{"data":{"slug":"techichi","name":"Techichi","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/dog-atlas/techichi","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/dog-atlas-api/v1/breeds/techichi","also_known_as":[],"kind":"breed","extinct":true,"group":{"key":"companion","label":"Companion \u0026 Toy","fci_group":9,"fci_group_name":"Companion and Toy Dogs"},"size":"Small","origin":"Mexico","countries":[],"height_cm":null,"weight_kg":null,"life_expectancy_years":null,"temperament":["Quiet","Companionable","Sacred"],"exercise_level":"Low","wikipedia_views_60d":9171,"summary":"The Techichi was a small, reportedly mute dog bred by the Toltecs, thought to be the larger ancestor of the Chihuahua and long gone by the 19th century.","photo":{"url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/dog-atlas/photos/techichi-e6a908bfbf-1280.webp","small_url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/dog-atlas/photos/techichi-e6a908bfbf-640.webp","width":1280,"height":1119,"author":"Anonymous (Colima)Unknown author Thank you to the Walter Art Museum.","license":"Public domain","license_url":null,"source_url":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colima_-_Dog_Effigy_-_Walters_20092051_-_Three_Quarter_Left.jpg"},"updated_at":"2026-10-15T14:56:28Z","ratings":{"energy":2,"exercise":2,"grooming":1,"shedding":2,"trainability":3,"barking":1,"kids":3,"other_dogs":3},"coat":"Short to medium coat, varied","colors":["Brown","Brown and white","Black and white","Black"],"fun_fact":"The Toltecs and Aztecs believed Techichis could guide their owners' souls after death, and some were buried beneath pyramids as guardians.","sections":{"overview":"The Techichi was a small dog bred in Mexico by the Toltec culture around the 9th century. It is considered an ancestor of the modern Chihuahua, though somewhat larger.\n\nThe breed has been extinct since the 19th century, but it survives in pre-Columbian art and in the story of its descendant.","history":"The Toltecs bred the Techichi, and the Aztecs later reduced it into the smaller dog we now call the Chihuahua. The Spanish explorer Francisco Hernandez reported the dogs in 1578, noting that native people ate them as often as rabbits.\n\nThe Spanish ate many of them on expeditions, and by the 19th century the original breed had vanished. Outsiders only took notice of its descendants in the mid-1800s, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.","appearance":"Techichis varied in looks. Coats ranged from brown through brown and white and black and white to solid black. They were larger than modern Chihuahuas.\n\nEars were sometimes cropped close to the head, while tails were left natural.","personality":"The Techichi was said to be mute and unable to bark. Cultures that kept them saw them as spiritual guides with supernatural gifts, which suggests a close bond with people.","care":"No care guidance survives for the breed. They were kept as companions, sacrificial animals and food, with chosen stud males and brood females used to produce many litters."},"recognition":{"fci_number":null,"fci_standard_url":null,"akc_url":null},"sources":{"wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techichi","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9356247","wikipedia_revision":1353707311},"profile":{"written_by":"AI model (Claude Sonnet) from the sources above","written_at":"2026-10-15T13:37:29Z"}}}