Undafyre Xoloitzcuintle

The Legend of the Butterfly Dog

In ancient times, Xoloitzcuintlis were sacrificed and buried with the newly departed. Most of the time, it was with their master, but sometimes it was a stranger to them. In any event, the dog was tied to the deceased with a red ribbon so that the dog wouldn’t get “loose” in the afterworld. The Xolo’s job was to guide the soul of his or her master through nine levels to reach Mictlan (heaven), then help him cross the Chiconahuapan, a river that was the last level before getting to Mictlan. According to the belief, the Xolo would swim across the river with the soul of the person on their back. A red dog was preferred because black ones were too “dirty,” and lighter colored dogs were too “pure,” but whatever color the dog, crossing the river with the soul of his or her master got the dog dirty from the water.

Once the pair reached heaven, they met Mictlantecuhtli, lord of the underworld. Mictlantecuhtli always asked the Xolo if s/he wanted to stay in heaven or return to earth. Some dogs decided to stay with their beloved master in heaven, but dogs who had been sacrificed for someone they didn’t know had no particular loyalty to them, and chose to go back to earth. In order to return to earth, however, they had to cross the river one more time.

Instead of making the dogs dirty the second time they crossed the river, the water cleansed them. These dogs returned with white marks on their legs, chests, tail, and sometimes face because that’s where the water splashed them the most. Back on earth, everybody knew that a Xolo marked this way had returned to earth from the underworld. Now, when you see a butterfly Xolo, you know that the dog is a blessing sent directly from heaven.

We thank Giovanna Suedan for the wonderful telling of this story, and aslo mention that according to the breed's AKC standard, a dark, uniform color is preferred, ranging from black, gray black, slate, to red, liver or bronze, but white spots and markings are permitted.

Photo of two Xolos is by © Irina Meshcheryakova | Dreamstime.

When it's winter and you're a Xolo

Enjoying the autumn sun

We are terrible pet owners 😂
Missed our lil Scarlett's 5th birthday on the 10th April. Happy barkday you crazy girl.

Thank you to Solstice Xolos for this incredible post about this breed.

A reply I made to someone's post asking about Xolos, just to have it in one place:
Xoloitzcuintli

I like to start with the bad and get that out of the way.
My jokes about the bad:
1. You'll have a lot of conversations surrounding how to say the name. A lot.
2. A lot of people will ask you how much your dog cost, it feels weird.
3. It's impossible to have just one.

Now more serious:
This is an independent primitive breed. Which means that they have a strong sense of survival, and typically a high prey drive, and low biddability. The result can be a dog that is challenging for the average pet owner, particularly during adolescence. I do say that they mature remarkably into just phenomenal adult dogs, that I personally think are fantastic family companions, but you have to be able to work them through their adolescence in order to get to that point. Otherwise, you end up with a dog that absolutely controls your life and is not fun to live with. And frankly that goes for any of the more challenging breeds. On average, they are not praise motivated, and they're certainly not eager to please. They are not a modern breed bred specifically for compliance and ease of training. And that's all important to take into account when you're considering bringing in a Xolo to your family.

During adolescence, like all dogs, Xolos go through a series of fear periods. In many breeds this presents as one or two weeks of fearful behavior and minor reactivity to new stimulus (or things they've always seen but have only just noticed.) In protective breeds, such as GSDs and Doberman, we see instead Suspicion Periods, which are much more intense as they decide what is and is not a threat to be dealt with. I find Xolos easier than adolescent guardian breeds, but far harder than companion and sporting breeds. Primitive dog fear periods are often longer lasting and more explosive than modern breeds. In mine I've typically seen each last around a month or so before settling down. During this period loud reactive barking to new stimulus, ESPECIALLY strangers and unfamiliar dogs, is extremely common. In fact my Xolos have all been very environmentally confident, but people and other dogs have been the hard one. Which makes sense for the breed, they're a village watch dogs (not guard dog, mind you, they're non-combative alarm bells.) Xolos are also stranger aloof, which as adults typically looks like indifference, but in puppies presents as fear and reactivity. Understanding the Look at That game and Engage/Disengage game has made getting through this much easier with mine.

