Care for a Chinese crested dog consider the same aspects as care for any other dog, with only few specific things. Most of all, it requires quality nutrition and regular walks, and that’s enough to ensure your pet’s well-being.

When we take the nutrition into consideration, we should know that these dogs are not picky and they are willing to eat every meal you give them. Due to their small size, it is preferable to feed them twice a day, so they would bring in enough nutritive matters to get them through their active day; also, you should not give them too much food in one meal. You can give them granulated dry food, or a fresh, cooked meal, right out of your kitchen.

Granulated food Granulated food is a much more practical choice for you, and if the product is of a good quality, it will provide your dog with all it needs. You can give it to your pet soaked in a little water, or completely dry, but your dog needs to have fresh water at its disposal at all times.
How will you know you have chosen the right food manufacturer? Watch your pet: if it is in a good mood, bursting with energy, with a glow in its eyes and if its hair is shiny, then you made the right choice!!!

Nevertheless, the fact that dogs like natural food more than the granulated one shouldn’t come as a surprise to us . So, if you are decided to make them a meal by yourself, you should consider some ground rules for every dog’s nutrition.

That meal should provide:

• Proteins ~ they are found in meat (beef and chicken), fish (without bones), eggs (raw or boiled yolk), cheese and other dairy products. You should be very careful when giving it milk (sometimes you should avoid it completely) because it can cause diarrhoea.
• Fat ~ dogs absorb it when eating the food already mentioned above.
• Carbohydrates ~ they are found in rice, sweet potatoes, corn flour, biscuits (sugar free!), bread and other pastry. You should avoid bread and pastry (made with yeast) since dogs have problems digesting them. If your dog really likes bread, you can dry it in the oven, or give it crisp bread.
• Vitamins ~ they are found in fruit and vegetables. You can offer your dog any kind of fruit and vegetables it likes, except leguminous vegetables (beans, peas, green beans) because they cause gases and are very difficult to digest.

Of course, your pet will appreciate you spicing up its meals for a bit (little salt, little parsley, little butter, sometimes a little soup, a little bit of vanilla… but never put pepper or other strong spices!)

Walk. The Chinese crested dog is a “home dog”, and it will be quite happy with you taking it out for only a few minutes to relieve itself. But you should have in mind that the time for a walk is its favourite time of the day. You will make it very happy by taking it out often and for a longer period of time. (It will do you good as well, whether you are aware of it or not!) I don’t need to tell you anything about its great temper and its willingness to run (take a look at the page about its temperament), nor about the conditions necessary for letting your pet run freely.

Hair care. You don’t need to do absolutely anything regarding hairless dog’s hair. When we talk about a powder puff dog, its hair, if properly cared for, should be long, thick and shiny. It is necessary to give it regular baths and comb it daily in order to achieve that luxuriant looks. You must use shampoos especially made for dogs (shampoos for human use are not appropriate, not even those for babies) because human skin and dog skin don’t have the same acidity. In pet shops you can find nowadays a great number of products for the care of your pet’s hair, and it is also desirable to have a bottle of conditioner too (also made for dogs only!). The conditioner makes the dog’s long hair easier to comb, and we avoid its damaging and breaking.

Skin care refers to hairless dogs, naturally. These dogs’ skin is very gentle and sensitive, easily irritated and liable to infections, so it is really necessary to pay special attention to its care. It implicates regular baths (approximately once a week, but you yourself will adjust the schedule to your own dog) and it also involves rubbing some lotion, cream or body milk in its skin after the bath, to prevent its skin from becoming dry and sore. Do not forget: this dog does not have fur to protect it! As a result, its skin is highly affected by the UV rays, so if you don’t rub some sun-block in it, it will burn, just like ours would! It needs clothes for cold, windy and rainy days (this also goes for powder puff dogs). Today there is a wide range of products you can choose from, almost as much as when shopping for your own clothes: you can find everything from ordinary vests, jackets and snowsuits, all the way to real jeans and even jerseys.

A semi-coated dog requires more care than the other two types. Since it is hairless on some parts of its body, and has long hair on others, it needs both kinds of care mentioned above. And if you take your dog to exhibitions, it requires just a little bit more than that. It may seem complicated, but it not considered being the most representative type of all for no reason!

The unwritten exhibition requirements for this type of a dog are: the crest should be as shiny, luxurious and beautiful as possible, and it implicates complete hairlessness of the rest of the body. Since the rest of its body is almost never totally hairless (there is less hair than in crests and it is really short, but it exists), a semi-coated dog requires shaving in order to look at its best. If you don’t take your dog to exhibitions, you can choose whether to shave it or not. When shaving it, you should use machines for cutting animal hair (the ones for cutting human hair can also be used, but they are less efficient). You need to apply a mild antibacterial lotion (the best one would be herbal) to its skin after shaving it, just as you would do with human skin, and afterwards you need to rub some cream in it. Certain owners give their dog a bath first, and then shave it, and some of them do it vice-versa. It is up to you to choose the way to care for your pet.

All this may sound too hard, but in return you will always have a tender and a warm roommate that smells great right by your side. We should add here that these dogs don’t have that characteristic dog smell.

Teeth. Hairless dogs have weaker teeth that have tendency towards falling out (it is genetically related to their hairlessness), so you shouldn’t give them solid food to eat nor bones to play with. You should take care of its teeth in the same way you would do with any other dog. You should occasionally wash its teeth using a brush and a toothpaste for dogs; instead of toothpaste sometimes you can use a mild solution of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), or chamomile tea. In pet shops, you can find various types of food that cleans their teeth when eaten. Also, most kinds of granulated food made by renowned manufacturers have the same cleaning purpose when given dry to the dog. Finally, the good old apple has the same effect on everyone’s teeth.

Ears. Just as with any other dog, it is enough to clean the accessible part of the ear with cotton sticks (do not insert the cotton stick too deep into the ear, you might damage the ear-drum). Healthy ear should not have any smell or leakage; if you notice something like that, or if you notice that your dog often scratch its ear region, go see a veterinarian.

Eyes. They do not require any special treatment, as long as they are healthy. Sometimes an irritation or a mild infection might occur, which will cause eyes to become wet and bleary. You should wash their eyes with a sterile 3% solution of boric acid for eyes (emphasize it while purchasing), or with some chamomile tea few times a day and the symptoms should be gone in one to two days. If the symptoms persist after this period, go see a veterinarian.

Problems with parasites and their prevention. A Chinese crested dog has less problems with flees (they have nowhere to live and hide) but it has problems with ticks, just as any other dog. The ticks transmit piroplasmosis – an illness very hard to cure, with death being the most common outcome – so the dog should be treated regularly with products against these insects. Furthermore, adult dogs should be given pills against intestinal parasites – optimum time is every three to four months.

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Chinese crested dogs are generally healthy; there are no illnesses typical for this race. If you provide it with proper care and respect the specific needs caused by its hairlessness, you will have a healthy and very joyful pet!
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Tagovi: care, Chinese Crested dog, grooming, health, nutrition
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