Seeing an infant’s creepy soft spot is just one of the many reasons I’ve chosen dogs over babies. It gives me the willies to see a baby’s pulsating head hole. It’s a reminder that, with one tiny mistake, you could give a baby serious brain damage for life. Eeek. So, dogs it is.
However, I recently learned that dogs can have soft spots too. All puppies are born with a molera, though it’s not uncommon for Chihuahuas, Yorkies and other small, round-headed breeds to have this skull gap for their entire lives.
Since Matilda is a minpin mix, she does not have a soft spot. If she did, I think she would either be a vegetable or dead. Cow plays rough with her, and sometimes she bangs her head. Thankfully, she always bounces back, unfazed, and gets her revenge.
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Are Soft Spots Part Of The Chihuahua Standard?
The American Kennel Club breed standard (PDF) for the Chihuahua states that the dogs should have a round, apple-shaped or domed skull, with or without a molera.
I discovered this interesting statement on moleras from the Chihuahua Club of America that states the Chihuahua was originally bred in the United States and Mexico to have the molera; it was a sign of purity.
Should Chihuahuas Be Bred For Moleras?
I’m hoping that most Chihuahua breeders are not breeding dogs with soft spots. Even if this was once considered a mark of purity, it’s not in a dog’s best interest. If dogs without moleras are found to be acceptable when it comes to the current breed standard, there’s no good reason for dogs to be born with large, gaping skull holes that never close.
Vulnerability To Brain Injury
A chihuahua with severe hydrocephalus. Photo source
A molera, in itself, is not a medical condition or injury. It’s generally considered to be normal.
Dogs with a soft spot have not been shown to be more likely to get hydrocephalus, a potentially fatal buildup of water in the brain. Even so, it’s good to know the signs: bulging eyes, seizures and behavioral changes. Dogs with hydrocephalus may also press their heads against surfaces in attempts to relieve the pressure. In severe cases, it’s noticeable in young puppies.
As you’d expect, a gaping hole in a dog’s skull leaves them vulnerable to brain injury. However, between the brain and the skin would be a layer of tissue, so it’s not as though you can touch the dog’s brain.
A Chihuahua puppy’s molera will shrink as the puppy grows and the skull fuses. The smaller the hole, the more protection surrounding the dog’s brain. If your dog has a soft spot, you do need to be extra careful about dropping them, allowing them to jump and play with other animals.
Adopting A Chihuahua With No Molera
While the molera is not considered a defect, I personally believe it should be. Chihuahua breeders may have to remove an otherwise perfect dog from their gene pool, resulting in a loss of profit, but I feel that producing healthier, more stable dogs should be a bigger priority.
If you buy from a breeder, be sure to ask if their dogs have a molera before you make a down payment on a puppy. Also ask about health testing for luxating patella, a condition caused by genetics that makes the dog’s kneecap dislocate.
If you can’t find or can’t afford a good breeder, there may be plenty of chihuahuas available in a local rescue or shelter. Chihuahuas are the #2 most surrendered and euthanized breed in United States animal shelters, particularly in states close to Mexico.
Many adoptable chihuahuas are not purebred, and may have a longer snout and a skull with a less pronounced dome shape. Some people call this a “deerhead” chihuahua, though the only AKC recognized varieties are long and short haired. “Deerhead” chihuahuas and chihuahua mixes are less susceptible to moleras, hydrocephalus and chiari malformation.
If your Chihuahua does have a molera, keep him or her safe, and remember that all Chihuahuas are beautiful – gape or not, purebred or not, apple or deerhead, shy or bubbly, big or small!
Does your dog have a soft spot? I’d love to get a head count! (Sorry, that was an awful pun.)
She also uses her pet copywriting business to make sure the best pet products and services get found online through catchy copy and fun, informative blog posts. She also provides product description writing services for ecommerce companies.
As a dog mom to Matilda and Cow, she spends most of her days taking long walks and practicing new tricks, and most nights trying to make the best of a very modest portion of her bed.
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My chihuahua puppy has a soft spot. She’s 13 weeks old.
I hope it closes up as she grows.
