It’s been a while since I’ve done a “What Breed Is It?” post, so I thought I’d kick it off again with a somewhat common breed!

These little guys are an ancient toy breed thought to be about 2000 years old and originally from China, where they are revered and can be seen in a number of Chinese art pieces. They were known as “Lion Dogs” or “Fu Dogs” and were considered guardian spirits.
The breed has long-haired and short coats and the current preference among breeders and show judges are long coats, which make the dogs look like little mops. They …read more

This week’s What Is It? was a Chinese Crested! (Mar got it right!) The hairless breed really does have two coats – an actual hairless and a powderpuff.
Despite its name many experts don’t think they actually originated in China. It wasn’t until the 1920’s that records were even kept about the breed, and weren’t even recognizec by the AKC until 1991.

This week’s What Is It? is a hairless breed that, oddly enough, can actually have fur as well! Both types — hairless and powderpuff — can be born in the same litter.
The hairless (dominant) have puffs of fur on their paws, tail and head, and the powderpuff actually have a thick double coat.
Do you know what breed this is?
[image: flickr]

There were several correct guesses for this week’s What Is it? It was a Shar Pei!
Shar Peis are probably best down for their big wrinkly coats and blue-black tongues (which actually lead some people to believe they’re a distant relation to Chow Chows, who also have the dark tongues).
Originally from China, they’re also known as Chinese Shar Peis, and the name roughly translated means “sand skin” in reference to their short, rough coat. The coat comes in two varieties – one is the western type that keeps the large, deep folds and wrinkles they’re known for, and the …read more

This breed from China begins life as a very wrinkly puppy, but actually smooths out the older it gets. They’re also considered one of the rarest dog breeds in the world and weren’t even recognized by the AKC until 1991!
Do you know what it is?
[image: flickr]

Last week’s What Is It? didn’t manage to get a correct answer!
The dog breed is a Komondor, a livestock guardian dog breed originally from Hungary. Their white corded coats are said to be the heaviest in the canine world and require a lot of care and maintenance to keep the cords separated so they don’t become a giant matted mess! It’s said the coat also protected the dogs from wolf bites since the wolves couldn’t get through the cords.
The Komondor is similar to the Puli breed except that a Komondor is always white, whereas a Puli can be white, …read more

This week’s What Is It breed is a dog whose white coat actually grows out to form long cords! As you can imagine its grooming requires a lot of time and attention. Do you know what it is?
Last month’s What Is It was correctly identified as a Bedlington Terrier!
[image: flickr]