American Hairless Terrier

Until the 1970s the American Hairless Terrier was identical in stature and purpose to the Rat Terrier. The American Hairless Terrier was created when a rare mutation occurred in a litter or Rat Terrier puppies born in Louisiana in 1972. In this litter of seemingly normal Rat Terriers was a puppy that was completely hairless. The breeders of this litter did not know what to do with this hairless female puppy that had pink skin with black spots. Once the puppy was weaned, they gave her to Willie and Edwin Scott. The female puppy was named Josephine and was the first completely hairless Rat Terrier that was recorded. Josephine became the foundation female for the American Hairless Terrier. Josephine was bred and produced one hairless puppy in her first litter. This puppy was also a female. Josephine was bred several other times and did not produce another hairless puppy until she was nine years old. She produced two hairless puppies, one male and one female. The Scotts used the hairless offspring from Josephine to create a breeding program that was used to produce hairless Rat Terriers that would eventually become American Hairless Terriers. These dogs are not typical of other hairless breeds; there is no Powderpuff variety in the American Hairless Terriers. However, because this breed derived from a coated breed, there are American Hairless Terriers who have a short coat similar to that of the Rat Terrier. The American Hairless Terrier is considered to be a hypoallergenic breed, although no breed is completely hypoallergenic. In 2016, the American Hairless Terrier was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club.