Altair Chinese Cresteds
Frequently Asked Questions
Compiled by Pat Pentland
I hope you will find this information helpful. It contains my thoughts about commonly asked questions. From my answers, you will learn a bit about our cresteds, their care, grooming and my own philosophy on raising, breeding, showing and placing our puppies. The questions are ones received via e-mail or telephone from people interested in the Chinese Crested breed. Again, these are my own opinions. Other breeders may have different opinions.
Q. How many breeds of dog do you have and are they kennelled?
We only have one breed. Our dogs are not kennelled. They live in the home with us, and are family members. At one time we also had Yorkshire Terriers, but found it better for us to concentrate on just one breed. We do have a Rescue Greyhound named Anastasia, one yorkie who is now a retired senior and a rescued Siamese Cat.Q. How would you describe the Crested Temperament?
Chinese Cresteds, in my opinion, are lovely dogs and certainly friendly, intelligent and affectionate. Like all dogs, trainability depends upon the interaction between the individual dog's personality and the temperament, patience and consistency of the owner. Cresteds do love being the centre of attention, so if treated with warmth and understanding, you can expect a happy, exuberant and playful puppy. There are, of course, individual differences in personality, accordingly, some pups will be more outgoing than others. As a rule, however, the personality is very pleasing as a family dog.Q. Do Cresteds get along well with children?
Regarding children and dogs, human children, especially the small ones, require their parents to supervise and guide them in respect to how to treat the new puppy. Children will need to be watched to ensure they are gentle, and understand the pup must be included in the family in a respectful way. When my son was young, I was very careful to ensure rough play did not happen where the dogs were concerned. He learned about gentleness and kindness. When he was very small and had poor motor co-ordination, he was held and guided in his movements with the dogs. Until I knew he was a safe playmate for the dogs, no chances were taken that might compromise the health and well being of the pups. Although Chinese Cresteds do tend to be very healthy, they do have long, slender legs, prone more than most breeds to breaking. It is important that children (or adults) are very careful not to drop their puppy (even a small distance) and to be careful to prevent falls. When treated with love, Cresteds will usually quickly grow to love children. Each parent with children will intuitively know whether their children are ready to be respectful and safe with a small dog, and should make choices accordingly.Q. Do Cresteds as a breed have genetic or health concerns?
While Cresteds tend to be generally healthy and active, it is important to note that many health concerns have surfaced in the breed. I do not want to sound like an alarmist, but I will present a list of issues that may crop up for some dogs. 1)Various eye issues, such as PRA, Lens Luxation, Dry Eye, Juvenille Cataracts, Micro-opthalmia, Vitreous Degeneration, Cherry Eye, Glaucoma, SARD. 2)Deafness (unilateral or bilateral). 3)Soft-Palette problems. Hard Palette Problems. 4)Heart Murmer. 5)Auto-Immune related issues. 6)Legge Calves Perthes. 7)Pattella Luxation 8)Seizure Disorders 9)Closed-Ear Canals (unilateral or bilateral) 10)Dropped Shoulder. 11)Various allergies and skin sensitivities. 12)Porto-Systemic Shunt Your breeder should be able to discuss these conditions with you, and alert you to any concerns known to have been present in his or her own lines. In order to be able to identify such concerns, breeding stock should undergo yearly screening (CERF tesing) for eye problems, and it is advisable that breeding stock are BAER tested for deafness. In 2005, Optigen introduced a new test for one form of PRA (PRA-Prcd). This is a DNA test, requiring a blood draw and testing through Optigen's lab. This test will show wether the tested dog is clear, affected or a carrier of Prcd (progressive rod-cone degeneration). We now do this DNA test on all breeding stock. Of course, genetic concerns are not the only thing to consider in purchasing a pup. It is also a good idea with any breed of dog to think about the potential for expensive vet bills in advance(accidents can and do happen) and to ensure that you are prepared to pay such bills in the event your dog has an accident or becomes ill.Q. I have allergies to dogs. Are Cresteds hypo-allergenic?
Regarding allergies- If you or someone in your family have allergies to dogs, then you can still expect them to be allergic to hairless dogs. This is because the allergens are included in saliva, skin secretions and microscopic skin flakes (dander). Actually, hairless dogs often lick themselves, as cats do, which means when you pet them, you are exposing yourself to saliva on their skin too. Often people can tolerate non-shedding or hairless dogs quite well, because they are often bathed regularly (the dogs that is). This means less to be allergic to. Some people find that over time, they develop a tolerance to their own particular dog, while still reacting to others. I would suggest you locate an owner with just one Chinese Crested, and then try to arrange a visit. I doknow of several cresteds placed into a home with a child with dog-allergies who have managed fine. I also know of a number of placements where a family member has allergies, and it did not work out well at all.Q. Do hairless cresteds have to be shaved to look hairless?
