The AKC breed standard does not mention the exact term of 'applehead'; rather, it refers to the skull shape as 'apple dome'. Apple head is, however, mentioned in the FCI breed standard.
Only the apple-shaped skull meets the Chihuahua breed standards of all major kennel clubs.
But, many Chihuahuas are indeed deer heads.
Apple heads and deer heads are not official variations of this breed. So, regardless of which head shape a Chihuahua has, there are only two official variations, the long coat and the smooth coat.

Now, let's jump into all of the details to answer your questions regarding these two head shapes.

The Differences Between an Apple Head and a Deer Head Chihuahua

Apple head vs Deer Head Chihuahua, photo 1

The notable differences between an apple head and a deer head Chihuahua involve the skull (round vs slope), the stop (well-defined vs sloped), the muzzle (short vs long), the neck (moderate vs long), and body proportions (off-square vs long and tall).

The skull:

The skull on an applehead is well-rounded, often compared to a cooking apple with the largest part of the dome between the ears.
The skull on a deerhead is sloped and more narrow, resembling an actual deer or a small baby doe.

The stop (angle of change between the skull and the nasal bone near the eyes):

The stop on apple heads is very well-defined, close to a 90 degree angle.
The stop on deer heads is a more moderate 30 to 45 degree angle.

The muzzle:

The muzzle on an apple head is moderately short.
The muzzle on a deer head tends to be longer.

The neck:

The neck on an apple head tends to be of a moderate length.
The neck on a deer head tends to be a bit longer.

Body proportions:

The body on apple heads tend to be slightly off-square, meaning just slightly longer (from front point of the body to the base of the tail) than tall (from the top of the shoulder blades to the floor).
The body on deer heads tend to be both longer and taller often with long legs compared to the body.

Comparison of skull curvature with overlays:

Apple vs Deer Head Chihuahua Example Two

Taking a look at these Chihuahuas again, but with color overlays that follow the curvature of the skull, we can see that the apple head Chihuahua's front skull has a full and rounded curve. That same curve placed over the deer head Chihuahua shows where the skull lacks this fullness and instead has a more moderate slope.

Comparison of stop angle:

Apple vs deer head example of stop angle

In this example of the stops, we can see that the area where the skull meets the nasal bone is very defined on the apple head (left) with a near 90 degree angle. This same area on the deer head has a much more gradual slant.

How There Came to Be Two Head Shapes

Since the one Chihuahua breed has only two variations that have nothing to do with head shape, but rather the length of coat (long and smooth [short]), you may wonder how it is that Chihuahuas can have such difference skull shapes.

As breeds are being developed and refined, focus is placed on certain physical attributes.

For the Chihuahua, some of these important characteristics included size and weight (under 6 lbs.), ear set (large and erect), tail (long and slightly sickle [curved]), eyes (large and round) and skull shape (apple domed).

With these guidelines set in place, as time goes by, breeders that are serious about producing specimens that are worthy of the show ring focus on meeting these 'ideal' standards. However, lots of hobby breeding is also happening and lots of litters are being born to pet Chihuahuas which often lack the careful pairing of dogs to produce highly desired traits that are judged so critically in AKC show conformation.

Though physical traits such as skull shape can be passed down from several generations back, in most cases two deer heads mated together will produce more deer heads. All it takes is one pairing to start an entire bloodline of deerheads with many descendants.

Which Head Shape Fits the Standard

Despite how prevalent the deer head Chihuahua is, it is the apple head that fits the breed standard. All major canine kennel clubs make reference to either an 'apple domed' skull or an 'apple head'.

And, in fact the FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale, the largest federation of kennel clubs with 84 member countries) makes mention of ‘deer type dogs’ under their disqualifying faults section with: Deer type dogs (dogs with an atypical or extremely stylized structure: refined head, long neck, slender body, long limbs).

According to the AKC and CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) guidelines, a Chihuahua should have:

Head: A well rounded “apple dome” skull, with or without molera. Muzzle – Moderately short, slightly pointed. Cheeks and jaws lean. Stop - Well defined (the stop is the angle of change between the skull and the nasal bone near the eyes).

The KC calls out for a very similar appearance:

Well rounded ‘apple dome’ skull, cheeks and jaws lean, muzzle moderately short, slightly pointed. Definite stop.

The FCI defines the face and skull shape in this way:

Skull : Well rounded apple head (a characteristic of the breed) Stop: Well marked, deep and broad as the forehead is rounded above the set-on of muzzle.

A Note to Pet Owners of Deer Head Chihuahuas

AKC and other breed standards are written by each breed's parent club as an 'ideal' to strive for in regard to dogs shown in conformation events. It is very rare for pet Chihuahuas to have the same appearance as those winning ribbons in the show ring. It is suggested to not compare your Chihuahua to champion dogs.

With so many possible colors and two lovely coat types (smooth coat meaning short and long coats), every Chi puppy and dog are beautiful and unique in their own way.

Mixtures of Both Types

You may look at your Chihuahua and see a rather short muzzle but with a with a narrow, sloped skull. Or, the skull may round out a bit, but not as much as a classic apple head. This is because it is very common for pet Chihuahuas to fall somewhere in the middle of an apple and a deer head and there is no reason to be overly concerned about this.

The only time that head shape really matters is in regard to breeding. One of the pledges that AKC breeders make is to strive toward the 'betterment of the breed', meaning that each pairing will be done with the breed standard in mind, aiming to produce dogs that come as close as possible to meeting these very strict guidelines.

Since head shape is a heredity trait, if one was producing litters with the breed standard as a goal, deer heads would be excluded from the breeding program.

Behavioral Differences

There are some who will say that apple head and deer head Chihuahuas have their own distinct personalities; for example, appleheads are hyper and deerheads tend to be calm. If one has seen this to be the case, it is a matter of coincidence. Personality and behavior are not connected at all to head shape. Any behavioral quirks are due to a dog's individual personality and his or her environment and training.