When it comes to training this breed is challenging, but I love working with them. (That said I love working with all primitive breeds so I may just be weird.) They are typically very, very food motivated, which can make things easier to some extent. However, they are above all FUN motivated, and the moment things become repetitive, boring, or anything other than FUN for them, they check out. They are not a dog you can get frustrated with, as they will simply shut you out. Early training sessions have to be fast paced (never "keep at it until we get it right,") interesting, and short. Rely on play to finish each session and they'll start to look forward to it more and give you their undivided attention better and better. Puppies I find do great with obedience training, whereas the adolescents have done best with just focusing on getting them out and about a lot for calm, laid back exposure sessions. Then as they start to mature, I focus more on cementing obedience. My experiences are not universal, of course, and I've only raised three and helped with several others at this point. But, based on my discussions with longer-time owners and breeders, I stand by my experience.

Now on to the good, and there is so much good. Xolos are absolutely remarkable, addictive, fun, and joyful dogs. They have what I can only describe as an excellent sense of humor. They love fun, they're jokesters, goofy, and made of springs. Making their people laugh seems to be a top priority, second only to amusing themselves. When out and about you see a very serious, stoic dog who is keenly observing the world around them, assessing their environment for threats. Once they've concluded all is well, the clownish antics break out. They love to hop on their hind legs, twist and twirl in the air, give you the goofiest googly eyed looks (I've seen the same expressions on Ibizan Hounds and Dobermans.) Despite the AKC website calling them "quiet," mine are not. They aren't really nuisance barkers, though certainly will loudly sound off about potential threats (such as the package delivery truck), but they're talkative in their own way. My oldest likes to say "wuff!" and playbow when she wants to do something (anything, really!) My boy does a lot of contented groans and sighs and such. My youngest is my most vocal and sounds like an army of tiny bears when she plays with all the odd roaring she does. In the show ring or the park, though, you are presented with what looks to be a regal, quiet, very proud dog. Don't let this deceive you, there's an absolute goofball under that facade.

Despite their strong sense of survival, all of mine will at least try anything I ask of them. They crave connection with their people, they want you involved in their fun, and their joy is infectious. They are absolutely a Jack of all trades, master of none. Mine dabble in agility, rally, and scentwork. They enjoy it, but it is strictly a game to them, one that they might change the rules to at any given moment. A Xolo is unlikely to ever out-compete modern breeds in these performance venues (other than Fast CAT, which Xolos often love and clock highly in), but they're eager to dip their toes into a little bit of everything. Whatever you're doing, they want to do too (for better or for worse.) So if you say "hey let's go run this agility course together!" They tend to be game. But if you say "hey, let's run this same course a third time!" They tend to get bored and make up their own, new course. It's always a balancing act, they keep me on my toes, when it comes to sports and training.

When it comes to just living with them, I find the breed remarkably easy and pleasant to share a home with. Twenty minutes of play twice a day, either one longer training session or two short sessions, and they're content to settle and plunge, entertaining themselves or cuddling with me on the sofa. They bring me a sense of contentment and peace when I can sit on the couch while my Xolos surround me, no on top of me, but just against or near me, and they're napping or gnawing on bones while I watch TV or read. Then when I've the energy to get up and go for a hike, they're all game. Even for a very long hike over uneven terrain, the endurance of Xolos is phenomenal, but not to be confused with hyperactivity. Even my youngest is excellent at settling and relaxing.

Xolos are very easy to fall in love with, and while they're not perfect for everyone (no breed is), they fill your life with joy and laughter...so long as you can survive the adolescence, and are able to put the work in.

Scarlett went to Bunnings today to help pick out some new plants 🪴

𝗗𝗢𝗚𝗦 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗦 - 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥

We're excited to be presenting an introduction to balanced fresh food feeding tomorrow evening Monday 26.02.24 at 6pm QLD time.

