Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Chinese Crested Breed Overview
- History of the Chinese Crested Breed. Where Chinese Cresteds came from
- What the Chinese Crested Looks Like
- How Much is the Chinese Crested Puppy?
- Best Chinese Crested Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Chinese Crested
- Chinese Crested Growth
- What Colors do Chinese Cresteds Have?
- The Temperament of the Chinese Crested
- Chinese Crested Litter Size
- How Fast Chinese Cresteds Can Run
- Good Names for Chinese Cresteds
- How Intelligent are Chinese Cresteds?
- How Popular are Chinese Cresteds with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Chinese Cresteds and How to Prevent Them
- How to Take Care of Chinese Crested
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Chinese Cresteds
- Other Things to Know About Chinese Cresteds
Chinese Crested Breed Overview
The Chinese Crested is a small-sized dog.
The adult Chinese Crested stands 11 to 13 inches tall at the shoulder.
The Chinese Crested belongs to the Companion Dogs group.
Dogs in the Companion Dogs group, like the Chinese Crested, were bred to be companions for humans. Their main goal in life is to be with people, and they will be very sad if left to themselves for long hours day after day.
The fact that the Chinese Crested belongs to the Companion Dogs group is one of the reasons why Chinese Cresteds have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Chinese Crested is generally described as:
- Affectionate
- Alert
- Happy
- Lively
- Playful
- S weet-Tempered
History of the Chinese Crested Breed. Where Chinese Cresteds came from
The Chinese Crested Dog`s exact origins are unknown, but some believe it originated in Africa and was known as the “African hairless dog.
” It is believed that the dog was picked up by trading ships with plans to use the breed as a “ratter.
” Some believe Chinese trading ships used the dog in Egypt, Turkey, and Central and South America.
The breed has been documented as far back as the 1200s.
Explorers and missionaries described seeing them in ports around the world.
Paintings and later photographs documented evidence of Chinese Cresteds in Europe in the 1800s.
Some Chinese Crested Dogs were discovered in zoos at the time.
The Chinese Crested was previously known as the Chinese Crested.
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What the Chinese Crested Looks Like
The Chinese Crested Dog comes in two varieties: hairless and powder puff.
Both variants can coexist in the same litter.
With the exception of his head, tail, and feet, the hairless Chinese Crested will have no hair (and the hair at those places will be long).
A puff of powder Chinese Cresteds have a full coat of hair with a wooly undercoat that must be brushed carefully.
The dog is typically small, standing eleven to thirteen inches tall and weighing five to twelve pounds as an adult.
AKC guidelines allow for any color to be used.
This adorable breed will have naturally upright ears, but may suffer from tooth dentition.
The Chinese Crested is typically slender, with a longer body.
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How Much is the Chinese Crested Puppy?
The average price of a Chinese Crested puppy is $1500. The price of a Chinese Crested puppy ranges from $1000 to $1800.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Chinese Crested. These factors include what health records the Chinese Crested puppy has, the lineage of the Chinese Crested puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Chinese Crested based on the many factors that determine the price of the Chinese Crested puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Chinese Crested puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Chinese Crested breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Chinese Crested Breeders
We have researched reputable Chinese Crested breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Chinese Crested breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
OH SO
Puppy Price: $4,000
Charisma Chinese Cresteds
Puppy Price: $1,500-$1800.00
Long Star Angels
Puppy Price: $3,000
Mary Walsh
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Evelyn Norris
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Adopting or Rescuing the Chinese Crested
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Chinese Cresteds included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Chinese Crested named Mushu that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Chinese Cresteds like Mushu on pefinder.com.
Max is the name of another Chinese Crested (Male) on petfinder.com that is looking for a new forever home.
You can find more Chinese Cresteds that are available for adoption on petfinder.
Chinese Crested Growth
New Chinese Crested owners need to know about the growth of their Chinese Cresteds. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.
Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Chinese Crested will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Chinese Crested early.
See our calculator for predicting how big your Chinese Crested puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Chinese Crested at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Chinese Crested
What Colors do Chinese Cresteds Have?
Chinese Cresteds come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- White / Cream
- Gray / Blue / Silver
- Brown / Chocolate
- Golden
- Apricot / Beige
- Black
- Tricolor (Brown, Black, & White)
The Temperament of the Chinese Crested
The temperament of the Chinese Crested based can be summarized as in the table below.
The table shows the scores of the Chinese Crested for 13 important dog behavioral factors.
