Chinese Crested Dog
The Chinese crested dog is a small breed of dog, and is a toy dog breed. It is traditionally a hairless dog breed. There are however two different varieties the one with and the one without fur. These are categorised as the Hairless Chinese Crested Dog and the Powderpuff Chinese Crested Dog. This one of the few dogs were the same breed can look so remarkably different that people often believe that the two varieties are two different dogs. This breed has the inglorious commendation that it was named winner in the World's Ugliest Dog Content from 2003 to 2005. This breed may have been misnamed as it is now believed that the Chinese Crested Dog did not originate in China. It is believed that it originated in Africa, and has been referenced in 19th century texts as the African Hairless Terrier. Looking at genetic evidence it is suggested that it share is ancestors with the Mexican Hairless (Xoloitzcuintli).
Appearance
The Skin of the Hairless dog is soft and very much like a humans, it tends to have tufts of fur on the tail, feet and head. Some hairless versions also have some hair on the muzzle often characterised as a beard. The Powderpuff has a double coat. The Hairless comes in various different colours from flesh to black.
Temperament
This breed is one of the most popular hairless breeds. It is still quite rare though. It is charming, agile with a lot of love to give. It can be very playful with children. However it is important that kids are not too rough with this breed as it can get injured very easily. They need good socialising to be in the family environment. This is a smart dog which can be taught tricks. They tend to be good with other pets also. They also tend not to bark. They are very loyal to their owner and are very attached, such that they do not like to be apart from their owner. This dogs can get boisterous and starting behaving poorly if its does not have a human pack leader, so good leadership and a firm hand is necessary. Needless to say this dog makes a pretty poor guard dog.
Grooming and care
This breed requires a certain amount of grooming. The Powderpuff version needs frequent brushing. This breed has little to no shedding. With the Hairless Chinese Crested dog there are issues to do with skin condition, such as acne, sunburn and dryness. This can be eased with skin cream and applying sun cream when it is sunny.It is important to note that some Chinese Crested dogs may not be a pure version of both extremes of this breed, and thus a mixture of both caring techniques may be required.
Health
The life expectancy of this breed is 13 years old, which is long for a toy dog. As a whole this breed does not suffer from the same issues as other toy dogs. Chinese Crested has a primitive mouth (most of the teeth in their mouth are pointy). This means that dental hygiene needs to be taken to a higher degree than with other breeds. They can suffer from missing or crowded teeth, which can end up having decay, note though these issues are mainly for the Hairless variety. The eyes of this dog need special attention also, they can get Progressive Retinal Atrophy which can eventually lead to the dog going blind. The breed also may suffer from Keratoconjuntivitis sicca (or more sensibly Dry Eye Syndrome). The Chinese Crested dog can be prone to get Canine Multiple System Degeneration (also known as Progressive Neuronal Abiotrophy), this disorder is characterised by problems with movement between 10 to 14 weeks of age. After six months, the dog will have problems starting to move and will fall down often. The breed also tends to get Patella Luxation. This problem results in kneecaps pop out. It can lead to lameness. The Chinese Crested has hare foot (this means they have longer toes) instead of cat feet which is common in most other breeds. This means that the quicks of this breed can run into their nails, this ultimately means that great care must be taken when trimming to avoid causing hurt to the dog.