Post by charmingnancy on Feb 11, 2009 10:43:35 GMT -5
Chinese Crested Dog
Group: 5- Toys
Origin: Africa and Asia
Purpose: To control vermin, and/or they were a food source
Description:
The Chinese Crested Dog is a smaller hairless breed of dog. Like most hairless dog breeds, the Chinese Crested comes in two varieties, both with and without fur, which are born in the same litter; the Hairless and the Powderpuff. The Chinese Crested dog is a very unique looking dog. Certainly, its appearance in public can invite comments, questions and conversations. The Chinese Crested has been described as a prancing pony, or a fawn, in miniature.
Appearance- Breed Standards:
Two distinct types of this breed; Deer type, racy and fine boned, and Cobby type, heavier in body and bone.
Coat and Colour: No large patches of hair anywhere on body. Skin fine grained. Smooth, warm to the touch. In Powder Puffs coat consists of an undercoat with soft veil of long hair, well coated feature. Any colour or combination of colours.
Head: Slightly rounded and elongated skull. Cheeks cleanly chiseled, lean and flat, tapering into muzzle. Stop slightly pronounced but not extreme. Head smooth, without excess wrinkles. Distance from base of skull to stop equal to distance from stop to tip of nose. Muzzle tapering slightly but never pointed, lean without flews. Nose a prominent feature, narrow in keeping with muzzle. Any colour nose acceptable. Head presenting graceful appearance, with alert expression. Lips tight and thin; ideally, crest beginning at stop tapering off down neck. Crest itself may flow to any length, a long and flowing crest preferred, but sparse acceptable. Eyes: So dark as to appear black. Little or no white showing. Medium size. Set wide apart. Ears: Set low; highest point of base of ear level with outside corner of eye. Large and erect, with or without fringe, except in Powder Puffs where drop ears are permissible. Mouth: Jaws strong, with perfect, regular scissor bite, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Neck: Lean, free from throatiness, long and sloping gracefully into strong shoulders. When moving, carried high and slightly arched.
Forequarters: Shoulders clean, narrow and well laid back. Legs long and slender, set well under body. Elbows held close to body. Pasterns fine, strong, nearly vertical. Toes turned neither in nor out.
Body: Medium to long. Supple. Chest rather broad and deep, not barrel ribbed. Breast bone not prominent. Brisket extending to elbows; moderate tuckup.
Hindquarter: Rump well-rounded and muscular, loins taut, stifles firm and long, sweeping smoothly into the well let-down hock. Angulation of the rear limb must be such as to produce a level back. Hind-legs set wide apart. Extreme hare foot, narrow and very long, with unique elongation of small bones between joints, especially in forefeet, which almost appear to possess an extra joint. Nails any colour, moderately long. Socks ideally confined to toes, but not extending above top of pastern. Feet turning neither in nor out.
Tail: Set high, carried up or out when in motion. Long and tapering, fairly straight, not curled or twisted to either side, falling naturally when at rest. Plume long and flowing, confined to lower thirds of tail. Sparse plume acceptable.
Gait/Movement: Long, flowing and elegant with good reach and plenty of drive.
Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Size:
Ideal height in Dogs: 28-33 cm (11-13 inches) at withers. Bitches: 23-30 cm (9-12 inches) at withers. Weight varies considerably, but should not be over 5-1/2 kgs (12 lbs.).
Temperament:
Chinese Cresteds become very attached to their owners. They love lots of attention, affection and togetherness. Whether you’re cooking, cleaning, reading or taking a bath, your Crested will be right there. Intensely curious and lively, they also love to play on the carpet, learn new tricks and explore the household. They get along especially well with children. If you’re looking for a canine that loves to snuggle and cuddle, look no further.
Perfect for apartment living, Cresteds are polite, clean and relatively quiet. Also, they don’t require much in the way of exercise or space. Though not the best watchdogs, they will bark if they sense danger. They also have a distinctive and endearing howl they belt out when they’re playing or having fun. The Chinese Crested is a lovable and entertaining companion.
Grooming:
Both varieties require certain amounts of grooming. The Puffs have a very soft and fine double coat that requires frequent brushing to avoid matting. Although a Puff's coat does not continuously grow like that of some other breeds, it can grow to be quite long at full length. This breed has little to no shedding.
