Common Name: American Hairless Terrier
Other Common Names: American Hairless Rat Terrier
Group: Terrier
Origin or Range: United States
Relative Size: Smaller Than Average
Average Lifespan: 15 years
Compatibility: Average
Coming in only two different sizes, the Toy and the Miniature, the American Hairless Terrier is a rather new breed, coming to life in the early 1970’s.
This breed has less exposure to diseases in general than most of the other hairless dogs, but they do have their own weaknesses, especially due to their hairless skin design. Intelligent and active, these Terriers make excellent companions dogs, with a distinct personality and look.
These dogs require a certain level of special care. They sweat in high temperatures and therefore they need protection against the sun such as sunscreens, if they are exposed to it for a longer period of time. It is the same with cool temperatures, they need some type of dog clothes for protection and it’s obviously not recommended to be kept outside, even if in doghouses. The American Hairless Terriers need regular bathing for a clean skin, best once every two weeks, but this is subject to how active they are. Excessive bathing can also be harming to them, as it dries out their skin.
These dogs can come in almost any color, but usually in combinations of pink with gray, red, black or brown and the interesting fact is that they have hair at birth, but this is lost within the first couple of months of life, the only one remaining being the whiskers and the eyebrows. The Toy American Hairless Terrier is the smaller of the two types, reaching a maximum height of about 28 centimeters and a weight of 5 kilos, while the Miniature goes up to 48 centimeters and 9 kilos. Being hairless, these dogs are excellent choices for people with allergy issues. The Hairless Terrier is a descendant of the medium sized Rat Terrier and the birth took place in the early 1970’s.
This breed of dogs requires some specific care, due to their hairless skin, which needs protection from both sun exposure (use of sunscreen) and cool temperatures (use of dog clothes – sweaters or shirts). The American Hairless Terriers are very active dogs with a distinctive personality and, of course, a distinctive look. They are intelligent dogs and qualify as excellent companions in the indoors, it is not recommended to keep them outside, especially due to their sensitivity to extreme temperatures. As highlighted before, it is important to keep their skin clean, but without turning to bathing excessively, in order to prevent drying out.
My 6 month old AHT is growing a patch of hair on his back. My son’s AHT is so soft, like a peach, ours feels like a baby elephant. I put coconut oil on once a week, he gets bath in Aveeno Baby bath once a week. Wilt this hair eventually get soft and or fall out?
I think it will fall out. My AHT is 10 mos old and has had little patches of hair come in from time to time but they fall out quickly. He seems to get them less as he ages. Feeling like an elephant i caint explain though. I have my Ollie outside quite a bit so he gets sun screen daily and wiped off with a cloth each evening. I have found that Neutrogena skin products seem to work best on Ollie I think it is probably because they don’t clog the pores. I use the body wash, lotion, sunscreen, and oil on him. Hope this helps.
So I have 2 hairless babies, they are 3 months old. I bath them with Aveeno as well, but they start smelling again so quickly. I think they sweat a lot, I use baby wipes to try to “freshen” them up, but its a pretty strong odor. I might need a shampoo with a little more fragrance to it but don’t want them to break out
Suggestions?
I use coconut oil shampoo from the Whole Foods store or Debbies health food. There is no odor or scent. But surprisingly takes away odors for 3-4 days. Then I put pure unscented coconut oil. They are stinky dogs!! Lol