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Chinese Crested Breed Summary

Needy, Affectionate, Sweet, Alert and Playful

These tiny dogs are one of the most familiar dogs in the world with their uniquely hairless bodies and little tufts of hair around the face, ears, legs and necks!

They are an extremely playful and happy breed with huge amounts of intelligence. Additionally, they can also be very mischievous. For these reasons, they've became a real favourite both here in the UK and across other parts of the globe as well - what's not to love!

Fun Fact: These dogs aren't really Chinese and are thought to actually originate from Africa!

Kennel Club Group Toy
Lifespan 12 to 14 Years
Height (at the withers) Males 28cm - 33cm, Females 23cm - 30cm
Weight Males and Females 5kg - 5.5kg
Coat There are No Large Areas of hair on the Body. Skin is Smooth and Finely Grained
Colour Black, Black & White, Blue, Blue & White, Brown, Brown & White, Cream, Cream & White, Cream Sable, Fawn & White, Gold, Gold & White, Liver, Mahogany, Mahogany & Cream, Mahogany & White, Pink & Blue, Red & White, Sable, Sable & White, Tricolour, White
Eye colour Dark
Common health issues Primary Lens Luxation (PLL), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (prcd-PRA), Dry Eye or KCS, luxation, Legge-Calves-Perthes (LCP), Closed ear Canal, Epilepsy, Heart Problems, Auto Immune Diseases, Von Willebrand disease type II (VWDII), Degenerative myelopathy, Canine multiple system degeneration
Other Names Crested, Puff, Curtis

Many other websites and books will describe this breed as friendly. We however aren't as convinced by the context of 'friendly' when describing these dogs, unless that is they start smiling when they've done something naughty! A smiling Chinese Crested = mess and destruction. However, they are incredibly needy and will often try to follow you around like a shadow and want to snuggle in with you at bedtime. Their neediness means that they are prone to separation anxiety, so they will need someone to be around with them for most of the day. Just make sure to socialise and train your Chinese Crested's as young as you can, as they are not fans of strangers and can even bite! However, once training is done and dusted, they can make fantastic pets and can even live in apartments.

Although their name may suggest it, these guys don't actually come from China! It's more likely that their descendants are the African or Mexican Hairless dogs and then later reduced in size in China. It's thought that they originally assisted Chinese Sailors on their trips across the sea, around the 1530s. They were used to hunt vermin both during and between the age of the bubonic plague. Once the plague arrived in Europe, it was thought to have killed between 30%-60% of the continent's population! And the dogs during this time also managed to make their way to Europe – relatively plague-free! The Chinese believed that these guys also had magical healing powers and were often kept by Emperors.