This is a completely free webinar being offered by The Balanced Canine and Dogs QLD.

To sign up, hit this link and share with your Dogs QLD friends:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ORptywwtRjm17yjv_WDTgw?fbclid=IwAR3t4EOtvnJ4pNYP6fN32hNrM9OS_oKnXpXykdtoFhp9aPJnKFA8PXNykHo #/registration

We don't do dog parks (unless they are empty OR you are there with well adjusted and socialised dogs you know) and neither should you.

By Stateofmind dog training

Baby Havana 🥹

Whether coated or hairless, they're just beautiful

The girls rocking their new Star Wars collars from Pablo & Co. Boutique

When it's hot outside so you're in the air con, but still love the sun

Hairless and coated; both as beautiful as each other

Sabias que en las camadas de xoloitzcuintles nacen con pelo y sin pelo?
Es un mito que los que tienen pelo lo tiraran cuando crezcan, ellos son así toda su vida e igualmente los que nacen sin pelo ♥️

While we are disappointed that the breeding between Havana and Carlos didn't take, we have some exciting developments underway and will share soon.
When one door closes, another opens!

This!

💬🐶 LET’S TALK SOCIALISATION! 🐶💬

If you’ve recently welcomed a puppy into your life, you’re probably keen to start introducing them to other people and other dogs as soon as possible, during that all-important ‘socialisation window’. ⏲️🪟🐕

But what should socialisation actually look like?

🤔 Does your puppy really need to meet dogs of all different ages, breeds, and temperaments in order to learn the right etiquette?
🤔 Do you actually need to work through a checklist of different people, animals, events, and environments for your puppy to experience in the first few weeks?
😬 Or could that actually overwhelm them and knock their confidence and optimism?

The traditional view of ‘socialisation’ would have you believe that you have a critical window in which to expose your puppy to as many experiences as possible, to prepare them for everything they are going to encounter in life. The truth is, this approach relies on exposure and it can really go quite wrong for a lot of dogs, no matter their age. It is what we would call training IN the situation, before your pup has the skills and knowledge FOR that situation.

At absoluteDOGS, we know socialisation is actually an opportunity to cleverly show your puppy that the world is a safe place that they can navigate with you by their side. It’s not about a checklist of things to expose your puppy to… It’s really an opportunity to provide your puppy with a foundation of optimism, confidence, and value in YOU (not the environment and everything it has on offer)! 🐾😍

Socialisation is a life-long event in many ways. We should be regularly training for novelty and non-events, preparing our dogs for real-life scenarios, and doing that over a more extended time period – all while growing optimism, confidence and disengagement skills. We’ve got to be our dog’s guardians, their protectors, and learn when to say “no” to socialisation to guard their carefully grown optimism! ✨✅💪🐶

Keen to learn HOW to get socialisation right from the start and grow confidence and optimism for your puppy (or rehome, rescue, foster or existing family dog)? ✨💖

🔗 Check out our FREE eBook on ‘Socialisation’ in our Secrets to Raising A Puppy: The absoluteDOGS Way resource bundle!
https://absolutedogs.me/resources

🔗 And head over to our absoluteDOGS TV YouTube channel to find our video on How to Smash Through Your Puppy's Socialisation Checklist!
https://youtu.be/tYf1bEaGPhY

It's the news we didn't want to hear 😔 unfortunately no puppies were detected on Havana's ultrasound 😭 we are saddened and disappointed, but that's breeding. There are highs and lows.

And we wouldn't have it any other way

Sith Lord Havana

When your local Big W has a great deal on dog toys, couldn't resist buying them for the hopeful pups 🥰

Scarlett enjoying her time out at Sprint Dog with her big bro Finn

Nearly 2 weeks since Havana's AI.
No real changes; can't wait until we can confirm with Ultrasound

It's now been a week since Havana was AI'ed.
Ultrasound in 3 weeks but early signs are positive; she's being a lot more affectionate and cuddly with us 😊