Maintenance of the Hairless variety's skin is similar to maintaining human skin - and as such it can be susceptible to acne, dryness, and sunburn. Hypoallergenic or oil-free moisturizing cream can keep the skin from becoming too dry when applied every other day or after bathing. Burning can occur in regions that lend themselves to strong UV-rays, especially in lighter-skinned dogs. Many owners apply baby sunscreen to their pets before spending time in strong sun. Some Cresteds have skin allergies to Lanolin, so be cautious when using any products that contain it.
Unless the dog is a "True" Hairless (one with virtually no hair growth on non-extremities), trimming and/or shaving is often performed to remove stubble growth.
The Chinese Crested is further distinguished by its hare foot, (having more elongated toes) as opposed to the cat foot common to most other dogs. Because of this the quicks of Cresteds run deeper into their nails, so care must be taken not to trim the nails too short to avoid pain and bleeding.
Breeding:
The Hairless allele (the wild type) is a dominant (and homozygous prenatal lethal) trait, while the Powderpuff allele acts as a simple recessive trait in its presence. Embryos that receive two copies of the Hairless allele will never develop into puppies, and are reabsorbed in the womb. Thus all Chinese Cresteds carry at least one copy of the Powderpuff allele.
The Powderpuff trait cannot be bred out because it is carried by all Chinese Cresteds (even the hairless ones). All Hairless Chinese Crested have the ability to produce Powderpuff puppies, even when they are bred to another Hairless. On the other hand, powderpuffs bred to another powderpuff can never produce hairless puppies, since they do not carry the hairless gene.
Health:
The crested is not affected by many of the congenital diseases found in toy breeds. They are, however, prone to some of the conditions below.
Cresteds have what is called a "primitive mouth". This means that most of their teeth are pointy like their canines. Hairless varieties of the Cresteds can be prone to poor dentition. Poor dentition may include missing or crowded teeth and teeth prone to decay when not properly cared for. Most dogs of the Puff variety have few, if any, dental defects.
Eyes are a concern within the breed, having at least two forms of progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) which can eventually lead to blindness. For one of these forms of PRA, there exists a genetic test, prcd-PRA. Since this test can only reveal the existence of affected or carrier status of this one form of PRA, breeders and owners of the breed should still have regular eye exams by veterinary ophthalmologists.
As with all other toy breeds, the Cresteds can be prone to Luxating patella.
Allergy and autoimmune diseases has been observed in the breed. The severity of these ailments, which can lead to the premature death of the dog, means this is something breeders need to take seriously in order to avoid this becoming a problem for the breed.
Average Lifespan:
A healthy Chinese Crested can live as long as 12 years.
History:
So, exactly where did this particular breed come from? The answer to this question is neither easy, nor simple. There is much debate, speculation, and many, many stories. The Chinese Crested dog has been included in written history as far back as the 13th century, in China. The existence of documentation probably means that the dog existed for some lengthy period of time before the written record. There exists a type of hairless dog is many of the ports of call that Chinese seamen and traders visited. This was backed by reports from British, French and Portuguese explorers, who found hairless dogs in various parts of Africa and Asia during the 1700s and 1800s. Spanish explorers found a type of hairless dog in Mexico, and in Central and South America, in the 1500s. This dog became known to them as the Xoloitzcuintli.
In the 1920s, Debrorah Woods and Ida Garrett jointly created the 'Crest Haven Kennel' and began to purposefully breed and record the lineages of their Chinese Crested dogs. Their dogs are the true foundation of every Chinese Crested alive today. They founded the American Hairless Dog Club in 1959, which was eventually incorporated into the American Chinese Crested Club (ACCC) in 1978. The ACCC became the US parent club for the breed when the Chinese Crested was recognized by the American Kennel Club thirteen years later, in 1991.
The Chinese Crested was officially recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1987, by The Kennel Club (UK) in 1981, by the American Kennel Club in 1991, and by the Australian National Kennel Council in 1995.
