Hairless dogs such as Chinese crested dogs are very old breeds. Statues from Mexican hairless dogs have been dated to 1700 BC. We recently discovered that a mutation in the FOXI3 gene causes the hairlessness. This illustrates how the existing variety of different dog breeds can facilitate important discoveries in developmental biology and biomedical research. For our further research we need samples from hairless dogs and also from the coated varieties of the hairless breeds (e.g. Powderpuff). If you would like to contribute the body of a deceased dog or if your dog has to be put to sleep, please contact us. Thereby, the death of your dog could lead to the benefit of humans and other dogs.
In the course of our research we are also looking for genetic factors influencing the amount of residual hair on hairless dogs. There are so-called true hairless dogs with very little or no hair and also hairless dogs with a substantial amount of residual body hair (sometimes termed "semi-coated). If you own a hairless dog and are willing to contribute to our research, please contact us.
Contact: Professor Tosso Leeb