Peruvian Inca Orchid
A hairless Peruvian sighthound older than the Inca, and it appears on pottery a thousand years old. The bare skin runs warm and needs sun cream.
Photo by PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0
Overview
The Peruvian Inca Orchid is a hairless sighthound that predates the Inca, appearing on Moche pottery from around 750 AD. It comes in three sizes and in both hairless and coated varieties, which occur in the same litters.
The hairless gene is the same type as in the Chinese Crested and the Xoloitzcuintli: dominant, and lethal when a puppy inherits two copies, which is why coated puppies always appear.
Temperament
Affectionate, alert and sensitive. Peruvian Inca Orchids are devoted to their own people and genuinely reserved with strangers, and they are more emotionally delicate than most sighthounds.
They are fast and they have a real prey drive, being sighthounds underneath. They are also warm seeking and want physical contact, which follows from having no coat. They can be timid without early socialisation.
Care and grooming
No coat to brush, and real skin care instead: sun protection because they burn, moisturising, and a coat in cold weather. Acne and blackheads are common in the hairless variety.
Missing or malformed teeth are common in the hairless dogs and are linked to the same gene. Sighthound anaesthesia sensitivity applies. Twelve to fourteen years.
Living and exercise
An hour a day with a chance to sprint in a secure space.
They are indoor dogs by necessity. The breed is rare outside Peru and it is one of the more genuinely ancient dog types anyone can own.
Something here wrong or out of date?