The Chinese Crested breed, either in purebred form or as a hybrid with chihuahua, has won all eight of the previous World's Ugliest Dog Contests.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Bark Bytes
CKC
Dogster
Pictures:
Photobucket
Group: 5- Toys
Origin: Africa and Asia
Purpose: To control vermin, and/or they were a food source
Description:
The Chinese Crested Dog is a smaller hairless breed of dog. Like most hairless dog breeds, the Chinese Crested comes in two varieties, both with and without fur, which are born in the same litter; the Hairless and the Powderpuff. The Chinese Crested dog is a very unique looking dog. Certainly, its appearance in public can invite comments, questions and conversations. The Chinese Crested has been described as a prancing pony, or a fawn, in miniature.
Appearance- Breed Standards:
Two distinct types of this breed; Deer type, racy and fine boned, and Cobby type, heavier in body and bone.
Coat and Colour: No large patches of hair anywhere on body. Skin fine grained. Smooth, warm to the touch. In Powder Puffs coat consists of an undercoat with soft veil of long hair, well coated feature. Any colour or combination of colours.
Head: Slightly rounded and elongated skull. Cheeks cleanly chiseled, lean and flat, tapering into muzzle. Stop slightly pronounced but not extreme. Head smooth, without excess wrinkles. Distance from base of skull to stop equal to distance from stop to tip of nose. Muzzle tapering slightly but never pointed, lean without flews. Nose a prominent feature, narrow in keeping with muzzle. Any colour nose acceptable. Head presenting graceful appearance, with alert expression. Lips tight and thin; ideally, crest beginning at stop tapering off down neck. Crest itself may flow to any length, a long and flowing crest preferred, but sparse acceptable. Eyes: So dark as to appear black. Little or no white showing. Medium size. Set wide apart. Ears: Set low; highest point of base of ear level with outside corner of eye. Large and erect, with or without fringe, except in Powder Puffs where drop ears are permissible. Mouth: Jaws strong, with perfect, regular scissor bite, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Neck: Lean, free from throatiness, long and sloping gracefully into strong shoulders. When moving, carried high and slightly arched.
Forequarters: Shoulders clean, narrow and well laid back. Legs long and slender, set well under body. Elbows held close to body. Pasterns fine, strong, nearly vertical. Toes turned neither in nor out.
Body: Medium to long. Supple. Chest rather broad and deep, not barrel ribbed. Breast bone not prominent. Brisket extending to elbows; moderate tuckup.
Hindquarter: Rump well-rounded and muscular, loins taut, stifles firm and long, sweeping smoothly into the well let-down hock. Angulation of the rear limb must be such as to produce a level back. Hind-legs set wide apart. Extreme hare foot, narrow and very long, with unique elongation of small bones between joints, especially in forefeet, which almost appear to possess an extra joint. Nails any colour, moderately long. Socks ideally confined to toes, but not extending above top of pastern. Feet turning neither in nor out.
Tail: Set high, carried up or out when in motion. Long and tapering, fairly straight, not curled or twisted to either side, falling naturally when at rest. Plume long and flowing, confined to lower thirds of tail. Sparse plume acceptable.
Gait/Movement: Long, flowing and elegant with good reach and plenty of drive.
Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Size:
Ideal height in Dogs: 28-33 cm (11-13 inches) at withers. Bitches: 23-30 cm (9-12 inches) at withers. Weight varies considerably, but should not be over 5-1/2 kgs (12 lbs.).
Temperament:
Chinese Cresteds become very attached to their owners. They love lots of attention, affection and togetherness. Whether you’re cooking, cleaning, reading or taking a bath, your Crested will be right there. Intensely curious and lively, they also love to play on the carpet, learn new tricks and explore the household. They get along especially well with children. If you’re looking for a canine that loves to snuggle and cuddle, look no further.
Perfect for apartment living, Cresteds are polite, clean and relatively quiet. Also, they don’t require much in the way of exercise or space. Though not the best watchdogs, they will bark if they sense danger. They also have a distinctive and endearing howl they belt out when they’re playing or having fun. The Chinese Crested is a lovable and entertaining companion.
Grooming:
Both varieties require certain amounts of grooming. The Puffs have a very soft and fine double coat that requires frequent brushing to avoid matting. Although a Puff's coat does not continuously grow like that of some other breeds, it can grow to be quite long at full length. This breed has little to no shedding.