We obtained these scores by analyzing raw data from the C-BARQ dog personality survey tool. The higher the score of a dog for a factor, the worse the temperament of the dog regarding that factor.
The C-BARQ tool was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and it is a scientific tool that is used worldwide for reliably measuring the temperament of dog breeds.
See our complete analysis of the temperament of the Chinese Crested here.
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Stranger Directed Fear | 94.1 percent |
| Separation Related Behavior | 91.1 percent |
| Dog Directed Fear | 87.8 percent |
| Dog Directed Aggression | 87.0 percent |
| Dog Rivalry | 81.6 percent |
| Attachment Attention Seeking | 64.7 percent |
| Nonsocial Fear | 57.4 percent |
| Stranger Directed Aggression | 53.4 percent |
| Energy Level | 48.1 percent |
| Excitability | 45.6 percent |
| Touch Sensitivity | 39.7 percent |
| Stubbornness | 37.3 percent |
| Prey Drive | 26.2 percent |
| Owner Directed Aggression | 22.1 percent |
Chinese Crested Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 133 different Chinese Crested birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Chinese Cresteds can have is 4 puppies. Also, the Chinese Crested can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 9 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Chinese Crested will have depends on factors such as the age of the Chinese Crested, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Chinese Crested will have and how the litter size of the Chinese Crested compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Chinese Cresteds Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 99 different Chinese Cresteds, the average speed of the Chinese Crested is 20.1 mph (32.3 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Chinese Crested ran in a race is 25.61 mph (41.2 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Chinese Crested is 6.61 mph (10.6 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Chinese Crested compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Chinese Cresteds
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Chinese Crested ranked by popularity:
- Toby
- Alfie
- Dante
- Axe
- Monkey
- Romeo
- Bullet
- Alistair
- Cinderace
- Jessie
How Intelligent are Chinese Cresteds?
| Chinese Crested | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 61 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After 40 To 80 Repetitions! |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Chinese Crested has an obedience intelligence rank of 61 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Chinese Cresteds in the `Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Chinese Cresteds tend to learn new commands after 40 to 80 repetitions!.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| Doberman Pinscher | 5 |
| Papillon | 8 |
| Rottweiler | 9 |
| Pembroke Welsh Corgi | 11 |
| Cocker Spaniel | 20 |
| Giant Schnauzer | 28 |
| Border Terrier | 30 |
| American Staffordshire Terrier | 34 |
| Dalmatian | 39 |
| Scottish Deerhound | 47 |
| Rhodesian Ridgeback | 52 |
| French Bulldog | 58 |
| Italian Greyhound | 60 |
| Old English Sheepdog | 63 |
| Saint Bernard | 65 |
| Bull Terrier | 66 |
| Lhasa Apso | 68 |
| Basset Hound | 71 |
| Chow Chow | 76 |
| Afghan Hound | 79 |
How Popular are Chinese Cresteds with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Chinese Crested.
The popularity of the Chinese Crested averaged over the years is Number 75 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Chinese Cresteds and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Chinese Crested is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Chinese Crested puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Chinese Crested breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Chinese Cresteds for:
- Cardiac Evaluation
- Congenital Deafness
- Eye Examination- Yearly Exams Recommended
- Hip Dysplasia/Legg-Calve-Perthes
- Patellar Luxation
- prcd-PRA DNA Test
- Primary Lens Luxation
- RCD3-PRA DNA Test
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Chinese Cresteds here.
How to Take Care of Chinese Crested
To take good care of your Chinese Crested, you need to make sure that you groom your Chinese Crested regularly.
Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Chinese Crested regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Chinese Crested`s preventative care.
Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Chinese Crested daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Chinese Crested.
Also, you need to feed your Chinese Crested high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Chinese Crested from getting overweight or underweight.
See our recommendations on what to feed the Chinese Crested and how much food to feed the Chinese Crested at different life stages.
Finally, you need to make sure that your Chinese Crested has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Chinese Crested needs to drink at different ages.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Chinese Cresteds
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Chinese Crested.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Chinese Crested:
- Bolognese (75 percent match with Chinese Crested). Learn more about the Bolognese here.
- Japanese Chin (75 percent match with Chinese Crested). Learn more about the Japanese Chin here.
- Tibetan Spaniel (74 percent match with Chinese Crested). Learn more about the Tibetan Spaniel here.
Other Things to Know About Chinese Cresteds
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Chinese Crested that you need to know about the Chinese Crested breed: