Breed Standard

General Appearance
A small, active and graceful dog; medium- to fine-boned, smooth hairless body, with hair on feet, head and tail only; or covered with a soft veil of hair.

Characteristics
Two distinct types of this breed; Deer type, racy and fine boned, and Cobby type, heavier in body and bone.

Temperament
Happy, never vicious.

Head and Skull
Slightly rounded and elongated skull. Cheeks cleanly chiselled, 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. An ideal crest begins at the stop and tapers off down neck. Long and flowing crest preferred, but sparse acceptable.

Eyes
So dark as to appear black. Little or no white showing. Medium size, almond in shape. 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. upper teeth closely overlapping 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 tuck-up.

Hindquarters
Rump well rounded and muscular, loins taut, stifles firm and long, sweeping smoothly into the well let down hocks. Angulation of the rear limbs must be such as to produce a level back. Hind legs set wide apart.

Feet
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 two-thirds of tail. Sparse plume acceptable.

Gait/Movement
Long, flowing and elegant with good reach and plenty of drive.

Coat
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, veil coat a feature.

Colour
Any colour or combination of colours.

Size
Ideal height in dogs: 28-33 cms (11-13 ins) at withers; bitches: 23-30 cms (9-12 ins) at withers. Weight varies considerably, but should not be over 5.4 kgs (12 lbs).

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 and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

At first glance, the "Hairless" and "Powderpuff" varieties of Chinese Crested Dogs appear to be two different breeds, but hairlessness is a dominant trait within a single breed. The Hairless has soft, humanlike skin, as well as tufts of fur on its paws ("socks") and tail ("plume") and long, flowing hair on its head ("crest"). In addition to being a dominant gene, the "hairless" gene is lethal when homozygous. All living hairless Cresteds are therefore heterozygous for this trait.

The Hairless variety can vary in amount of body hair. Fur on the muzzle, known as a beard, is not uncommon. A true Hairless often does not have as much furnishings (hair on the head, tail, and paws). The difference between a very hairy Hairless and a Powderpuff is that the Hairless has a single coat, often with hairless parts on the body, while the Powderpuff has a thick double coat. The skin of the Hairless comes in a variety of colors, ranging from a pale flesh to black. Hairless cresteds often lack a full set of teeth, but this is not considered a fault.

The look of the Powderpuff varies according to how it is groomed. When its fur is completely grown out on its face, it strongly resembles a terrier; however, the Powderpuff is usually shaved around the snout as a standard cut. Its fur is incredibly soft. Due to its coat type, both Powderpuff and Hairless are considered good pets for allergy sufferers.

The amount of bodyhair on the hairless variety varies quite extensively, from the true hairless which has very little or no bodyhair and furnishings, to what is called a hairy hairless, which if left ungroomed can grow a nearly full coat of hair. These hairy hairless are not a mix between powederpuffs and hairless Chinese Cresteds though, but is merely a result of the varying expression of the hairless gene, which the powderpuff does not have at all.

Perhaps the most famous of the Chinese Crested dogs was a hairless purebred named Sam, who was dubbed the "World's Ugliest Dog" in competition from 2003 to 2005. He died before he could compete in 2006. Sam's most characteristic ugly traits were his extremely wrinkled skin, deformed teeth, and cataracts. While other Chinese Crested hairless dogs have been in the competition and won, it is arguable that none have been as ugly as Sam, whose looks literally scare people.

Temperament

Chinese Crested's tend to be affectionate, energetic and playful. They are considered great family pets, with endearing personalities. Some are known "singers" or "screecher's" while others are known to "smile." They are generally happy lap-dogs with candid personalities and usually aren't the grumpy type but some males can become slightly aggressive as they age. In addition, Chinese Cresteds do not tend to be a "one-person" dog, spotting one particular member of the family as their "owner" seeing as how many of the Chinese cresteds are happy with anyone. Though most cresteds are like that sometimes they will choose to be attached to certain people. Often, this person is the one who gives the dog the most safe and secure feeling, and the dog would clearly show its affection towards him/her above others in the family.

Grooming

Grooming of the Crested is work for both varieties. The Puffs have a very soft and fine double-coat that requires full brushing every other day to avoid matting. Although a Puff's coat does not continuously grow like that of some other breeds, it can be quite long at full length and some owners choose to put their Puffs into a "pony cut." This lower-maintenance option keeps the body hair and facial hair short, leaving the crest, feathers, and tail plume at full length.

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. A Hairless should be bathed at least 2 times per week to avoid acne and other skin conditions (some dogs shower with their owners every day). Hypoallergenic or mildly perfumed 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.

Unless the dog is a "True" Hairless (one with virtually no hair growth on non-extremities), trimming and/or shaving must be performed to remove stubble growth. Many owners use a clipper for the face and ears and to remove any longer growth that was allowed to occur, and then use a variety of methods to achieve complete hair removal of non-extremities. Commonly used methods include a man's razor and hypoallergenic shaving cream, waxing, and electric razors. Some people have had success with hair removal cream, although one should be sure to apply an amount to a small test area to be sure no adverse reaction occurs.

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.

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 is 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 patellar luxation. This inheritable condition is caused by shallow knee joints (stifles) and results in kneecaps that pop out of place. Its onset is often at a young age, and can cause temporary to permanent lameness based on the severity. Breeders should have their stock certified free of patellar luxation. Many countries kennel clubs maintain a centralised registry for health results.

Allergy and autoimmune diseases has been observed in the breed. The severity of these ailments, often leading 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.

The lifespan of a Chinese Crested Dog can be quite impressive. Many well-cared-for Cresteds live to see 15 years or more.

History

Though possibly associated with China since the 13th century, some believe the Hairless mutation originated in Africa, and others believe it may be a cross of the Chihuahua and Mexican Hairless Dog, which it resembles. It is sometimes said that this breed (among others, such as the (Rhodesian Ridgeback) belongs to a different species from most dogs, namely Canis africanus; but it is not firmly established either that such a species exists or that the Chinese Crested originated in Africa. It is also possible that this dog originated from two breeds of dogs, one coming from Africa, one from China. It is now believed that the dog has no correlation or genetic relation to the Mexican Hairless dog. It is more closely related to the Basenji. Recent DNA has established that the dog is of African origin and shares genes with the Basenji. The Peruvian or Mexican hairless has no connection to the Chinese crested.

Although there is an anecdotal history of hairless dogs in many seaports (apart from the hairlessness, it is unclear how closely these dogs resemble the modern Chinese Crested), European visitors in the 1700s remarked in particular on hairless dogs in Chinese port cities, as well as dogs owned by Chinese sailors plying the African trade route. Paintings of the breed (and later, photographs) reached Europe in the 1800s.

Early Chinese Cresteds may have been valued as ratters (ratcatchers), both on ships and in agricultural communities, though such traits are rarely evident in the breed today. The breed has also been called the Chinese Edible Dog, the Chinese Hairless Dog, the Chinese Ship Dog, the Chinese Royal Dog.

The Chinese Crested was officially recognised by the FCI in 1987,in the UK Kennel Club in 1981 and by the American Kennel Club in 1991. The USA parent club is the American Chinese Crested Club.