The Hairless Xoloitzcuintles
Sacred Aztec Dog
I discovered a totally cool dog while researching where poodles stand in the “non-allergenic” category. Right there on an erstwhile poodle blog was a dog I’d never heard of and still can’t pronounce.
Heck, I can’t even spell it without looking right at it (Xoloitzcuintli)! I’m told that it’s pronounced show-low-ee-SQUINT-lees, but if you can say that three times fast you are probably somebody who could spell it too. The necessary nickname is “Xolo,” which isn’t nearly so difficult.
According to an article in May of 2007 from the San Mateo Daily Journal and AP, the competing Xolos became the hit of ’07’s World Dog Show in Mexico City, generating palpable excitement among the audience members. That might be because the Xolo is native to Mexico, thus earning the “home town favorite” edge, but with bat-like ears and a strong resemblance to the legendary Pharaoh Hound of Egypt these dogs are strikingly well-built.
Hairless Xolo with coated Xolo.
Their dominant trait, needless to say, is that they have no hair. Their body color is black to smoky blue, so this trait doesn’t look all that weird. There is a “coated” variety of Xolo with a very short coat, and some do have a little hair in places. They come in the basic range of sizes (small, medium and large) at from 10 to 50 pounds. There were 70 Xolos competing in last year’s World Dog Show - possibly because it was held in Mexico City - yet breeders say there are probably no more than 5000 of them in the entire world.
Their history goes all the way back to the Aztecs, who considered them sacred. They were often buried with their owners as guides to the afterlife, and sometimes eaten at huge banquets as a magic cure-all. According to Aztec mythology, the god Xoloti created the Xoloitzcuintle from a sliver of the “Bone of Life” from which mankind was made. The god gave the sacred dog to humanity as a gift with strict instructions to guard it with his life. In return, the dog would guide Man through the world of Death towards the Evening Star in the heavens.
Xolos were common in Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest, but had gone all but extinct by the 1940s. The breed was saved when a group of committed Mexicans began seeking them out in remote mountain villages and forgotten desert outposts.
Thus far the Xolo isn’t fully recognized by the AKC, but foundation stock has been recognized and many expect the breed to gain official recognition within the next few years. They have competed in rare breed shows for many years, and the Mexican Kennel Club began a registration and breeding program in 1956.
Hairless ‘Xolos’ steal the dog show
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February 12th, 2008 at 10:31 am
[...] guys have quite the name! Pronounced “show-low-its-queen-tlee”, you can also call a Xoloitzcuntle a Mexican Hairless or even a “Xolo” for short. These little dogs look almost exactly [...]