# Peruvian Inca Orchid Pups, Birth to 12 Weeks



## Pai

Also known as a 'Peruvian Hairless Dog (PIO)'. This is a breed related to the Xolo and Chinese Crested, though they were bred towards sighthound lines more than the Xolo and only come in one size (17" to 22"). For an overview of the breed, you can visit the U.S. club website.

These photos were shared on a mailing list I am on, and I though that some folks would be interested to see one of the rarest of the hairless dog breeds.

Here is the dam:









Newborn:








Notice the variety of hair patterns in the puppies. This is a feature of the variable hairless gene that the Xolo, Crested, and PIO all share.

4 weeks:








All the pups were female and hairless. Just like with the Xolo and Crested, fully coated pups can be born as well, even from a hairless to hairless mating.

6 weeks:
The 'hairy hairless' pup:









Green Spotted Collar:









Red Collar:









Pink Collar:









Purple Collar:









Stacked pictures coming next...


----------



## Pai

*7 weeks old:*
Hairy Hairless Girl:









Green Spots Collar









Red Collar









Pink Collar (who is the breeder's pick puppy):
















Purple Collar:









*12 week stacks *(only 3, since Red and Purple collar have already gone to their families):

Hairy Hairless pup:









Green Spots Collar:









Pink Collar (the pick puppy):















She already looks a lot like her mom, imo. =)

In the breeder's opinion, Pink and Purple Collar girls were the two best pups in the litter, though she picked the Pink Collar because of her prettier head. I know squat about the PIO standard (or sighthound conformation), but I also thought she was the cutest pup.


----------



## MoosMom

I love hairless dogs. I probably will never get the chance to own one.  Great shots. My son(who is 4) promptly called them pigs. LOL.


----------



## Cracker

Very cute...they really do have the sighthound (whippet?) type body, with the slightly arched back. In the first pic of the pups with mum I actually giggled at the mohawked one..lol


----------



## lucidity

Love the picture series! Is it just me or did hairy hairless pup lose her hair? Lol. That sounded like a tongue twister.


----------



## BooLette

Oh, Pai you're killing me! I LOVE PIOs. I have been dreaming of getting a PIO for sooo long. I really like the Xolos too, but I hear that they are a little more feisty.  It's really interesting to see the varying degrees of hair that can occur in all one litter. 

The first time I showed my husband pictures of a litter of chinese cresteds it was hard for him to wrap his head around the fact that there were powderpuffs and then varying degrees of hairlessness all in the same litter. It was funny.


----------



## Pai

> Love the picture series! Is it just me or did hairy hairless pup lose her hair? Lol. That sounded like a tongue twister.


The breeder said that hair tends to appear less as they grow, and also it may just be the lighting, since sparse white hair is hard to see.



BooLette said:


> Oh, Pai you're killing me! I LOVE PIOs. I have been dreaming of getting a PIO for sooo long. I really like the Xolos too, but I hear that they are a little more feisty.  It's really interesting to see the varying degrees of hair that can occur in all one litter.
> 
> The first time I showed my husband pictures of a litter of chinese cresteds it was hard for him to wrap his head around the fact that there were powderpuffs and then varying degrees of hairlessness all in the same litter. It was funny.


Yeah, the diversity of the gene is not as strongly expressed in the PIO or Xolo as it is in the Crested, since for the last two decades or so there has been purposeful selection for hairier dogs in Cresteds than what would be tolerated in the other breeds. Originally Cresteds were pretty consistantly true (or nearly true) hairless (If you look at the 1980s and before), with hairier dogs being an anomaly. The Xolo and PIO do not have a requirement for 'furnishings' so they have stayed pretty strictly bald overall.

The green spotted collar and the hairy pup are still available, as I understand it.


----------



## HersheyBear

those puppies are oddly adorable!


----------



## Pai

They're cuter than Xolo pups, imo (which are _really _wrinkly as babies):
















I think grown Xolos are very pretty, but not so much when they're babies. 

