Familiar to most of us are the Chinese Crested Hairless. American Hairless Terrier, and Xoloitzcuintle, and to a lesser extent (but growing!), the Peruvian Inca Orchid Dog. We’d bet 90% of us, however, have never heard of the Khala (the Bolivian Quechua Indian word meaning “without clothing” and pronounced “cow-la”).  Opinions vary on the origin of many hairless breeds; Peruvian dog expert, Tullio Peschiera Magnani, for one, believes that all American Hairless dogs should be called “pre-Columbian hairless dogs” because he believes they all have the same origin, but different names owing to geographic and language differences (Desmond Morris’ Dogs). We leave the debate for cynologists to sort out, but we can share that the Khala is found is found throughout Latin America,  most notably Argentina, Bolivia and Peru.

There are two types of Khala, the Hairless Khala Medio (short legged,sturdy and graceful, also called the pottery type) and the Hairless Khala Grande (long legged with the appearance of an agile sighthound). Some Khalas have hair on their heads, their ears are long, and either folded over or cropped to stand straight up. Color is unimportant in the breed, but most adult Khalas are dark grey.

Pedigrees for the breed in the aforementioned countries have seldom been written down, but one source says it’s normal for an entire village to know generations of a dog’s ancestry. At one time, at least, an effort was made to record pedigrees and to exchange breeding animals, and we found reference to an American Khala Association which adopted a breed standard, but a website for the organization no longer seems to exists.

Khalas are described as alert, busy and good natured, but some can be aloof and unfriendly towards strangers. One site said they tend to freeze when startled.

Image found on Pinterest and happily credited upon receipt of information