Aw, it sounds like she has plenty of time, hopefully it does!
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My “teacup” (He’s apparently bigger than his parents, closer to miniature) chihuahua is a deerhead with a small molera maybe a centimeter in circumference. He’s a very active 4 year old who works as my emotional support animal. When he’s anxious, he likes head rubs and paw holding.
I’m thinking of adopting one tomorrow from the humane society. He does have a milers and I’m glad to known it is somewhat common since my other dog who is a chihuahua mix does not.
Congrats, I hope you go through with the adoption! I might be a little worried if they play too rough, you might want to take that into account. Is it a puppy or an adult?
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Molera
It’s an adult 2 year old. My present dog is 11.5. He’s not a big rough houser. He just plays a little with his soft toys.
I see, I’m glad to hear that. You might also want to get doggy steps for your bed/couch if they go on the furniture if you don’t already have them, just to make sure they don’t have to make big jumps. I’m currently looking for a good step of steps myself, we have an old folding bed mattress next to the bed that acts as a launchpad!
My present dog chihuahua and papillon mix. He was pretty good when I took him to meet the little one. The rescue dog is a teacup size
Hi there… I recently adopted a chihauhau and just noticed she has a small soft spot. She just turned one, is there a chance it could still close ?
Chihuahuas are pretty much full grown at a year, but maybe it will close up in the next few months, I’m really not sure. Better that it’s a small hole than a big one.
My dog just recently had a litter. I noticed the runt and started caring for her. She has what I call a large hole. She is 8 was old. I’m glad I finally read this, because my other in house chihuahua likes to try and rough house with her. I have been stopping it, now I know to proven it. What I have noticed about her, is she doesn’t seem to since when she’s full, I have to pick up her food. And she doesn’t seem to be absorbing any weight from it. What is this ?
Congrats on the litter! Have you taken your pups for a vet check-up? I couldn’t give you any further advice on this, except that puppies eat a lot because they’re growing – a 2 pound pup would eat more than a 2 pound adult dog. You could ask your vet about healthy, fresh treats that could help your pup put on weight, she might need snacks throughout the day to prevent hypoglycemia and help her gain. I’m thinking lean cooked meats, but, again, check with your vet. Good luck with your tiny pup! If you can, send some photos to the Facebook page, I’d love to see your pups. https://www.facebook.com/littledogtips
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Our baby girl (almost 2) hazel does, she also has a fuzed front leg. Vet believes the original owners dropped her and dislocated her leg and never got it fixed. But now she is a little wipper snapper 🙂 at 3.2lbs she doesn’t let much stop her. Me, well I keep a very close eye on her 😉
Wow! Our little ones are much tougher than most people give them credit for. I’d love to see your little girl, you can post pictures to the Little Dog Tips Facebook page.
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Yes I would LOVE to, recently I have also been able to catch her in the act with a video playing with the big dogs. lol. Did I mention we have a wide rang of dogs. Hazel was number 5 of 6 🙂
My dog has a soft spot hes 17 weeks and its huge hes 2lbs 6oz and and hes tiny
My little girl has a soft spot , weighs just over 2lb, she’s just turned one , my mum has a little girl who has very big gaps in her scull she’s 5 months old x
My chihuahua had puppies yesterday and one came out with I guess molera his soft part open and red bulging eyes. He looked stillborn but I brought him to live he is kicking and moving. But I want to know how to take care of his eyes I don’t want them to get super dry and infected do I take him to the vet?
Yes, vet! You don’t want to mess around with eyes, they’re so important. Congrats on the puppy!
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hello , my name is Oana and i have a apple head toy chihuahua called Yoda . I Love him so much and now i am so desparate.Yoda is 2 years and a half and few months ago he started to have some pain crises which indicated something in his stomach ( or related to that area ) with the pain appearing each 5-6 days , after he pee and pooh in the morning. He has molera ( the open spot ) and here in Romania the doctors told me is an abnormality ( they never saw that in a 2 years dog etc ) . I made him all the medical tests ( except RMN) and he has same modification only on his liver and i treat him now for that . But the crises and the pain every 5 days is still there . What can i do more for him , because the doctors here they tell me is because of the head pb ( molera , fontanela ) but i don’t believe it cause he doesn t have and liquid in his head like hydrocefalitis , xxx he doesn t have any behaviour pb . he is such a smart and nice small dog .
