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Hairless breeds - part 1

Hairlessness does not exist only in cats, it exists also in other breeds.

The naked mole rat

Heterocephalus glaber

Breed order:

Class: mammals (Mammalia)
Sub-class: higher vertebrates (Eutheria)
Upper ordering: Euarchontoglires
Order: rodent mammals (Rodentia)
Sub-order: related to porkupines (Hystricomorpha)
Familie: mole rats (Bathyergidae)
Genus naked mole rat (Heterocephalus)
Species naked mole rat

Habitat:

In the major part of Somalia, in the central part of Ethiopia and in a major part of eastern and north Kenya. The most southward border is at the border of the Tsavo West National Park and the city of Voi.

Climate:

Dry half-desert climate with 200 to 400 Millimeter rain per year

Fossils:

From the miocene, 11 to 25 millions years ago, fossils have been found in 1986 near the city of Karamoja in Uganda; fossils with an age of approx. 4,3 millions years have been found in the area of Kakesio in Tanzania.

Naked dogs

Breed order:

Class: mammals (Mammalia)
Sub-class: higher vertebrates (Eutheria)
Upper order: Laurasiatheria
Order: hunters (Carnivora)
Upper family: dog-typed (Canoidea)
Family: dogs (Canidae)

Xoloitzcuintle (Mexican Hairless Dog)

Order in FCI:

Group 5 Spitz and dogs of primitive type
Section 6 Dogs with primitive type

Origin:

Xoloitzcuintle means in the Aztec language Nahuatl "the dog of the god Xolotl". The godness Xolotl was pictured as dog. Xolotl means " the one who catches the food with his teeth sharp like the fire-stone" and is connected to the god of death Mictlantecuhtli. The Aztecs believed that one can only reach the imperium of  Mictlan (the spiritual kingdom, similar to heaven in Christian religions) after his death if he was accompanied by a dog. The life on earth (Tlaltipac) was of minor importance for the Aztecs than the life after the death of the body. When a human died a Xolo was killed to accompany the human soul to the imperium of Mictlan, the journey was thought to last four years and the soul had to fight against numerous plagues and probes, before it could reach the Omeyocan (the happy place inside heaven). Also paintings from Xolos were put into the grave. Today these clay statues are known as "The dogs of Colima", Colima-culture from 300 AD to 900 PD.

Before 1500, in the pre-Spanish era the Xolos were very important for the Mexican Indians:
Young dogs were stuffed with corn and bananas to be used for eating, because the Indians only had turkeys and ducks as domestic animals. Hundreds of these fat dogs were bred and about 400 of them were sold per week on the famous Mexican dog-market. Also the Spanish colonialists enjoyed the roasted Xolo. The famous Mexican painter Diego Rivera had 45 naked dogs, he also had eaten such dogs and considered them to be delicious.

The Jesuit monk Sahagún writes:
"The dogs in this country have four names: Chichi, Itzcuintli, Xochiocoyotl, Tetlamin; and also Tehuizotl.
They also breed several dogs without any hairs in this country, if they had some strains they were very sparse. They also breed dogs, which they call Xoloitzcuintli and which do not have any coat, during the night the dogs are covered by a blanket. Some say the dogs are not born naked, but they use some essence called  Oxitl to treat the skin of the dogs that they loose their coat and the body becomes smooth. Some others report that in the cities of Teotlixco and Toztlan the dogs are actually born naked. There are also other dogs called  Tlalchichi, which are short and round and which make a good food"

The first Mexican Hairless Dogs were exhibited in the US in 1883 and had been recognized two decades before the Chihuahua was recognized. Already since 1840 these hairless dogs were well-known in Mexico.

The dog lover Norman P. Wright, an English diplomat in Mexico in the 60th noticed several types of naked dogs in Mexico and worked together with Asociación Canofila Mexicana (Mexican Kennel Club), founded in 1940, to establish a uniform standard for this ancient breed. Wright made three trips to the primitive tropical province of Guerrero (state of Mexico) to get 8 Xolos for his breeding program, which were close to the paintings and description of the Aztecs' ancient dogs.

Problematic:

Homozygous naked dogs are said to inherit a semi-lethal defect that the kittens already die before they are born. These statements are already very old, mostly from more than 30 years ago.

The breed itself is heterozygous, i.e. there exist also dogs with sparse coat (called powder puff).

It is also said that the hairlessness is connected with the early loss or missing of premolars and incisors.

The dogs are said to be more prone for sunburn, especially the lighter skin colour (bronze colour).

It is quite interesting that this breed survived for such a long time, regardless its problem with the teeth, which was also detected in the fossils of Agate Basin.

It is also quite amazing when one looks to the habitats of the Aztecs. Toltecs, Zapotecs, Colima-Indians, which had lived in very different climate zones and which all had naked dogs, which survived thousands of years up today.

See part 3!

Climate:

The valley of Mexico is located in a height of about 2000 m and has a savannah-like dry climate.

