Aeris is our sweet hairless Chinese Crested female. We became hers out of the generosity, kindness, and trusting of a very special person, whom I have the pleasure of calling my friend. Alana, from Texas, has Aeris mother, Fritzy Ritz (For more information on Fritzy, please check out the link to Noble Aspirations). Another person who had a lot to do with Aeris, (her owner before us, actually) is Jon, who owns Barney Google(For more information on Barney, please check out the link to Trubos Chinese Cresteds and Lowchens), one of the top Cresteds in the U.S. (Barney is also Fritzys dad!). Jon and Alana trusted our family enough to send this special, wonderful girl all the way to the Cayman Islands, and if you ask Alana, it was almost a nightmare! But to tell the truth, I cant thank either of them enough for entrusting her to our care!
Aeris is (first and foremost) a beloved family pet. She often shares (more often than not, she takes over!) the bed with all of our family members! Due to this, we dont keep her as hairless as we could, with the exception of the weekly shave, she remains a wee bit hairy most of the time. We dont put her through the ordeal (and believe me! For her, it IS an ordeal!) of a full-fledged grooming, except for once a month (or unless there will be a show, then its that two days!).
Chinese Cresteds are fabulous dogs to have! They are fun-loving, and I find them to be very protective (which can be funny at times!) dogs. Aeris, I find, doesnt bark unless she feels that we are threatened, or she feels threatened herself. They are great with kids and (generally speaking, with the right exposure as a pup) other dogs as well. For pets, they are GREAT at agility, but dont expect them to get their obedience title any time soon! They generally have their own feelings about how things should be, and they do it! This is not a dog for the control freak! Trust me!
The hairless variety may very well be harder to groom (the HAIRY hairless, at least), but you will find that if you have any allergies, the hairless is definitely the way to go! She is very strong-willed, and loves to be the center of attention. She definitely lives up to her name!
Aeris has now gotten her Cayman Islands Kennel Club Championship with three nice BIS wins in a row! We couldn't be more pleased with her! Now, at least, we are seriously considering breeding Aeris. We'll let you know what we decide, but for now, we are looking into some pedigrees! It's odd, because now when we buy a Crested, we have to look at not only how well they are going to do in the ring, but if they would be a good match for Aeris. Even in Roth's case! (Town and Country N'CO) We'll see how he matures, then let you all know what we decide!