Mexico’s Indigenous Hairless Fabulous Dog
Although not recognized by the American Kennel Club as a breed, the Xoloitzcuintle is the official dog of Mexico (and Colima). This image from XoloWorld.com's photo gallery.
It is no secret that I love animals and I work trying to find homes for dogs and cats, rescued from various usually unhappy situations, with people who will adopt them. (You can join my Facebook pet adoption group right here.)
So, we have all seen, petted, played with, loved, had, or ran away from a dog. But have you ever heard about Mexico’s hairless dogs?
In Mexico, the Xoloitzcuintle is a rather different breed of dog than those we are all used to – and certainly it doesn’t share the brand recognition of Mexico’s other native dog – the Chihuahua.
Mexican Muralist and Super-Artist, Diego Rivera, with his own little Xolos. PerrosdeMexico.com has a fascinating history of the dog including lots of historical imagery (in Spanish).
Commonly know as “escuincles” or “xolos,” it is said that the name comes from the Aztec god Xolotl, twin brother of Quetzalcoatl, who rather looked like one of these dogs. Iztcuinlti is – in fact – the Aztec word for dog. Talk about dogs looking like their owners! It is also sometimes alternatively spelled “Xoloitzcuintli.”
The Xoloitzcuintle is believed to be a distant relative of the more popular chihuahua and was important in many ancient cultures of meso-america. There is even archaeological evidence that their ancient forebears lived in the states of Nayarit and near to Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco. According to the Dogs Forum,“many also claim that this dog breed has curative abilities, especially in alleviating aches and pains of the joints.” And the blog Why Evolution is True has even more on the dog’s fascinating and eye-opening curative history here.
In more recent years, Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo painted one of her portraits including her pets, among which is an escuincle. Diego Rivera had painted one of the dogs in one of his own murals. The Museo Dolores Olmedo, one of Mexico City’s best art museums -most famous for its collection of Diego and Frida artworks – is also famous for a collection of these wonderful dogs. A visit to the interior of the museum’s galleries is almost always preceded by a visit to the scampering four-legged beasts.
El Blog de Joy had her own take on these hairless wonders here.
The xolos come in three sizes: toy, miniature and standard and they can – in fact – be coated or hairless. According to this page at Pedigreed Pups.com, “most litters of Xolo puppies contain both hairless and coated puppies.” These doggies require, as do any dogs, lots of love, exercise and attention and there are several dog breeders out there that can give you very good advice on questions related to these not-so furry-fellows.
Many people don’t like the dogs or may have a strange reaction when touching them, but the truth is that they are mostly very friendly and social, and their skin is – in fact – very soft. I, of course, am one of those who like these dogs and will try to pet one whenever I see one.
For more the most comprehensive and artful coverage of this increasingly sought after and curious dog read this article from Cabinet Magazine or for a more general take on the subject, Susan Dearing’s “The Colima Dog” from the GoManzanillo website is a heavy-duty take on Mexico’s official dog.
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