Ai Generated
About the Xoloitzcuintle
Xolotizcuintle, called Xolo in everyday language, is an ancient breed from Mexico. It is a dog of a primitive type with roots going far back in time 3,500 – 4,000 years ago. Finds in graves from that time show that dogs resembling these were buried. Its name means the dog of the god Xolotl, and it was considered sacred and used in rites and religious ceremonies.
Broadly speaking, it is a companion dog, but the large and medium varieties have been used and are still used as guard dogs. It is a barking watchdog. In 1940, the Mexican kennel club began using the breed in its logo and helped save the breed, which was on the brink of extinction, through an expedition to remote mountains in the Colima area in 1963 where they captured 10 wild individuals. Even today, individuals found "in the wild" in villages around Mexico can be registered in the studbook.
The hairless gene Foxi3 is dominant, but naturally, puppies with fur are born in most litters. People avoid breeding furred dogs with each other because then the gene that causes hairlessness might disappear since the furred ones don’t carry it. And we want to maintain the breed’s duality and keep it as authentic as possible, just like it has been in Mexico for thousands of years.
You can mate furred and naked with each other but it increases the chance of getting many furred in the litter but it increases the genetic variation and it is needed in a numerically small breed and it is encouraged. Mating between naked individuals is most common both in Sweden and abroad.
As I said, it is a noisy guard dog and it can be easy to bark but should stop when the owner takes over. Unfortunately, this has given some reasonable individuals, but as I said, it is possible to train away to some extent.
It is available in 3 size variants small, medium and large and they compete as their own breeds in shows with their own CACs and CACIB etc. In some countries they compete as the same breed regardless of size; The United States and England, among others.
The breed is responsive, alert, attentive, and calm. It's easy to train and fun to work with, but you have to think a bit outside the box and not drill the same thing for too long, because that bores them and then they won't do anything their owner wants. It's kind of like – okay, now I know this, let's come up with something new, otherwise I just won't do it. It's considered street-smart and very inventive, able to solve problems on their own for better or worse.It has a moderate exercise need but a high need for mental stimulation and needs to use its brain to find life enjoyable.
It's a fun breed to own since no day will ever be like the one before.