Chinese Crested Dog - The ugliest and most unique dog breed

Chinese Crested Dog - the dog breed with the "ugliest" and most unique appearance in the world: hairless body, with a crest on the head, intelligent, friendly, and attached to its owner.

Chinese Crested Dog - the most unique breed of dog in the world with a hairless appearance but a tuft of long hair on the head like a crest, "socked" legs and a tail like a brush pen. With a unique appearance, a loving personality and outstanding intelligence, Chinese Crested is increasingly loved by people who like to raise unique and individual pets.

In today's article, let's explore in detail the origin, characteristics, personality and price of crested dogs to learn more about this interesting dog breed !

Where do crested dogs come from?

Learn about the Chinese Crested.

The Chinese Crested Dog is a breed of dog with a Chinese Crested Dog. Although it is called the “Chinese Crested Dog”, its true origin is not entirely in China, but has a complex history involving many tropical climates around the world, including Africa and the Americas.

The history of the formation and development of this breed is as follows:

• Many scientific documents say that the ancestors of the crested dog are African hairless dogs. Around the 13th - 15th centuries, they were brought by Chinese sailors on merchant ships to prevent rats on board.
• Over time, they were bred to become a smaller, gentler breed.
• Thanks to sea voyages, this breed of dog came and was present in many countries from Africa, Latin America to Europe.
• By the 19th century, this breed was noticed by European aristocrats for its unique appearance.
• In the 20th century, they were preserved and standardized by two American breeders, Debra Woods and Gypsy Rose Lee, to become the crested dog as it is today.
• By 1979, the Chinese Crested dog was recognized as an official breed by the AKC.

Chinese Crested Classification

The Chinese Crested Dog has two main variations, hairless and powderpuff, both of which belong to the same breed and can be born in the same litter.

Chinese Crested hairless Dog

Chinese Crested Hairless Dog Image.

The Chinese Crested Hairless is the most distinctive and popular variant of the Chinese Crested Dog breed. It has a nearly hairless body, with only soft tufts of fur on its head, limbs, and tail.

The physical characteristics of this dog breed are as follows:

• Size: Compact, height from 23 - 33 cm, weight from 2.3 - 5.5 kg
• Head & Face: Slender head, long muzzle, large upright ears, oval eyes, intelligent gaze
• Skin: Smooth as velvet, completely hairless on the body so easily sunburned, irritated.
• Feathers: Grow only at the top of the head (crest), legs - look like soft feather tubes, tail (hairbrush) - long, loose like a brush pen.
• Skin color: Rich such as pink, black, gray, smoke, mottled,... Each individual has a different appearance, no two are alike.

Chinese Crested Powderpuff Dog

Image of a Chinese Crested Powderpuff dog with fur covering its entire body.

The Chinese Crested Powderpuff is a special variant of the crested dog, characterized by its soft, all-over coat, in stark contrast to the hairless variant. The Powderpuff has a more elegant, gentle appearance and is less “ugly” than the Hairless.

The physical characteristics of the Powderpuff dog are as follows:

• Size: Height from 23 - 33 cm, weight from 2.3 - 5.5 kg (equivalent to a hairless crested dog)
• Body: Compact, slim, toned, graceful, light gait.
• Head: Moderately long, pointed muzzle, almond-shaped eyes, large ears, which may droop slightly or stand upright depending on the individual.
• Coat: Long, soft, double coat, smooth undercoat, silky outer coat, long hair all over the body, easily tangled if not brushed regularly
• Coat color: Various such as white, black, cream, yellow, silver, tricolor, mottled color,...

Chinese Crested Dog Personality and Behavior

Crested dogs are very affectionate and friendly.

Although there are two different coat variations, they generally have the same temperament and behavior with a warm, loyal and very affectionate soul. Find out more details below.

Affection and attachment

The Chinese Crested Dog is a very affectionate breed, especially with its owner, they can follow everywhere. They even tend to form deep bonds with people - in the form of "psychological companions".

