Rita Gaus of Gaus Hof Kennel shares her passion for American Hairless Terriers, focusing on health, breed standards, and community.
The Weekly Brief
The best of SHOWSIGHT editorials, weekly wins, and breeder commentary — delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning.
Rita Gaus
1. My name is Rita Gaus, and I am the owner of Gaus Hof Kennel. My husband and I live in a small town in Illinois, on the family farm. We are snowbirds and spend winters in a small town in Arizona where we have a house. All of our dogs travel with us to Arizona to enjoy the warmer climate. In Arizona, I have a sister kennel called Bare Valley that belongs to my daughter, Bettina Pawelkop. We often show together and coordinate our breeding programs. There are usually several dog shows and sport events to attend in the Phoenix area. I have been training dogs since I was a teenager, and I started breeding dogs in the year 2000. I got my first American Hairless Terrier (AHT) in 2007 and fell in love with the breed.
2. While being hairless is one of the big, unusual traits of the breed, it should not be the biggest hallmark. Our Breed Standard dictates that both the hairless and coated varieties should be judged equally. The AHT has strong muscle tone, is well built, and is a compact little dog with a big attitude. They are intelligent and energetic, full of life and very loyal, all in one small package. In addition, they are very good lap and snuggle dogs. It is important to maintain the looks and personality of the AHT, as this is what makes them so attractive. The AHT is successful in both Performance and Conformation and can do almost anything asked of them.
3. With puppy sales declining in some breeds, I have found there are still many buyers looking for an AHT. Their personality and uniqueness are very appealing, and allergy sufferers find they can tolerate the AHTs better than dogs with hair. I get requests for puppies on a regular basis.
4. In my breeding program I adhere to strict health testing and am always open to new research. I think it is imperative to do so to ensure healthy offspring. There are many tests available, and my breeding dogs undergo DNA testing (Embark), cardiac, patellas, hips, elbows, BAER hearing test, LCP (Legg-Calve-Perthes), COI (Coefficient of Inbreeding), and I just recently added spine x-rays and dentition to my program.
5. Many people in my area are very interested in learning about the AHT when they see them. When I am out walking, I often get stopped to be asked about this breed. I think people in general are interested in purebred dogs; however, I live in a small farming community, so most people are more interested in larger farm dogs.
6. I see a trend of more new owners wanting to show and do Performance events, but one of my concerns is that I don’t see many younger judges at the Conformation shows. What will happen when the older judges are no longer able to do it? I’m hoping we can draw more interest to judging in the younger generations.
7. Compared to just a few years ago, I see more competition in Conformation and our breed is often very well represented. I believe Performance sports are becoming very popular. The AHTCA (American Hairless Terrier Club of America) is a great breed club and the members have a camaraderie seldom found in the AKC (American Kennel Club) world. Many of the members are good friends and are helpful mentors to the newcomers. It is very nice to see everyone cheering everybody else on, not just their friends. Club members have group chats for different areas, so they can coordinate the shows for competition. I have heard many comments from exhibitors of other breeds about how they noticed the close-knit friendships in our breed club.
Meet the Breeders
Breeder Adam Levy discusses Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, dual-purpose breeding, mentorship, and preserving the breed's working ability.
