The Chinese Crested Dog is a hairless breed of dog. Like most hairless dog breeds, the Chinese Crested Dog comes in two varieties, without hair and with hair, which can be born in the same litter: the hairless and the powderpuff.
The Chinese Crested is considered a small breed, weighing on average 10–13 lb (4.5–5.9 kg). The height is 11 to 13 inches (27-33 cm). The breed is fine-boned, with almond-shaped eyes and large, erect ears. There is no color standard for the breed.
At first look, the hairless and powderpuff varieties of Chinese Crested Dogs appear to be two different breeds, but hairless is an incomplete dominant trait within a single breed. The Hairless has soft, humanlike skin, as well as tufts of hair on its paws ("socks") and tail ("plume") and long, flowing hair on its head ("crest"). In addition to being an incomplete dominant gene, the "hairless" gene has a prenatal lethal effect when homozygous.Zygotes affected with double hairless genes never develop into puppies, and are reabsorbed in the womb. All hairless Chinese Crested Dogs are therefore heterozygous.
The hairless variety can vary in amount of body hair. Hair on the muzzle, known as a beard, is not uncommon. A true hairless often does not have as much furnishings (hair on the head, tail, and paws). The difference between a very hairy hairless and a powderpuff is that the hairless has a single coat with hairless parts on the body, while the powderpuff has a thick double coat. The skin of the hairless comes in a variety of colors, ranging from a pale flesh to black. Hairless Chinese Crested Dogs often lack a full set of premolar teeth, but this is not considered a fault.
A powderpuff has a long, soft coat. Both hairless and powderpuff varieties can appear in the same litter. The look of the powderpuff varies according to how it is groomed. When its hair is completely grown out on its face, it strongly resembles a terrier; however, the powderpuff is usually shaved around the snout as a standard cut. The powderpuff Chinese Crested Dog is an elegant and graceful dog who makes a loving companion, playful and entertaining. The powderpuff's coat is long and silky soft.
The amount of body hair on the Hairless variety varies quite extensively, from the true hairless which has very little or no body hair and furnishings, to what is called a "hairy hairless" dog, which, if left ungroomed, often grows a near-full coat of hair. These hairy hairless dogs are not a mix between powderpuffs and hairless Chinese Crested Dogs, but are merely a result of a weaker expression of the variable hairless gene. The mutation responsible for the hairless trait was identified in 2008.
