Where did this beautiful hairless dog come from?
History of the American Hairless Terrier
In the autumn of 1972, a small hairless female puppy was born into a litter
of midsized Rat Terriers. She had silky, pink skin with large black spots. Not
knowing exactly what to do with this different puppy, the owners decided to
give her to their friends, Willie and Edwin Scott. Little did they know at the
time that this unusual little pup would be the beginning of a new and unique
breed.

The Scotts named their new pup Josephine, and she quickly caught the
hearts of the entire family. She proved to be the perfect pet with her
intelligent, lively and loyal manner. Being hairless also meant there were no
fleas and no dog hair to vacuum up or brush off. This was a definite plus for
the new family addition. They did find out that Josephine's smooth and silky
skin would need protection from the hot Louisiana sun. She turned out to be
a very bright little dog that loved to travel and make new friends wherever
she went.

The Scotts treasured Josephine and became interested in breeding her and
producing more hairless puppies. They had owned dogs in the past, but
were not familiar with breeding. That wasn't going to stop them, though.
With her clean nature, alert and loving personality, Josephine was the
perfect house dog and they couldn't imagine owning any other kind of dog.
They began to talk about their plans to anyone who would listen, including
university scientists. They received the same answer each and every time:
"You'll just be wasting your time, it can't be done..." They were told that
Josephine was simply a freak of nature and that there was no way that she
would reproduce the hairless trait. But Willie and Edwin couldn't take no for
an answer and went ahead with their plans to breed her.

At the age of one year, Josephine was bred to a Rat Terrier (her sire) and
she produced a litter of four puppies. Three of the pups were coated, and
one was a hairless female named Gypsy. In the years that followed,
Josephine had several litters, but none with any hairless puppies. On
December 30, 1981, when Josephine was nine years old and still in good
health, she had her final litter after being bred to her son. She whelped a
hairless male, a hairless female, and two coated female puppies. This
successful litter produced Snoopy, Jemima, Petunia, and Queenie.

The Scotts' dreams were becoming a reality, and on that day they
witnessed the birth of the American Hairless Terrier breed.
The Scotts were now ready to embark on a full scale breeding program with
help from veterinarians. Snoopy was bred to all of his littermates once they
reached one year of age. Jemima produced a litter of all hairless pups and
the Scotts were overjoyed when Petunia's and Queenie's litters produced
both hairless and coated. They kept all of the pups and the house was
quickly becoming crowded. They had no choice but to build the kennel that
adjoins their house. The Scotts were now on their way and named their
kennel "Trout Creek Kennel".


Interestingly, the American Hairless Terriers are actually born with hair. The
puppies' sparse hair is short, fuzzy, and noticeably different from the hair on
a coated Rat Terrier. Shortly after birth they begin to lose this hair, starting
at the head and working its way toward the back. By the time the puppies
are 6 to 8 weeks old, they are totally hairless with soft, smooth, and silky
skin. Their pink skin is warm and usually covered with freckles or small
spots. These spots will enlarge with age and darken in the sun. The delicate
pink skin does need to be protected from long periods of sun exposure.

The American Hairless Terrier is a small to medium sized, well-balanced,
muscular dog with a sleek and elegant look. It comes in two sizes, miniature
and standard. The miniature stands under 13inches tall. The miniature is
13inches to 18inches tall. They are alert, intelligent, and loving dogs. Their
high energy makes them good playmates for children, and their intelligent
and loving nature makes them loyal family members.

The American Hairless Terrier is different from the other hairless dog
breeds native to other countries. The breeds most often seen are the
Chinese Crested, the Xoloitzcuintli, and the Peruvian Inca Orchid. These
breeds all have a few things in common: most evident is the hair on the
head, feet, and tail on the hairless variety; missing, poor, or weak teeth; and
skin problems. The American Hairless Terrier has a strong , full set of teeth,
a totally hairless body (except for whiskers and eyebrows), and does not
have the skin problems associated with the other hairless breeds. Another
difference found between the breeds is that in the American Hairless Terrier
the hairless gene is recessive, while the gene for hairlessness found in the
ancient breeds is a lethal dominant.


New American Hairless Terrier bloodlines are created by carefully planned
"out-crossings" to the Rat Terrier. The breeding of two American Hairless
Terriers will always produce hairless puppies, while the breeding of an
American Hairless Terrier to a coated hairless gene carrier will produce a
mixture of coated and hairless offspring. Two coated dogs carrying the
recessive hairless gene can produce a mixture of hairless and coated, as
well.
Source: The American Hairless
Terrier Association.
http://www.ahta.info/breedinf.html