Colima is located in the state Colima with the same name in West Mexico near the Pacific. The annual average temperature is 25 °C, it rains between 63,7 and 94,9 Millimeter. Especially the season between July and September has a lot of rain.

Guerrero is a state in the South-West of Mexico at the Pacific. The best known city is Acapulco. The climate is tropical.

One can see from these climates that the Mexican Hairless Dog can be found in different climate zones.

Fossils:

Naked dogs are not an invention of modern times, they exist already since about 4000 years. They appeared in different locations worldwide. One of the earliest pictures from a dog dates back to 1700 AD. It is a clay statue found in Tlatilco in the valley of Mexico. It is the oldest picture of a dog on the American continent.
The clay statues, known as "The dogs from Colima" are dated back to 100 AD - 250 PD, about 300 AD dog bones could be found frequently in the graves of the Colima-culture.
New archeological findings and researches from the Agate Basin (Wyoming, USA) show fragments from dog skull bones about 10.000 years old, which have the typical teeth anomalies. Skulls from wolves found in Fairbanks show significant signs that the wolves were kept in captivity.

Perro Sin Pelo del Perú (Peruvian Hairless Dog)

Order in FCI:

Group 5 Spitz and dogs of primitive type
Section 6 Dogs of primitive type

Origin:

The breed is very old. Though the breed is often called the Inca-dog, this dog breed was kept as domestic animal in the costal Peruvian regions before the culture of the Incas, which is proved by the clay statues of the naked dogs of the Chimú-culture, Vicus-culture and Mochica-culture.

The name Perro sin Pelo del Peru means in the Spanish language "Dog without coat from Peru". The Perros are known in Peru since 750 PD. It is most likely that they had been imported from Mexico as trading goods. These hairless dogs were used as ritual food, as in Mexico, and as medicine, it was believed that hairless dogs could cure many illnesses, if he shared the bed with his owner.
When the Spanish conquered Peru, they reported that the Perros lived together with the orchids in the houses of the Incas. The Spanish called the dogs Perros Flora (Flower Dogs). Few years ago this breed was called Inca Orchid Moonflower Dog in Germany.
Very pale coloured dogs had been considered as most valuable by the Incas, because one could see them easier in the moon light than dark pigmented dogs.
The Perro is recognized by FCI since 1955.

The Vicus-culture was an early culture in Peru from 1000 AD to 300 PD. The culture was located in the region of Piura (North West), in the desert-like regions along the coast. This culture is well known for its art works made from clay and in gold.

The Mochica-culture (also called Moche) existed from the 1st century up to the 8th century in Peru. Its centre was the region of today's Trujillo, like it was with their successors the Chimú.
The Mochica settled in eleven valleys in the drier costal regions in the North of Peru. They built up very sophisticated water-networks for their agriculture, where they also used Guano and planted corn and beans. Along those valleys with the water-networks independent cities with their own kings and priests existed.

The Chimú-culture spread from 1250 to 1470 in the North of Peru, in the region of the city Trujillo. During its high-time this culture reached the border to Ecuador in the North and the city of Lima in the South. The capital Chan Chan is said to have had 60.000 citizens and was the largest town of the South-American continent.

The last king of the Chimú Minchancaman was defeated in 1470 and the Chimú imperium was integrated into the Inca imperium by their emperor Túpac Yupanqui. The Incas ruled Peru from 1438 to 1532, before they were conquered by the Spanish.

Problematic:

The problematic is said that it might be similar to the Xolos.

It also quite amazing here that this dog breed survived in Peru up to today.

See part 3!

Fossils:

The clay statues of the Vicus, Mochica and Chimú, which picture these naked dogs.

Climate:

Savanna-like to desert-like climate.

Chinese Crested Dog

Order in FCI:

Group 9 society and companion dogs
Section 4: Hairless dogs

Origin:

Though this breeds is assumed to have existed in China since the 13th century, called Tai-Tai dog, some experts think that this hairless mutation might originate in Africa. Others believe that the breed is the result of a cross-breeding between the Mexican Hairless Dog and the Chihuahua, because it resembles both breeds. Some also think that the breed belongs to a different species (like the Rhodesian Ridgeback), to the species Canis africanus. But it is not confirmed up to today that such a dog breed existed and that the Chinese Crested originates in Africa. It is also possible that the breed is the result from two dog breeds, one from Africa and one from China.
It is also possible that this breed arrived in Manchuria (China) brought by sailors through the Bering Strait.
About 1700 European travelers reported about hairless dogs in Chinese port-cities and from dogs which accompanied the sailors on their trading routes to Africa. Pictures (paintings, and later on also photos) from this dog breed reached Europe about 1800.
The Chinese Crested was recognized officially by FCI in 1987, by the UK Kennel Club in 1981 and by the American Kennel Club in 1991.

Problematic:

The problematic is said that it might be similar to the Xolos.

Also here it is interesting that this dog breed survived for many centuries up to today.

See part 3!

Climate:

Savanna-like climate.

Continued: Naked breeds part 2 naked cats