Most hairless crested dogs do have varying degrees of body hair, which will require removal in order to give them the "show-ring" look. Just as humans have body hair, so do cresteds. Some have more body hair than others. In general, the heavier the furnishings (crest, socks and plume) the more body hair you will be dealing with. For example, my Benxi has very little body hair and really requires no bodily shaving at all. My Amy on the other hand, has a good deal of body hair, but has very lavish furnishings too. I always do a grooming lesson for those purchasing my pups, so that new owners are well aware of how to care for their dog. By the way, I usually shave the faces on my dogs too (rather like the way poodles have their faces clipped). It is perfectly okay to show this breed with full bearded faces or to clip. I prefer to clip faces, so my dogs appear this way in photographs, but it is important for you to know that this is another skill for new owners to learn :)Q. I already have a large-breed dog in my home. Do Cresteds get along well with larger dogs?
I do get a bit worried when I hear there are large breed dogs in the home, as cresteds seem very unaware that they are little people, and will play and challenge big dogs without fear. It requires a VERY stable and non-aggressive temperament on the part of the large dogs, to ensure safety. I know you may feel your own large-breed dog is perfectly gentle and safe, but remember I am a puppy mother, and worry myself silly. Each situation would need to be assessed carefully, and with safety as the top priority. We have a rescue greyhound (you can read how we integrated her into our crested family on her own web page by clicking here Anastasia's Page. I know of two situations (both friends of mine) where a crested was attacked and killed by a large breed dog residing in the same home. I would be lying if I said this didn't worry me a good deal. On the other hand, I know of many situations where it has worked out well. If you are adding a second dog to your household, it will be important to ensure you give lots of affection to your original dog around the time of arrival of your second one, or jealousies may develop. If both treated with warmth and understanding, and if both have good temperaments, you can expect a wonderful outcome.Q. I'd like a crested to breed. Is showing necessary? What is wrong with just having a healthy pet crested that is bred occassionally?
Yes, in my opinion, showing is definitely a pre-requisite to breeding, as this is where one updates, and ensures our current knowledge and connections to information about the breed. If you do not show, you really have no way of knowing how your dogs compare to others and if they are worth placing in a breeding program to begin with. It is way too easy to fall in love with our dogs (kennel blindness) and to think they are wonderful additions to the gene pool, but in showing, we learn to assess our dogs more critically for good balanced structure, movement, health and temperament. Another reason to show is to get to know and build relationships with other serious breeders. It is during these times that information is shared, helping one to make better choices in our planned breedings. As I mentioned earlier in this FAQ, there are many problematic genetic disorders in the breed, such as Dry Eye, Pattella Luxation, Soft Pallette problems, Calves Legge Perthes, Epilepsy, Heart Murmers, Auto-Immune Related Problems, Deafness to name but a few. This is why years of in-depth knowledge and research of bloodlines is so important. Reputable breeders should at a minimum be prepared to eye check yearly to obtain a CERF clearance and BAER test all dogs prior to breeding (to ensure dog is not deaf). Personally, I seldom sell my puppies into breeding homes. It takes a lot of research to safely know which bloodlines work well together. The hairless gene is thought by some to be a lethal gene. Certainly, it behooves one to tread carefully with the genetics of this breed. Yes, there will always be a breeder somewhere who will sell a breeding animal with no questions asked, but then you get what you pay for, and it is a sad and dangerous game of Russian roulette to breed this high-risk breed without thorough knowledge of the pitfalls.Q. Can I leave my pup alone during the day while I work?
