Chinese Crested

Chinese Crested - Small Dog Breed

Quick Facts

Origin: Unknown

Height: 11”-13”

Weight: 8-12 lbs

Color: Apricot, black, black, white & tan, blue, chocolate, cream, white, slate, palomino, pink & slate, pink & chocolate

Lifespan13-18 years

Temperament: Affable, spunky, loving, alert

Overview

With Chinese cresteds, beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. The most notable version of the breed has a hairless body with tufts of hair on the head, paws and tail.

The other half of the breed is known as “powderpuff” sporting hair all over the bodies. These pups were bred as ratters on ships and can still be found in port cities all over the world today.

Cresteds have fragile bone structures and are therefore not ideal for families with small children. They love to cuddle up and the hairless are known to give off extra heat for a warm snuggle. 

Celebrity Owners

Ida Garrett, Debra Wood, Gypsy Rose Lee

Fun Facts

  1. Cresteds have sweat glands, which allows them to cool down without panting.
  2. Other nicknames: Chinese Ship Dog, Dr. Seuss Dog

Health

Cresteds are generally an incredible healthy breed. Skin irritation is the most important thing to monitor, as their bare skin is sensitive, and these pups often have wool and lanolin allergies. Other health issues can include:

  • Luxating patellaLuxating simply means out of place or dislocated. Patella is a kneecap. A Luxating patella is a kneecap that chronically moves out of its normal position.
  • Progressive retinal atrophy: Atrophy is a wearing or wasting away of a body part. In this case, it is the retina in the eye, which eventually leads to blindness.
  • Glaucoma: Glaucoma is caused by when the intraocular pressure (IOP) in the eye is increased.
  • Primary lens luxation: Here, the tiny fibers that hold the lens suspended in the eye begin to degrade. Eventually, the lens can fall out of place.
  • Epilepsy: The most common neurologial disease in dogs, siezures affect about 1% of dogs.
  • Legg-Calve-Perthes disease: This disease occurs at the head of the femur (the ball and socket joint in your dog’s hips. Here, the femur degenerates which can cause the hip to collapse and can cause arthritis.
While you always hope your pet will live a long and healthy life, it is always a good idea to invest in pet health insurance.

Keeping your dog’s mouth clean and problem free goes a long way to your pup’s overall health. Dental hygiene can be the cause or can be the byproduct of other serious health issues.

Visual inspections can be performed to keep track of the signs of potentially waning oral health. These signs can be anything from bad breath to abnormal chewing to loss of appetite.

Keeping ahead of these warning signs can pay dividends. A preventative approach can delay and stop many of the common dental problems from arising.

Oral health can be tackled in five basic steps:

  1. Brushing your dog’s teeth to prevent an undesirable buildup of plaque
  2. Feed your dog a diet where the high quality dog food has dental benefits
  3. Regularly give your dog dental toys and treats
  4. Use mouthwash, to help where brushing misses
  5. At the sign of any abnormalities, consult a vet. You can even do it virtually, from the convenience of your home.

Dogs are just like humans in that they can experience anxiety. The degree to which they are susceptible to anxiety and how they deal with anxiety is breed specific. Left unchecked, initial signs of anxiety could give way to an anxiety disorder. The symptoms of anxiety disorders can lead to a myriad of behavior issues.

Knowing the signs and symptoms will best equip you to keep ahead of it and to nip it in the bud at the earliest signs. There are options available to help with anxiety.

Are You Covered When Your Pup Gets Sick?

Grooming

Both variations of coats will have involved requirements. You must monitor your hairless pup’s skin. These pups can develop sunburns, skin irritations, scrapes or allergies. You will need sunscreen, acne lotion and moisturizer.

Weekly bathing can help prevent the blackheads to which these pups are prone. The powderpuff coat will need to be brushed daily to keep your pup’s hair free of tangling and matting. Their undercoat is shorter than the longer outercoat, which causes frequent tangling.  

As with all pups, make sure your pup’s ears are clean and clear of debris. Keep your pup’s nails trimmed. Brush their teeth several times a week.

Exercise

Cresteds need about 30 minutes of exercise per day. Leisurely walking or playing in a yard will keep them happy. If you have a hairless variety, apply sunscreen before spending long periods of time outside.

Nutrition

Cresteds eat around ¾ cups of food per day. However, your pup’s specific requirements will vary based on age and activity level. Good health comes from healthy, well-balanced food.

Are You Feeding Your Dog The Best Food?

Training

Cresteds are emotional dogs that will not respond to harsh training. They are very intelligent and will excel in positive reinforcement training. They love to learn new tricks. They are known to be slow to house train, so be prepared to be patient!

Proper training is essential to ensuring the safety of your dog and those around you. Having your dog come when they should, and in general having them listen is something you want to address early in your pups life, as it will pay dividends down the line. There are many tried and true training programs to accomplish this training – faster and better than you might think!

Unless you’re living on a farm, or have the space, a yipping dog, or one that barks all day when you are gone could be an issue with the neighbors and/or landlord. Historically, dogs would bark to communicate with the rest of the pack when hunting and bark as a warning shot to predators eyeing up their flock. Barking is deep rooted in dogs and manifests itself in many ways and for a variety of reasons.

Just like any habit or instinct, there are effective ways you can train this issue away.

The Best Dog Vitamins and Supplements To Keep Your Pup Healthy. Period.

Supplements

A solid Glucosamine Supplement for hips and joints will go a long way to helping your furry friend.

Other helpful supplements include full-spectrum hemp oil or CBD oil. Fish oil skin and coat supplement.

Ensuring a comprehensive preventative vitamin and mineral plan is essential to keeping your dog healthy. Truth is, there are vitamins and minerals that your dog needs, but doesn’t produce naturally. While many of these vitamins and minerals can be found in your dog’s current diet and dog food, the question becomes, are there enough vitamins to ensure they aren’t deficient.

Poor nutrition can lead to some of the most common health issues, such as weak joints, compromised immunity, increased allergies, and low energy.

Vitamins play a vital role in your pet’s health and overall life expectancy. Here are some multivitamin and joint relief options.

As regulations around marijuana have eased, the emergence of CBD oils for humans and dogs have sprung up.

Just to begin to dispel the negative stigma, CBD extract comes from Hemp, marijuana’s cousin. Unlike its cousin, there are no psychoactive qualities in CBD oil. An emerging number of clinical and institutional studies have shown the wide variety of healing qualities in CBD, including pain management, and the containment of seizures and epileptic episodes.

Explore this remedy further to see all the health benefits that have transformed the lives of so many dogs to date.

Have You Tried CBD For You Dog's Health?

The Good

  • Rarely bark
  • Easy to train

The "Ruff"

  • Difficult to housetrain
  • Frail bodies

Annual Vet Bills: $1,500+

Be Prepared for the unexpected.