I’m sorry to hear Yoda doesn’t feel well! What does he eat? If he’s having stomach issues it could be his diet, how does his poop look? There’s really not much I can do to help over the internet, but I think you should try another vet, sometimes it takes a second opinion to find the problem. It sounds like you’re doing everything you can for him!
Thanks so much for answering. I tried many diets. First chicken breast and normal food , then royal canin or Hills digestive or intestinal food.Then hypoalergenic royal canin food and finnnaly Royal canin for liver or Hills hepatic food. Whatever i tried he is still having this pai crises every 5-6 days. His pooh is normal in general , when he eats digestive food he makes pooh more often , otherwise just normal .Regarding the doctors i went with Yoda to see many doctors , many opinions but they all want to reprat the test , and then they tell me the test are normal ( just the liver is a bit modified but nothing to worry about ) and they say they need further investigation or further observation on him. The pb is in all this time he is having pain and i cannot see him suffering ! It breaks my heart ?! and i cannot accept i cannot do anything for him . Is so sad , i am pretty sure he is having some intestinal or stomach pb because when he is in pain he is behaving like haiving inside pain ( stomach area ) and his stomach or intestines makes that noice :(( like the upset stomach .
what else can i do ?? cause the unfused bones from his head ( fontanele ) should not have any relating with his stomach , right ?
I have a pure breed Chihuahua pup about 16 weeks old tbat has a fairly big soft spot. It is smaller than it was at birth but it still makes me nervous with her. Hopefully it closes up or comes close anyway.
Just found out our girl Roxie has a gap in her skull that has not closed. She’s almist 10 weeks old
My Chihuahua has a molera she is 7 yrs old now and doing good
My teacup chihuahua, Angel, has a molera the size of a dime. She’s 9 mos. old…super smart, lovable & feisty. She’s tiny, as well (2 lbs 4 oz). She’s also had 2 episodes of going in circles for hours. They said she had fluid build up in her ears and was given the equivalent of benadryl which did help her get her balance back and stop circling. She doesn’t seem to have any permanent issues from it but it was heartwrenching to feel so helpless in helping her. I pray it doesn’t happen again or become worse. She’s so precious to me. And I, too, protect her like a Mama Bear. 🙂 After all, she’s my Angel Baby Girl. ♡
We have a three-month teacup Chihuahua female that are well within her second month she started this jolt doctors say she does have a soft spot and they’re afraid she might have fluid in her brain but too small to do an MRI they started her on some medication just in case for the fluids in her brain but we just have to wait has anybody else experiences she’s feisty she does not go in circles and the jolts come and go basically when she still but she is very active cheats well and seems to be happy
My beans is now 2 yrs as of Xmas eve. He still has a Molera. I am very cautious with him being a chihuahua for one but also the sensitivity of his “soft spot” but so far so good ? he doesn’t seem to be any diffferent than any other dog without a soft spot. We play wrestle walk run etc.
That’s good that you’re watchful of Beans, but still allow him to have fun! How big is his soft spot?
Our little long haired Chihuahua named Carl is almost 5 months now and still has a little molera the size of a penny.
My little 12 week old Apple head girl has a very small molera, it is about the diameter of a small pea. She is a wonderful pup…I hope it closes up all the way.
I didn’t know about this. My heart is broken, as my 7 1/2 yr. old Chorkie, Willy Nelson, was put down 2 days ago. Apparently he had an open fontanel, his skull never completely closed, and he hurt his head somehow. He was only 4 pounds, the absolute love of my life. He was fine on Monday afternoon, by Monday night, he could not walk, drink or eat. I rushed him to my vet, they sent me home with anti biotics, thinking it was a brain infection, and by the next morning, he was seizing. I was never told about this condition, and I am just heartbroken. The vet said that he was lucky to have lived 7 years. I am distraught. I feel like I could have maybe been more protective of him if I knew how vulnerable he was.
