Many authors have tried to relate all naked dog breeds in Asia, Africa and other countries, and find a common ancestor for them, but their is not much evidence to support this theory. According to one theory the Chinese crested's ancestors came from Africa and moved east to Asia. According to the same theory, all Latin-American hairless dogs, descend from the Chinese crested dogs that were brought to the Latin-American continent by Chinese merchants in pre-columbian times, in exchange for jade and gold. The use of these dogs for healing purposes may have been taught by the Chinese, as well.

Indeed, the hairless dogs hot-skinned body was applied as a heating pad, as a cure for aches and pains, or utilized as welcome bed-warmers as a kind of living 'hot-water bottle'. In more remote times they were sometimes also raised for their meat by dog-eating civilizations.

Most hairless dog breeds have dominant genes for hairlessness. If a genetic trait is dominant, a dog only needs to inherit one copy of the gene, either from the mother or the father (not necessarily from both) for the trait to be expressed.
This means that once the hairless trait appears within a dog population this attribute can be passed to their offspring without human intervention. This explains how groups of hairless dogs came into existence in different parts of the world: South-America, the Middle East and North African areas for centuries.

Some of these hairless types are now extinct, for example, the African Elephant Dog, Turkish Hairless Dog, Guatemalan Hairless, Thai Hairless Boran Dog, Ceylon Hairless dog and Nubian Dog. Other groups of dogs were later developed into recognized breeds, such as the Chinese Crested Dog, the Mexican Hairless Dog, and the Peruvian Hairless Dog.

Only one of the existent hairless breeds has a recessive gene for hairlessness and has been selectively bred for this hairless trait, namely the American Hairless Terrier. If a genetic trait is recessive, a dog needs to inherit two copies of the gene for the trait to be expressed. Thus, both parents have to be carriers of the recessive gene for hairlessness to produce hairless offspring. That explains why dogs with a recessive gene for hairlessness are not known in natural conditions.

American Hairless Terrier: the only hairless breed originating in the U.S. The coated version is called Rat Terrier.

Chinese Crested (hairless): the Chinese crested also has a coated-type, called a Powderpuff.

It is a very affectionate, playful and joyful dog having the additional advantage that, like all other hairless breeds, it has no body odor, no heavy shedding and is less prone to fleas.
More about the Chinese crested.

Manchurian Hairless Dog: a relative of the Chinese crested from the north-eastern region of China.

Hairless Khala: the name is used to refer to a Bolivian breed of hairless dogs, but also, following a theory that all American hairless dogs should be considered of the same origin, as a general name for all hairless dogs that originated in Latin America. Khala is a Bolivian Quechua Indian word meaning "without clothing."

Manchurian Hairless Dog: a relative of the Chinese crested from the north-eastern region of China.

Hairless Khala: the name is used to refer to a Bolivian breed of hairless dogs, but also, following a theory that all American hairless dogs should be considered of the same origin, as a general name for all hairless dogs that originated in Latin America. Khala is a Bolivian Quechua Indian word meaning "without clothing."

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Peruvian Inca Orchid (Moonflower Dog, Inca Moonflower Dog, Inca Orchid Dog, Pero sin Pelo del Peru). Like most hairless dogs, its first purpose was to provide dog meat to the ancient inhabitants of Peru.

It is said that all dogs registered as Peruvian Inca Orchids trace their entire pedigree back to fewer than one dozen dogs. As it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain additional dogs from Peru,  the gene pool may become too limited in the future. An additional problem this breed is facing is that some canine authorities do not recognize the Peruvian Inca Orchid as a separate breed, but consider the Inca Orchid, Peruvian Hairless and Xoloitzcuintli one and the same breed. The name suggested to refer to these breeds is "Pre-Columbian Hairless" or " New World Hairless".

Peruvian Hairless Dog
Originally the same breed as the Inca Hairless dog. The breed differs from the Peruvian Inca Orchid by its skin color, which is dark instead of piebald.

Xoloitzcuintli (Mexican Hairless):
The Nahuatl word xolo, meaning slave or attendant, forms the basis for the name of this dog that is pronounced sholo-its-quintli.

Tepeizcuintli (Miniature Xoloitzcuintli)
The same dog as the Xoloitzcuintli, but smaller. One of the three sizes of The Xoloitzcuintli comes in three sizes: the standard, full-sized one measures 18 in (46 cm) at the whithers; the Miniature ranges from 13 to 18 inches (33-46 cm) and the Toy,  less than 13 in (33 cm).

Ecuadorian Hairless Dog:
One of the most naked-skinned and also rarest of all hairless dog breeds. It has a golden colored skin and long legs. Some authors say it may be a cross between the Peruvian Hairless dog and the Mexican Xoloitzcuinli.

External links and References:

Fernandez, Amy and Kelly, Rhae . Hairless Dogs. The Naked Truth: The Chinese Crested, Xoloitzcuintli & Peruvian Inca Orchid

Schwartz, Marion. A history of Dogs in the Early Americas. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.

Perros sin Pelo del Peru

American Khala Association