Chinese Crested Dog

(Breed Standard)

Partha Sekhar Chatterjee

International All Breeds Dog Show Judge

These are small active and graceful dogs having medium to fine bone. They have a smooth hair-less body with hair on feet, head and tail. Or they are covered with a soft veil of hair. There are two distinct types in this breed, i.e. Deer type, which is racy and fine boned and the Cobby type which is heavier in body and bone. 

The head is slightly round and has an elongated skull. Its cheeks are cleanly chiseled, lean and flat which taper into the muzzle. The head is smooth without excess wrinkles. The distance from base of skull to stop equals the distance from stop to tip of nose. The muzzle is slightly tapered but never pointed and is lean without flews. The nose is narrow and prominent and differs in colours. The head is graceful in appearance with an alert expression. The lips are tight and thin. The long and flowing crest begins at the stop and tapers off down the neck. The eyes are very dark and are of medium size and set wide apart. The ears are set low and are large and erect, with or without a fringe, except in Powder Puffs where in drop ears are permissible. It has strong jaws with perfect and regular scissor bite. 

The neck is free from throatiness and is long and slopes gracefully into strong shoulders and which looks high and slightly arched when moving. The shoulders are clean, narrow and well laid back. The forelegs are long and slender and well set under the body. The elbows are held close to the body. Pasterns are fine, strong and nearly vertical. The toes are straight. 

The body varies from medium to long and which is supple. The chest is broad and deep. The brisket extends to the elbows with a moderate tuckup. The feet are narrow and long with unique elongation of small bones between the joints especially in the forefeet. Nails are moderately long and may have any colour. Socks are confirmed to toes not exceeding above the top of the pastern. 

The tail is set high, carried up and out when in motion. The tail is long and tapering, falling naturally at the time of rest. The plume is long and flowing and is confined to the lower two thirds of the tail. 

The Chinese Crested Dog has an elegant and flowing gait. Its coat has no large patches of hair anywhere on the body. Its skin is fine grained, smooth and warm to touch. In Powder Puffs, the coat consists of an undercoat with a soft veil of long hair. They may be of any colour or a combination of colours. 

The dogs measure 28-33 cm. in height and weigh about 6 Kgs. The bitches are 23-30 cm. in height and weigh little less than the males. 

Any deviation from the above standards should be considered as a fault. The males should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

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