Hairless breeds, Xoloitzcuintle
Hairless breeds such as the Xoloitzcuintle, Peruvian Hairless, Peruvian Inca Orchid, and Khala are generically considered pila which simply means "without hair”.
They are the oldest known dog breeds to live with people. Most of them were used to hunt small game, thus they have a high prey drive. They were raised as guard dogs, for medicinal purposes, and yes, even as food.
Many hairless dogs share similar traits; they have a hairless and coated variety often born in the same litter, the hairless are often missing teeth, they are naturally hardy and healthy, and they tend to recognize and gravitate towards their own kind. Much of the following information on breed traits and personality I have included in the Xolo category since these are the most common of the hairless dogs found today.
The Xoloitzcuintle, or Xoloitzcuintli (show-lo-eets-qweent-lee), commonly referred to as the Mexican Hairless, is an ancient breed whose ancestors ranged from Mexico to South America.
Proof that they shared their lives with many early civilizations of the pre-Columbian era can be found in pottery shards and relics. Aztecs raised hairless dogs for food and for their medicinal purposes. It was thought that the dogs could heal arthritis, asthma, and other ailments. The meat was thought to have curative properties. We may think of this as barbaric, but to these people it was no different than raising say, a herd of sheep or goats. They depended on these dogs for their survival.
The Mayans and Toltecs worshipped them as gods. Legends tell us that the god Xolotl sent a messenger, Itzcuintle, made of a sliver of his bone to guide mankind in his life journey through the afterlife to be reborn. It is said that the xolo was born flesh from deep within a volcano that left the hair singed from his body so all would know the pain he endured to help mankind.
The dog was the only domestic animal to be buried with their master when they passed on. It was thought that to be without a dog when you die would forever block your passage to the underworld. The stories say that the dog would stand before the gods at his masters side and judge the man on how he treated his dog. This same theme can be found in Egypt as Anubis, the dog-headed god of the dead.