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The American Hairless Terrier is a
breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...
of
companion dog A companion dog is a dog which is not primarily a working dog but a pet. The primary function of a companion dog is not to perform a useful job but to provide companionship to humans. A companion dog can also be called an emotional support anima ...
from the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
that was developed from naturally hairless
Rat Terrier The Rat Terrier is an American dog breed with a background as a farm dog and hunting companion. They share much ancestry with the small hunting dogs known as feists. Common throughout family farms in the 1920s and 1930s, they are now recognize ...
s.


History

In 1972, a completely hairless bitch pup was whelped in a litter of purebred Rat Terriers and adopted by Willie and Edwin Scott of
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. Named Josephine, the bitch conformed to the Rat Terrier type in every way except for her coat, so the Scotts bred her. Her first litter produced another hairless bitch pup, Gypsy. Neither bitch whelped another hairless pup in multiple litters until, in 1981 at the age of nine, Josephine produced two more hairless pups, a dog and a bitch. In 1983 the dog, Snoopy, was mated to his hairless sisters and many more hairless pups were whelped, establishing the foundation stock for the new breed. Originally registered as a hairless variety of Rat Terriers, eventually the Scotts adopted a different breed name for their unique line and established a separate breed club, the American Hairless Terrier Association. In 2004 the
United Kennel Club The United Kennel Club (UKC) is a kennel club founded in 1898 in the United States. In contrast with the American Kennel Club, which is non-profit and which only clubs can join, the United Kennel Club is a profit-making corporation, open to indivi ...
recognised the line as a breed and in 2016 the
American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit breed registry, registry of purebred dog pedigree (animal), pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions eve ...
also recognised the breed.


Description

According to the United Kennel Club's
breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include phenotype, physical or morphology (biology), morphological detail, genotype, g ...
, American Hairless Terriers typically stand between ; the breed typically weighs between . The breed has pricked ears and can be born with either a naturally short tail or a long tail, which is never docked. At birth American Hairless Terriers are born with a light fuzz of hair over their entire body which they gradually shed from the nose backwards until they are entirely naked, though they sometimes retain eyebrows and whiskers. This typically occurs by the age of six weeks. The breed standard states the skin can be any color, although they are usually part colored with freckles that enlarge with age. Because of their lack of hair, the breed is particularly susceptible to
hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...
in cold weather and
sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...
in sunny conditions. Some American Hairless Terriers are born with coats; they are still recognised as examples of the breed. The breed standard states coated examples of the breed have a short and dense coat that can be solid white or bi-color, tri-color, sable and brindle, always with some white.


See also

* Dogs portal *
List of dog breeds This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties and dog type, types. A research article on dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines modern dog breeds ...
* Feist


References

{{Authority control Terriers Hairless dogs Dog breeds originating in the United States Companion dogs