meet the... American Hairless Terrier

Head

• General Appearance: Mesaticephalic skull type, moderate in size, wedge-shaped, and in proportion with the rest of the body. The head is clean-cut and without excess skin or wrinkles. The skull may have flat planes or be just slightly arched. In profile and from above, the head forms a distinct wedge shape, tapering from the broad skull to the narrower muzzle. The skull is broad, as wide (measured across the top in front of the ears) as long (from stop to occiput). The occiput is not prominent. Temporal muscles may be well-developed. Apple and domed skulls are incorrect.
• Expression: Keen, lively, watchful, and interested.
• Stop: The stop is moderate and distinct but not definite nor abrupt, being less than a right angle.
• Skull: The ideal muzzle-to-skull ratio may range from equal at 1:1 up to 2:3, with the topskull being just longer than the muzzle.
  The ideal muzzle-to-skull axis may run parallel or be slightly convergent.
• Muzzle: The muzzle is medium in length and strong, with well-formed, powerful jaws. The muzzle is full, deep, and broad. The muzzle tapers only slightly from the base to the tip of the nose. The muzzle never appears snipey or weak. The upper and lower jaws are strong, well-developed, and possess a good bone substance.
• Lips or Flews: The lips are clean and fit tightly over the teeth and jaws. There is no evidence of flews.
• Nose: The nose is well-pigmented, black, or self-colored, according to the coat. The nostrils are well-opened. Seasonal fading, or winter-nose, is permissible.
• Cheeks: The cheeks may be flat to well-muscled but should never appear prominent or protrusive.
• Dentition and Bite: Forty-two strong, clean, and white teeth. The bite may be level or scissor. Contact must be made between the top and bottom incisors. Missing or broken teeth due to routine work are not to be penalized.
• Eyes: The eyes are medium in size, almond to oval in shape, and may be obliquely set. Eye color may range from gray to amber or hazel to dark brown. The eyes are never bulging. There should be sufficient bone in the surrounding orbital sockets to protect the eyes.
• Ears: The ears are small to medium in size, V-shaped, and set high at the outside corner of the skull. The outermost base of the ear is aligned with the outer corner of the eye. The ears may be firmly erect, tipped, rose, or button when the dog is alert. Matching ears are preferred, but unmatched ears are not a disqualification.

Body and Tail

• General Description: Compact, sturdy, solid, and with good substance. The body is never racy or refined. The width at the forequarters is approximately equal to the width at the hindquarters.
• Neck: Length is moderate to allow for proud head carriage, strongly muscled with a slight arch. The neck tapers smoothly from the deeper and broader body toward the head. The neck is clean-cut and without excess skin, throatiness, or dewlap.
• Chest: Deep and broad but never wider than deep. The brisket extends to the point of the elbows or just below. The forechest is just slightly prominent in the profile.
• Topline: Level from slightly prominent withers to croup. The back is broad, strongly muscled, and straight, yet supple. The loin is short and taut and may be either flat and level with the back or just slightly arched yet supportive. The topline is never swayed or roached.
• Croup: Gently sloped.
• Underline: A slight tuck-up is present. The underline is taut and firm, without any indication of sagging or excess weight.
• Ribs: Long, well-sprung, well-laid-back, and oval-shaped, never barrel-chested or slab-sided.
• Tail: The tail is a natural continuation of the gently sloped croup. Therefore, it is not carried as high as seen in other terrier breeds. It may be carried straight or in a curve level with the topline or higher or in a lowered (never tucked) neutral position. Tails are thick at the base and taper elegantly toward the tip. The tail may be left natural or docked. Natural tails are medium to long in length and may be straight or slightly curved, being saber-, hook-, or sickle-shaped. When held down, the length should extend to the hock joints. Docked tails should be cut between the 2nd and 3rd vertebrae or longer; the tail should never be removed completely. However, the dog’s tail length is irrelevant, and a dog should not be penalized for tail length.

