We suspect that most of us mentally conjure up the image of a Shih Tzu like the one at the left when we hear the term, “top knot.” Or maybe, we picture something more like the Poodle below:
Other “top knotted” breeds that may pop into our heads might include a Maltese, Yorkshire Terrier, or a Lhasa Apso. The following might not be breeds that you think of as having a topknots, but they do. The Australian Terrier has a topknot, it says so in the breed standard: “…harsh-textured outer coat, a distinctive ruff and apron, and a soft, silky topknot.”
The Afghan Hound has a topknot, too: “The head is surmounted by a topknot of long silky hair.”
Bring on the Bedlington Terrier: “Covered with a profuse topknot which is lighter than the color of the body, highest at the crown, and tapering gradually to just back of the nose.”
The official standard for the Irish Water Spaniel even makes a topknot one of the breed’s distinguishing characteristics.
But guess what? The breed below is also rocking a top knot:
To be sure, the Chinese Crested Hairless’ head hair is called a crest, but technically speaking, the term top knot refers to the hair on a dog’s skull, starting from the stop to the dog’s occiput. It’s a tuft of longer hair on the top of the head, and certain the CCH’s crest fits the description. We thought you’d want to be prepared for when Trivia Pursuit: Dog Edition comes out.
Images of Shih Tzu and Poodle are from DepositPhotos
Image of Chinese Crested Hairless is Zucci High Virtue – Indy (2004-2011) by is from Wikicommons and shared under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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