Spotlight Breed: Xoloitzcuintli

Hello and welcome to our Spotlight Breed of the week.  We are excited to talk about the Xoloitzcuintli!  This breed is sometimes called a “Mexican Hairless” or “Xolo”.  This is such a unique breed with many different characteristics to note.  In their native Mexico and Central America, they were popular “doctors” — the heat given off by their bodies providing comfort to people with arthritis and other ailments. People still like to cuddle with them today!

The Xolo adapts well to apartment living as they are considered one of the smaller breeds.  However, this breed is not meant for a novice dog owner.  They are highly sensitive, independent thinkers, and assertive.  Also, the Xolo does not like to be alone.  They are the companion dogs with a lot of love to live.  An anxious dog such as this can be very destructive by causing mayhem, barking, whining, chewing, etc.

The overall friendliness of the Xoloitzcuintli is so-so.  They are very affectionate with family.  In fact, they shower the entire family with affection!  Their attitude toward other dogs and strangers is quite different.  The Xolo can be shy, indifferent, or even aggressive to new people and dogs.  Therefore, training and socialization will play a huge role in their positive behaviors.  Health and grooming needs for the Xolo are easy.  A huge plus is that they do not shed much at all.  This will make for a cleaner house!  They are easy to groom and considered to be a “brush-and-go” dog.

This breed is easy to train as well.  They are adept at forming an association between a prompt, action, and consequence.  It is important to incorporate training into the daily activity of the Xolo.  Dogs who were bred for jobs that require decision making, intelligence, and concentration, such as herding livestock, need to exercise their brains, just as dogs who were bred to run all day need to exercise their bodies.  If you are looking for an interesting breed that loves to love and has a high potential for playless, the Xolo is the one for you!

We will leave you with our favorite quote about this breed.  “If I can’t bring my Xolo, I’m not going!”