American Hairless Terrier

The American Hairless Terrier is a very agile dog that requires lots of care. Leaving this dog alone for extended periods is not an option. Otherwise, the American Hairless Terrier might start destroying the home’s interior and chewing on objects.

A Little Bundle of Energy

Yay, off it goes! The American Hairless Terrier never rests for long. Provide it with opportunities to expend its surplus energy by ensuring frequent and regular outdoor exercise.

Particularly challenging and varied games intrigue the AHT. This way, it can satisfy its curiosity and consistently demonstrate new skills.

Tip: Why not try agility for small dogs, obedience, or the odd trick.

Keeping in an Apartment

As the American Hairless Terrier isn’t particularly large, there’s nothing against keeping it in an apartment. It’s substantially happier staying close to its family rather than in a kennel.

But beware: The little Terrier isn’t content with permanent indoor living. Take it outside multiple times daily and offer it incentives against boredom. As a family dog for active families, the breed is excellent.

The American Hairless Terrier is easygoing when it comes to food. Generally, it eats everything. Its diet can include vegetables, fruits, meat, and moderate amounts of grain.

It likes both dry dog food and wet dog food and usually tolerates most sorts well. For particularly sensitive skin, there are also special dog foods that regulate sebum production.

With hairless dogs like the American Hairless Terrier, there’s inevitably the question of whether it’s a breed with associated health issues. In some hairless breeds, the hairlessness and other health problems are on the same allele. Breeders therefore accept the health impairments for the desired trait of naked skin.

Hence, the breeding of hairless dogs is often controversial. However, the American Hairless Terrier is not known to suffer from typical breed-related illnesses associated with the genetic anomaly.

Sensitive Skin

The American Hairless Terrier is known to be robust and disease-resistant. Nevertheless, its soft, sensitive skin is a weak spot. The hairless dogs quickly become stressed in cool temperatures or under intense sun exposure.

Even though the skin darkens in summer, there is still an elevated risk for sunburn and skin cancer. Therefore, it makes sense to have special skin cream for your pet at home. With it, you can care for irritated and inflamed skin as needed.

Your vet will be happy to advise you on this during regular routine check-ups. And don’t forget to attend the necessary vaccination appointments.

How Old Does the American Hairless Terrier Get?

As a small breed, the American Hairless Terrier can reach a proud age of twelve to fourteen years.

The American Hairless Terrier is easy to care for. Lacking fur, you won’t need to brush it or remove hairs from the sofa and covers. However, the reduced grooming requirement is offset by other responsibilities: You need to protect the animal against harsh environmental conditions.

• Use special sunscreen for your dog in sunny weather. Especially in the early spring days when the skin is yet to darken, there’s a risk of sunburn.
• In wind, cold, and rain, dress your dog in a coat for protection. This ensures the pet doesn’t get chilled or even suffer skin burns, increasing the risk of skin cancer.
• Furthermore, you can bathe your pet in the case of heavy soiling.

Good for Sensitive Human Noses: The American Hairless Terrier has virtually no body odour.

Breeding of the American Hairless Terrier began in the early 1970s when a hairless puppy surprised breeders in a litter of coated Rat Terriers. The unique female went to Edwin and Willie Scott, who named her Josephine and fell so in love that they started a breeding programme.

After some initial failures, the couple managed to breed more hairless puppies, laying the groundwork for the American Hairless Terrier. However, it took about 30 years until the United Kennel Club recognised the breed. The FCI has not yet listed it.