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss! It sounds like you did everything you could and that he had a long, wonderful life despite his condition.
Thanks Lindsay, I just wish that I had more time with him. He was one of a kind.
Lindsay,
My little precious chihuahua Miss FiFi Flirt is a teacup coming in at a whopping 2.3 lbs she has a small Molera smaller than a dime, she will be 6 yrs old on 31 May 2018, she brings joy to my life, she’s very active and loves to play with her toys. She loves to exercise on her toys!! Don’t want to go into detail :). She’s spoiled rotten, but is a very smart dog too. I’ll try and sent a picture. Thanks for accepting our responses…
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I just adopted my Chihuahua 3 days ago and was told she has a molera, that’s how I found this article because I never heard of it. Shes 8 weeks old. My vet said it wont close so Idk! But either way I love her so much!
Oh I forgot to mention the vet said hers is a large molera …size of my finger tip . 🙁 im worried and wish I knew about this before I got her.
Yep. My little Daisy will be 2 the 28th of this month and I got her last February. My Vet said her molera is quite large and to be extra careful. It never closed…
My 6 year old chihuahua has a molars. It’s about the size of my little finger tip. She’s very active and plays rough. I never knew that this was a trait chihuahuas have.
I have two chihuahua/poodle boys they are brothers. One has a soft spot and the other doesn’t. They’re 3 years old
My 2 year old Chihuahua female named Mizzy has a spot when I got her the previous owners did not tell me. Mizzy is pregnant due at the end of Oct.
I am so worried something will happen to her after everything I have been reading if something happens to I dont know what I will do. Last year I had a AKC Male he was with me almost 4 years his name was Romeo. My daughter went to let her babies out to go potty that morning Romeo followed we usely never let him out unless someone stayed right by him because like Mizzy he was so tiny. My daughter let them a bit it was very cold they get tired of staying in there kennel I said it will OK since they were in the fence. Not true these hug beast jumped my fence and before my daughter could get to him they killed Romeo did not back down he would fight. This is why I am so scared I wanted Mizzy to have a litter of pups because my son wanted one shes so darn cute a bug in a rug her fetchers just so tiny her little bark adorable. I fear I made the biggest mistake if I had known my Mizzy had this spot no way she would have ever got pregnant. I got her in the spring of last this year. Please let me know what you think I cant hardly sleep I have to keep her in my bed and check on her thought the night.
Thanks a mom thats madly in love with her fur babies.
Jean
Aw, you’re a good mom, Jean. I’m so sorry to hear how you lost Romeo, that must have been absolutely traumatic. Dogs are very resilient and Mizzy will probably get through her pregnancy just fine, but it’s absolutely essential that you see a vet, get sonograms, and feed her more while she is pregnant and nursing. I’m not sure about the specifics of what to feed a pregnant/nursing dog, so please ask your vet about that. A lot of small dogs need emergency c-sections because the puppy can get stuck in the small birth canal, so you may want to sign up for Care credit if you’re concerned about any surprise vet bills. All that said, I’d love to see photos of your girl and her puppies when they are born! You can email them or post them on the Little Dog Tips Facebook page. I may even write an upcoming blog post about what to do when your Chi gets pregnant. All the best, Lindsay
We have an 11 month a chi puppy who ran into a post and knocked himself out and then had a seizure. We rushed him to the vet. Thankfully he is ok but we learned that his soft spot will never close. We were advised to be very careful with him and it. We had no idea of this defect. Guess we won’t be breeding him!
My peekashitz puppy is 8 months old and has a small soft spot. I am a bit guarded with
his play when it comes to jumping off of things. Other than that he is quite active and loves learning new tricks!
Hello. I have a 15 week old Chihuahua she has a molera but also has an opening by each of her eyes. When u bought her I asked the breeder if she had hydrocephalus she said no but he m getting worried now. Does anyone know if she should have so many openings in her skull or not? Please let me know.
This is definitely a question for your vet, especially because your pup might need surgery or medication to ensure she develops normally. Best of luck, hopefully those holes will close as she gets bigger.
My 7 week old has one the size of a pencil eraser. I’m hoping it closes.