Maintenance of the Hairless variety's skin is similar to maintaining human skin - and as such it can be susceptible to acne, dryness, and sunburn. Hypoallergenic or oil-free moisturizing cream can keep the skin from becoming too dry when applied every other day or after bathing. Burning can occur in regions that lend themselves to strong UV-rays, especially in lighter-skinned dogs. Many owners apply baby sunscreen to their pets before spending time in strong sun. Some Cresteds have skin allergies to Lanolin, so be cautious when using any products that contain it.
Unless the dog is a "True" Hairless (one with virtually no hair growth on non-extremities), trimming and/or shaving is often performed to remove stubble growth.
The Chinese Crested is further distinguished by its hare foot, (having more elongated toes) as opposed to the cat foot common to most other dogs. Because of this the quicks of Cresteds run deeper into their nails, so care must be taken not to trim the nails too short to avoid pain and bleeding.
Breeding:
The Hairless allele (the wild type) is a dominant (and homozygous prenatal lethal) trait, while the Powderpuff allele acts as a simple recessive trait in its presence. Embryos that receive two copies of the Hairless allele will never develop into puppies, and are reabsorbed in the womb. Thus all Chinese Cresteds carry at least one copy of the Powderpuff allele.
The Powderpuff trait cannot be bred out because it is carried by all Chinese Cresteds (even the hairless ones). All Hairless Chinese Crested have the ability to produce Powderpuff puppies, even when they are bred to another Hairless. On the other hand, powderpuffs bred to another powderpuff can never produce hairless puppies, since they do not carry the hairless gene.
Health:
The crested is not affected by many of the congenital diseases found in toy breeds. They are, however, prone to some of the conditions below.
Cresteds have what is called a "primitive mouth". This means that most of their teeth are pointy like their canines. Hairless varieties of the Cresteds can be prone to poor dentition. Poor dentition may include missing or crowded teeth and teeth prone to decay when not properly cared for. Most dogs of the Puff variety have few, if any, dental defects.
Eyes are a concern within the breed, having at least two forms of progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) which can eventually lead to blindness. For one of these forms of PRA, there exists a genetic test, prcd-PRA. Since this test can only reveal the existence of affected or carrier status of this one form of PRA, breeders and owners of the breed should still have regular eye exams by veterinary ophthalmologists.
As with all other toy breeds, the Cresteds can be prone to Luxating patella.
Allergy and autoimmune diseases has been observed in the breed. The severity of these ailments, which can lead to the premature death of the dog, means this is something breeders need to take seriously in order to avoid this becoming a problem for the breed.
Average Lifespan:
A healthy Chinese Crested can live as long as 12 years.
History:
So, exactly where did this particular breed come from? The answer to this question is neither easy, nor simple. There is much debate, speculation, and many, many stories. The Chinese Crested dog has been included in written history as far back as the 13th century, in China. The existence of documentation probably means that the dog existed for some lengthy period of time before the written record. There exists a type of hairless dog is many of the ports of call that Chinese seamen and traders visited. This was backed by reports from British, French and Portuguese explorers, who found hairless dogs in various parts of Africa and Asia during the 1700s and 1800s. Spanish explorers found a type of hairless dog in Mexico, and in Central and South America, in the 1500s. This dog became known to them as the Xoloitzcuintli.
In the 1920s, Debrorah Woods and Ida Garrett jointly created the 'Crest Haven Kennel' and began to purposefully breed and record the lineages of their Chinese Crested dogs. Their dogs are the true foundation of every Chinese Crested alive today. They founded the American Hairless Dog Club in 1959, which was eventually incorporated into the American Chinese Crested Club (ACCC) in 1978. The ACCC became the US parent club for the breed when the Chinese Crested was recognized by the American Kennel Club thirteen years later, in 1991.
The Chinese Crested was officially recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1987, by The Kennel Club (UK) in 1981, by the American Kennel Club in 1991, and by the Australian National Kennel Council in 1995.
The Chinese Crested breed, either in purebred form or as a hybrid with chihuahua, has won all eight of the previous World's Ugliest Dog Contests.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Bark Bytes
CKC
Dogster
Pictures:
Photobucket