Even though the PIO, Xolo, and Crested have the same hairless gene (and come from the same ancestors if you go back far enough), they are still different breeds with physical features (and histories) unique to each one. =)


----------



## animalcraker

Aww... the Xolos look like baby Rhinos


----------



## momof3

I know this thread is older but I wanted to post this. I believe that one of these dogs is at a local shelter here. I seen the dog and then it was adopted but it has been returned. If anyone is interested I can post links for them. I don't know if this dog is full blooded or not but it looks very much like a PIO


----------



## stacey101

I love hairless dogs <3 ( always wanted a Crested myself )


----------



## Poly

Our DIL is Peruvian so she is quite familiar with the PIO which is still quite rare in the US. 

They are considered the national dog of Peru where they are called "Perros sin Pelo del Peru". In Peru, they come in three sizes (small, medium, and large) and all three sizes are allowed. The large size ones can stand over two feet tall (at the withers) and weigh over 50 pounds.. The most common size, though, is about the same size as a whippet.

Some are totally bald, but many of them have some small tufts of hair, usually on their head, back and tail. Hairy feet are very common. All different kinds of hair patterns can show up in the same litter. Every so often a full coated pup shows up in a litter. In Peru, the breeders keep these for themselves because they feel they produce stronger pups. 

Yes they are considered sighthounds in Peru, and the medium and large ones are still used for hunting in that way. In the US, they can compete in ASFA Lure Coursing and UKC Lure Coursing .


----------



## momof3

Here is a link to him,if anyones interested in adopting him I will do whatever I can to help out. http://petsinc.org/availabledogs.php?startnum=20


----------



## Hallie

Aw! Those newborn pictures were sooo cute! They're very interesting looking.


----------



## WheatenDaneMom

The green spotted collar won me over! I love newborn baby pups


----------



## Niraya

They're so cute :3

I wish I could have one.


----------



## hequestrian

They are quite cute. When I got my little CC Powder Puff the male of the litter was a hairless with the CUTEST furnishings. He looked like he had a little mohawk. I thought he was adorable as a puppy but really wanted a PP... 

I think that the breed history of theses dogs is very interesting but I don't know that I would want a pup with no hair for myself. They require a lot of different maintenance from what I have heard. But are still quite cool! I loved getting to meet the hairless sibling of my little lady and learning about the different litter combinations etc. She was 1 of 3 and 2 were powder puffs. 

Very cool pics! Thank you for sharing!


----------



## Pai

Well, since this thread has been bumped back from the dead, here is a picture of the pick puppy (Pink Collar) all grown up: 










=)


----------



## Niraya

WOW!

She's SOOOOO Pretty!


----------



## LittleFr0g

She's beautiful!


----------



## Charis

She looks prettier as an adult than she did as a puppy!


----------



## Sibe

The pink collar puppy.. I think that is the first hairless dog that has ever looked truly beautiful to me. I definitely think some are cute in the "so ugly it's cute" kind of way where it's cute for the uniqueness, but not so with pink collar. She is really beautiful in the prettiest way possible.


----------



## Karamay

I don't think I could own one (I like big fluffy dogs lol) but they're so cool looking and interesting! Are they an old breed?


----------



## ThoseWordsAtBest

MAN. I would have taken either purple or pink. I love them naked babies.


----------



## Pai

Karamay said:


> I don't think I could own one (I like big fluffy dogs lol) but they're so cool looking and interesting! Are they an old breed?


Yeah, the pre-colonization-era South American cultures (Aztec, Inca, etc) had a thing for hairless dogs. They were an important part of their spiritual belief system and were believed to have healing powers. The modern Chinese Crested (which isn't really from China), Xoloitzcuintli, and Peruvian Inca Orchid are all descendents of those dogs.


----------



## CrazyDogLady

MoosMom said:


> I love hairless dogs. I probably will never get the chance to own one.  Great shots. My son(who is 4) promptly called them pigs. LOL.


I was thinking that they looked like piglets wearing wigs (in the best possible way) in the newborn pic!


----------

