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Chinese Crested breeders

The Chinese Crested is a small companion breed in The Royal Kennel Club’s Toy group.

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Advertise your Chinese Crested puppies, litters and stud dogs

Do you breed Chinese Cresteds, hairless or Powder Puff? List your kennel on caninebreeder.co.uk so buyers searching for Chinese Crested puppies for sale, and owners looking for a Chinese Crested stud dog, can find you. A basic listing shows your kennel or business name, location, website, social media and breed categories. Paid plans let you advertise Chinese Crested puppies for sale, planned litters and stud dogs, and showcase your PLL and prcd-PRA results, prices and past litters. Add your listing or compare plans.

No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.

  • Free basic profile: your breeder or company name, website, social media, location, breeds and industries.
  • Litters and stud dogs advertised in their own sections, never mixed with puppies for sale.
  • Premium showcase for your services and prices, previous customers, awards, video, gallery and health certificates, with your phone and email shown to buyers.
  • Sponsored articles about your breed or industry, written and published by our team.
  • Featured placement at the top of this page, labelled as sponsored.

Create your free breeder profile Advertise a litter Advertise a stud dog

Is it free to advertise here?

Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.

Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?

In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.

Is my listing already here?

We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.

About the Chinese Crested

The Chinese Crested is a small companion breed in The Royal Kennel Club's Toy group. According to the RKC breed page, there is evidence of the breed as far back as China's Han Dynasty, when larger dogs of the type were used for hunting, and the RKC describes today's dog as a sporting breed in miniature. It comes in two varieties. The hairless has a crest of fine hair running from the head down the neck, hair on the toes ("socks") and a plume on the tail; the Powder Puff is covered all over in a soft veil of hair. Both are registered as one breed, and a Powder Puff can be recorded as such when the litter is registered.

Size and build. The breed standard recognises two types: the fine-boned, racy Deer type and the heavier Cobby type. Ideal height is 28 to 33 cm at the withers for dogs and 23 to 30 cm for bitches, and weight should not go over 5.4 kg (12 lb). It asks for very dark almond eyes, large low-set upright ears (Powder Puffs may have drop ears), long narrow hare feet and a long, flowing stride. Hairless dogs have forward-pointing canines, a primitive trait, and should not be penalised for missing teeth.

Coat and skin. The RKC suggests grooming about once a week. The standard describes hairless skin as fine-grained, smooth and warm to the touch. The Chinese Crested Club of Great Britain Rescue, a registered charity, says a hairless dog's time in the sun should be limited, with sun cream only for long exposure or pale skin, and a fleece or coat is enough for winter walks. The Powder Puff needs thorough, regular grooming to stop mats forming in the armpits and groin. Any colour is allowed except merle.

Exercise and temperament. The RKC suggests up to 30 minutes' exercise a day, says the breed suits a flat and a small or medium garden in town or country, and gives a lifespan of over 12 years. The standard calls for a happy dog that is never vicious. The rescue describes Cresteds as people-focused dogs that can be reserved with strangers, dislike long spells alone, can be slow to housetrain and are good at escaping. See our guides to companion and family dogs and show dogs, or browse Chinese Crested puppies and stud dogs.

Chinese Crested health tests

The RKC's health guidance for the Chinese Crested lists prioritising genetic diversity as good practice, and two DNA tests as best practice: primary lens luxation (PLL) and progressive retinal atrophy (prcd-PRA). Both are inherited in an autosomal recessive way: a puppy needs two copies of the faulty gene to be affected, while a carrier with one copy shows no signs of the disease but can pass it on. PLL is a painful condition in which the lens moves out of position, which can lead to glaucoma and loss of sight. prcd-PRA makes the cells of the retina degenerate; night blindness is usually the first sign, and sight starts to fail from around three years of age or later. The RKC offers a Chinese Crested DNA testing package covering both tests plus a DNA profile, and publishes lists of tested dogs. Results for registered dogs appear on the Health Test Results Finder.

The breed is in Breed Watch Category 2, with nervous temperament flagged as a point of concern for show judges. Merle is not an acceptable colour under the standard, and the Chinese Crested is not one of the breeds in which the RKC will register merle dogs.

  • DNA test for primary lens luxation (PLL) (RKC best practice)
  • DNA test for progressive retinal atrophy (prcd-PRA) (RKC best practice)
  • Prioritising genetic diversity: coefficient of inbreeding at or below the breed average (RKC good practice)
  • Breed Watch: Category 2

Choosing a Chinese Crested breeder

A good Chinese Crested breeder will have DNA tested both parents for PLL and prcd-PRA and will explain what the results mean for the litter. You can confirm recorded results on the RKC Health Test Results Finder. Because the RKC lists genetic diversity as Good Practice for this breed, ask for the litter's coefficient of inbreeding from the RKC inbreeding calculators and how it compares with the breed average. Nervous temperament is a Breed Watch concern, so watch how the mother reacts to visitors and ask how the puppies are being introduced to handling, household noise and new people. The breeder should tell you whether each puppy is hairless or Powder Puff and give you skin or coat care advice. Under the licence conditions, licensed breeders in England must show puppies with their mother and must not sell them before eight weeks, and every puppy must be microchipped by then. Check for a council licence number where one is needed, and read our buyer safety guide before paying a deposit.

  • Can I see both parents' PLL and prcd-PRA DNA results?
  • What is the coefficient of inbreeding for this litter, and how does it compare with the breed average?
  • How have the puppies been socialised, and can I see them with their mother?
  • Is this puppy hairless or Powder Puff, and how should I care for its skin or coat?
  • Will the puppy be RKC registered, microchipped and vaccinated, and will you take it back if needed?

Chinese Crested questions

Are hairless and Powder Puff Chinese Cresteds the same breed?

Yes. The Royal Kennel Club registers both as the Chinese Crested and one breed standard covers them. Breeders can mark a puppy as Powder Puff when registering the litter, and the term then appears after the breed name on its registration certificate.

How do you look after a hairless Chinese Crested's skin?

The Chinese Crested Club of Great Britain Rescue says a hairless dog's time in the sun should be limited and supervised, with sun cream only for long exposure or pale, easily burnt skin, a simple skin product rather than a shelf of lotions, and a fleece or coat for winter walks. Powder Puffs instead need thorough, regular grooming to prevent mats, especially in the armpits and groin.

What health tests should Chinese Crested parents have?

The RKC lists DNA tests for primary lens luxation (PLL) and progressive retinal atrophy (prcd-PRA) as best practice, and asks breeders to prioritise genetic diversity by keeping the coefficient of inbreeding at or below the breed average.

How big is a Chinese Crested?

The breed standard gives an ideal height of 28 to 33 cm at the withers for dogs and 23 to 30 cm for bitches. Weight varies but should not exceed 5.4 kg (12 lb). There are two types, the lighter Deer type and the heavier Cobby type.

More for Chinese Crested owners and breeders

Official sources