Xoloitzcuintle owners and breeders were asked in 2014: What are the most important breed characteristics to keep in mind for anyone wanting to responsibly and ethically breed Xolos? Their answers:
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“It’s important to respect the breed standard of the country of origin, otherwise we will end with a breed that looks different in different parts of the world. Health is also very very important, and keeping the sizes “true”, if a dog grows over the limit it can be moved to the other size but people just don’t always do it. Also it’s important that, if a mating is going to be done between different sizes that the size difference is not that big or it could be risky for the female.”
- I agree and want to add — that it is very important, now that we are AKC to keep track of our sizes and always strive for the middle within each size. We could easily become a dog that is 10-24 inches with no real defined sizes. And I’m heartened to see some of the smaller dogs being campaigned and winning. I would hate to see this become a bigger is better breed.”
- Another big big thing is that people should always consider the breed has TWO varieties, you won’t always get hairless, and coateds are equally valuable.”
- “AKC took us as one breed – no varieties. I would have liked for it to have been like Poodles, three sizes. In poodles — you register a puppy as a POODLE. Once is grows to where you KNOW what size it is going to be, then you register it that size. If it goes over or does not make the size you thought… then you have a bit of a problem.”
- “Many breeders focus on the hairless dogs as that is one if the distinctive characteristics of the breed. Coated is the recessive gene so when you bred two coateds you will only get coated. That said, the hairless gene is homozygous lethal (meaning that the embryo dies in utero), so all hairless dogs carry the coated gene and it will continue to appear.”
- “In Mexico they [sizes] are shown separated. Minis with Minis, Intermedios with Intermedios and Standards with Standards. They are still considered the same breed, just different sizes, and are judged with the same breed standard. However we get 3 BOBs and if a dog grows over the limit of its expected size we can move it to the other size and its still part of the same breed.”
Photograph appears here courtesy of Giovanna Suedan