Was the Chihuahua descended from the ancient techichi dog?

The techichi was a small dog raised in ancient Mesoamerica, first by the Toltecs and later bred smaller by the Mexica (Aztecs). It is widely considered the leading candidate for the Chihuahua’s ancestor, though that descent is a strong hypothesis rather than settled fact. Beyond companionship, these dogs were kept for breeding, eaten as food, and woven into religious belief — giving the modern “perrito más mexicano” a genuinely pre-Hispanic backstory.

In Aztec belief a dog guided the dead through Mictlan, swimming them across a river to their final rest; archaeologists have found dogs buried beside owners and children, sometimes with beads or bells. The genetic thread is real but thin: a 2020 ancient-genome study found only about 4% pre-colonial indigenous ancestry surviving in the Chihuahua (and roughly 3% in the Xoloitzcuintli), tempering older claims of a much larger share. The clip nods to this when it says many believe the breed “desciende del techichi.”