Regarding questions about will the puppy be okay all day while you are not home. It is possible, of course to work around this situation, but with no-one to supervise your pup, housetrainiong will be difficult if not impossible. You might want to consider adopting an older dog (perhaps from rescue) as a little puppy will not be able to hold its bladder and bowels for that period of time. Also a small puppy will be lonely and bored if all alone for that length of time, and may develop problems with anxiety or destructive behaviour. Although we are not always home during the day, puppies are always left in the presence of one or two other safe companion dogs. Dogs are pack/social animals, and especially as puppies, can fret when they are left alone for long periods. You might think of using puppy day-care (in home, or in a centre-- yes, they exist:) Our puppies (when we have any, are in a large-ish pen, when we can not supervise them. Inside the pen, is a cozy bed, water, safe toys to chew on and a pee-pad to use for bathroom breaks (more on this in a second). Puppies teethe until about 10 months of age, and they WILL chew on things, especially when left alone. This way, they can only chew on their own things, which is permissable (rather than the baseboard, tile floor or your cushions:) They can't bathroom in the wrong place, because their potty area covers all of the base of their play area, except for the bed. In other-words, they can't be anything but good dogs. Positive experience and prevention of bad habits works much better than trying to correct problems that were unforseen. More on those pee/potty pads in a later FAQ.Q. Do Chinese Cresteds require any special care?
Depending on where you live, your hairless dog may need warm jammies or sweat suits in the winter, and sometimes in the summer, they may require a light t-shirt. When they get chilly, they shiver. Typically, if you would require a sweater to stay warm, then so would they. If the temperature drops at night, and you need pj's to stay warm, so would they. Its fairly safe to match your needs to theirs, plus to watch them for signs of chilling. As summer approaches, HL cresties begin to develop their summer colours. Yes--they tan:) It is important to limit their exposure to direct sunlight as they begin to tan. These dogs will get sunburn, so sunscreen will be necessary for longer exposures and possibly a t-shirt or screened in area if they must stay outside in high UV conditions. Again, it is simply being sensible. Take care of your hairless dog's skin the way you would your own. They do very well with a bath about once every week or two. A gentle dog shampoo works well for both body and crest. Afterwards, it is best to use a conditioner on the crest, plume and tail, being sure to rinse it all out completely. Towel dry your dog, then rub in some body lotion, all over the body and legs. I prefer to use Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion, and find this works well. If you don't bath your dog regularly, your dog will probably develop blackheads, which are much easier to prevent than cure:) The whole bath and conditioning routine is quite easy, and only takes about 30 minutes. The powder-puffs will require a bath, blow-dry and condition about every 2 weeks as puppies, and once per week as adults to maintain a full and pretty coat. With a powder-puff it is a good idea to brush your dog daily in between baths, to prevent tangling. I always provide a grooming lesson/demonstration to new owners when they purchase their pup, but this will give you an idea of the care they will require.Q. What are puppy pee-pads?
We use a "puppy-pad" in the kitchen, to aid in house-training our dogs. Our pups learn to go outside to pee or poo, but they also learn that it is okay to pee or to poo on the puppy-pad. That way, if I'm not home, there is a safe place to go toilet. The pads are washable and have waterproof backs. They are quite inexpensive at Wal-Mart or Zellers. Their true purpose is actually a human incontinent/mattress pad, which young children or those with weak bladders may use to keep their beds dry.Q. How do I go about purchasing a pet puppy from Altair Crested?
When I do have pet pups available, they are sold on a non-breeding agreement. Pups are vaccinated up to date, registered with the CKC, microchipped, and have a health and temperament warranty. When a pup leaves, it is only after assuring myself that the new owners truly wish a new family member to enter their home, and not JUST a dog! One of the requirements of my contract is that all pups must be returned to me, if for ANY reason, the owner can no longer keep them. They may not be resold, given away, euthanized, placed in a shelter or rescue without my written permission. This is to make sure all pups have a home for life where they will be loved and appreciated. The first thing to do is read all of these questions and answers, to understand all about this breed and my own particular values and ideas. Then, if you are still interested, e-mail me with information about your family, lifestyle and why you feel a crested would be a suitable addition to your family.Q. How do I go about purchasing a show/breeding puppy from Altair Crested?
I seldom sell with full breeding rights, unless it is to some-one whom I know or who is highly recommended from other show breeders that I know and trust. Occasionally I have sold a show puppy to a novice, but in each and every case, the purchaser was willing to learn all about showing, take handling classes, participate in events and research about the breed, plus was willing to co-own their puppy, as they learned how to show and eventually select a good match for their dog. If they already owned one or more Chinese Crested(s) that they wished to breed, then their own dogs must be champions of record and have had the following health screens prior to breeding (yearly up to date CERF, BAER, PRA-Prcd DNA test). In addition, pedigrees must be compatible. If you feel that you meet the above criteria, feel free to enquire about our babies. I hope this information has been useful in your search for information about this breed. I will try to add to these questions, as time goes by. Thank you for your interest in our dogs. Sincerely, Pat.Last Updated August 12, 2008.