The breeds · terrier
AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier
American Hairless Terrier.
AKC: a small to medium, smoothly muscled and active terrier; ancestors were bred to hunt rats and other vermin; the lack of coat on the hairless variety makes them unsuited for most hunting, but they kept a strong hunting instinct and excel in many other activities and sports. UKC: same history and the same limit for the hairless variety; both varieties keep a strong hunting instinct and the coated dogs are fearless, tenacious hunters. Wikipedia: a companion dog developed from naturally hairless Rat Terriers. AKC breed page: a Louisiana native with 'true terrier grit and courage'..
Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.
The lines
Within one breed the line can matter more than the breed. Where the lines differ, the page says which one a value belongs to.
Coated variety: short smooth dense coat with some white; born in the same litters as hairless dogs; docking optional. UKC shows coated before hairless.
Hairless variety: hairless by about 6 to 10 weeks; tail never docked (AKC); shown separately from the coated in the UKC.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
Center blank: the AKC ideal is a range. Same height for the hairless and coated varieties in both standards.
Weight
The sources disagree widely and both stand. The UKC standard text read prints height only, so Wikipedia's attribution could not be confirmed. Center blank.
Coat
Source order follows the AKC standard first.
Shedding
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Heat tolerance
Derived from the coat description (short dense smooth = 4 on the ruled scale). No hairless-line value is given: the ruled scale is for haired coats, and the standards say only that the hairless dog sweats when overheated and needs protection from sun and winter cold.
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Energy
AKC scores are the AKC's own 1-5 bands, not a measurement. The UKC 'unlimited energy' line is about the coated hunters.
Grooming load
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Grooming
AKC's own bands. No Royal Kennel Club page for the breed, so no grooming_load number.
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
Origin: UKC history says the first hairless (Josephine, 1972) was born in a litter of purebred Rat Terriers, and the breeder never used any dog but Rat Terriers. Some Rat Terrier crosses are still allowed to widen the gene pool.
Primary game
Quarry named for the ancestors; the hairless variety is called unsuited for most hunting.
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Hip dysplasia
OFA submissions skew to breeding stock; true population rate is likely higher. OFA all-data is undated.
Elbow dysplasia
OFA submissions skew to breeding stock; true population rate is likely higher. OFA all-data is undated.
Most common disorders
Editorial; no VetCompass paper or club survey read.
More
akc bands
Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.
How to read this page
Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.
Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 5 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- AHT
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour american hairless terrier, on the record.
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