They love to be cuddled, petted, laid on their laps, or even slept in bed with their owners. If left alone for long periods of time, they may develop “separation anxiety” which can lead to them biting and destroying furniture, etc.

Intelligent & Trainable

The Chinese Crested Dog is an intelligent little dog that learns commands quickly and is sensitive to the emotions of its owner. It responds well to positive training with praise and rewards. It can perform tricks such as light tumbling, shaking hands, and retrieving with proper training.

Expressive, emotional

The face of the crested dog breed is very flexible and has many expressions such as: tilting the head, shrinking the neck, pouting, rolling the eyes or even smiling with the eyes. In particular, sometimes they are very good at acting to be pampered, or pretending to be sad or spoiled to avoid being abandoned.

Friendly with children, shy with strangers

Chinese Crested Dogs have a gentle, patient temperament, so they are very suitable for playing with children and the elderly. Besides, they also get along well with cats or other dog breeds, and do not tend to fight over territory.

However, with strangers, crested dogs will be shy and slightly wary, especially in the Hairless breed, but they will absolutely not be aggressive, just cautious.

Personality differences between the two variants

Although they share many common traits, there are still some differences between the Hairless and Powderpuff variants as follows:

• Powderpuff: Gentle, more outgoing, adaptable to new people.
• Hairless: More sensitive, likes to be cuddled, skinship, shy with strangers, super attached to owner.

Why are crested dogs not popular in Vietnam?

Chinese Crested Dog is not popular in Vietnam.

It can be seen that although crested dogs have an impressive, unique appearance and a gentle, friendly and loyal temperament, they are not popular in Vietnam, even very rare. Here are the most accurate and complete reasons that can explain the above, let's find out now!

• The appearance is “too unique” so it is picky about the player: With a hairless body, smooth skin, and a head with a wig-like crest, this dog breed easily makes others feel “strange” and “ugly”. It is not suitable for the general taste of Vietnamese people who prefer cute and adorable dog breeds such as Poodle, Corgi, Pomeranian,...
• With thin, sensitive skin: Chinese Crested Dogs are completely unsuitable for the climate in Vietnam, easily causing sunburn, blistering, irritation due to high humidity or insect bites,...
• Difficult to care for - requires experienced breeders: Crested dogs, especially Hairless breeds, are very difficult to raise. They need to be applied with sunscreen, moisturizer and insect repellent every day, bathed with the right shampoo, cleaned thoroughly,...
• High price, rare supply: Currently, in Vietnam there is no breeding farm specializing in crested dogs, they are mainly imported from abroad with high prices, ranging from 20 - over 100 million/dog, depending on origin.
• Little known in Vietnam: Unlike common dog breeds such as Poodle, Corgi,... Chinese Crested is rarely introduced and promoted in our country so not many people know about this unique dog breed.

Pictures of dogs with unique crests

We invite you to explore the most realistic, unique and impressive series of images of the Chinese Crested Dog - from the hairless version to the gentle, soft Powderpuff shared below to better understand the distinct appearance of this breed!

The unique appearance of a Hairless crested dog.

A Chinese Crested Hairless Dog with a cool look.

Chinese Crested puppy with unique and cute appearance.

A crested dog is running around.

The “fashion” look of a crested dog with a red bow around its neck.

A Chinese Crested Powderpuff with a stunning pure white coat.

The dogs have a cool, trimmed crest.

Two dogs with different looks, Hairless and Powderpuff.

Through the article that dogbreed.wiki shared above, it can be seen that the Chinese Crested Dog is not only a dog with a unique appearance but also a loyal and affectionate companion for every family. Whether in the personality hairless version or the elegant long-haired Powderpuff, this breed always makes a strong impression on anyone.

If you want to discover more beautiful, unique, and strange dog breeds in the world, please read more articles in our Blog section!