Forequarters and Hindquarters

• Forequarters: The forequarters are always in balance with the hindquarters and well-angulated with well-laid-back shoulder blades. Shoulder blades are approximately equal in length to the upper arm and forearm.
• Elbows: The elbows are close to the body. The point of the elbows is approximately half the dog’s height at the withers.
• Forelegs: Frontal View: Straight, of good muscle and bone, and parallel to one another.
  Side View: The forelimbs appear straight with strong pasterns.
• Pasterns: Never weak or broken.
• Hindquarters: The upper and lower thighs are equal in length, strong, sturdy, of good bone, and well-muscled.
  Rear View: When viewed from the rear, the rear pasterns are parallel to one another.
  Side View: Good angulation will allow the rear toes to align with the point of the rump or within one to two paw-lengths behind the point of the rump, with the rear pasterns remaining perpendicular to the ground and parallel to one another.
• Stifle Joint: Well-angulated with a good bend to well-let-down rear pasterns.
• Stifle Joint: The angulation of the hindquarters is always in balance with the angulation of the forequarters.
• Feet: Oval to round and compact, with well-arched toes and tough pads.

Coat

• Skin: Well-fitted, yet supple. The skin should never obstruct the outline of the dog.
• Coat Type: The American Hairless Terrier comes in two coat varieties: hairless and coated.
  
  Coated variety: The coat is short, smooth, and close to the body throughout. The texture is soft and glossy, with or without an undercoat and with or without a slight wave along the back. If an undercoat is present, the coat will be slightly longer on the neck, forming a light ruff, and on the tail. No fringe or feather is permissible.
  
  Hairless variety: Adult hairless dogs may be completely hairless or may have a few short, fine-guard hairs on the muzzle, brows, or other parts of the body.
• Coat Color or Pattern: Hairless dogs may have any skin color, usually with a white or light pink skin color and a darker gray or brown skin color indicating a parti-color or bicolor pattern. Coated dogs may be any bicolor, tricolor, sable, brindle, apricot, black, blue, blue fawn, chocolate, lemon, or tan color—all of these should always be accompanied by white, ticking, or roaming. Solid white or solid ticked is permissible as well.

Movement

The American Hairless Terrier’s movement is quick, energetic, efficient, and effortless. The characteristics of a healthy structure are evident. When moving away, the forelegs and rear pasterns should remain parallel to one another. When viewing movement from the front, the forelegs should remain parallel, with elbows and paws moving neither in nor out. From the rear, the back pads should be visible when the rear legs are extended. As speed increases, the forelimbs and hindlimbs will converge to the centerline of gravity. From the side, the topline should remain firm and level. Good reach of movement in the front allows the forepaw to extend out in line with the nose. When extended, the width between the forefeet should be approximately equal to the width between the hindfeet when extended, indicating balance, good reach, and a good drive. Dogs that exhibit any sign of breathing or locomotive difficulty shall be disqualified from the show ring.

Temperament

The American Hairless Terrier is quickly gaining popularity as a hairless breed due to the lack of defects associated with the recessive hairless gene. They are energetic, alert, and can make a good watchdog. American Hairless Terriers can also be quite useful to have around the property since their rat-hunting instincts are quite strong, and they require little to no training to do what they were originally bred to do. However, hunting in brush or harsh environments is not advisable due to a lack of coat. Like their Rat Terrier kin, they may require training to curb that natural instinct if one plans to keep other small animals around. However, unusual to terriers, they are well-known for being exceptionally tolerable and even friendly toward other dogs and cats if introduced and socialized at an early age. In fact, they should not be sparred when being judged for conformation. These dogs bond strongly with their families and are devoted and loyal. However, reservation toward strangers in adult dogs is not to be faulted. Submissiveness should not be mistaken for fearfulness nor faulted. Any unprovoked aggressive or fearful behavior toward people is incorrect for this breed.

Faults

All dogs should be in proper healthy condition, free from disease or defect. Any departure from this description is considered a fault. Unless altered, all male dogs should have two fully descended testicles.