The dainty and affectionate Chinese crested comes in 2 varieties: hairless like the one drawn here and the fluffy powderpuff variety. The origin of this breed is uncertain. This old breed was believed to have once been kept aboard Chinese sailing vessels as a vermin hunter and to have descended from African hairless pariah dogs. By the mid-1800’s they had begun appearing in European art and were being entered in American dog shows by the end of the 1800’s. Unfortunately, during the Han Dynasty in China, these pooches not only were pets, though ended up as meat for the stew pots when no other meat were available or became the whole entree. Rarely a few served as "treasure house guardians". If you're tired of vacuuming pet hair off the furniture and worrying about fleas, you can make your next dog one of the hairless breeds like the Chinese crested. The only disadvantage of hairless dogs is that these dogs are prone to cold and sunburn really easily.