Its All About Guinea Pigs: 2014

Friday, October 3, 2014

Baldwin Guinea Pig

The Baldwin is a nearly hairless breed. Baldwins are born with a full coat, which sheds out with age until only a little hair remains on the feet.

The breed was developed from spontaneously mutated pups born to American Crested parents of a single breeder.

Skinny Guinea Pig

The Skinny is a mostly hairless breed, with some short rough hair on the face and the feet. Pups are born nearly hairless.

The breed was developed from a hairless laboratory strain crossed with Teddies and other haired breeds.

Teddy Guinea Pig

A Teddy has a short, rough, very dense and springy coat that stands up all over the body. The hair typically grows to a moderate length and generally makes this breed resemble a soft toy more than any other. Another unique feature of the Teddies in the USA is the relatively long hair coating their bellies. The Teddy resembles the Rex but the similar coats of the two breeds are result from separate genetic factors.

Rex Guinea Pig

A Rex has short, rough hair that stands on end all over the body. The hair should be of uniform length and texture all over, and no more than 1⁄2 inch (1 1⁄4 cm) in length, preferably shorter. The Rex resembles the Teddy but the similar coats of the two breeds are result from separate genetic factors.

Abyssinian Guinea Pig

The Abyssinian has a short, rough coat with anywhere from 6-8 tufts rosettes on its shoulders, sides, back, and backside. The derivation of the breed's name is unknown, but does not connote an origin in the geographical region of Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia).

The ideal Abyssinian's rosettes are all well-formed: fully formed with tight centres without hairs sticking out. They should be located symmetrically, one on each shoulder, four across the back, one on each of the hips, and two on the rump. The ridges between two rosettes should ideally stand rigidly straight, without breaking down onto either side even if pressed down lightly with the palm of a hand. All colours and patterns are accepted, although some colourations are much more common than others.

Some judging bodies, such as the ANCC, consider shoulder rosettes optional but desired in show Abyssinians.

Sheba Guinea Pig

The Sheba is a long haired, rosetted cavy, characterized by mutton chop whiskers, with frontal, presented to one side of the face, and in a naturally tousled appearance. They have been recognized as a cavy breed in Australia. Their breed standard was developed by Wynne Eecen of Sydney New South Wales, in the 1970s, and was published in her book Pigs Isn't Pigs.Often referred to as the "Bad Hair Day" Cavy.

Lunkarya Guinea Pig

The Lunkarya, sometimes Lunk for short, is a new breed group developed first in Sweden, and mainly seen in the Nordic countries. It has a long, rough, curly coat that should be very dense and full. The group has three breed variations: the Lunkarya Peruvian with a prominent forelock, the Lunkarya Sheltie with the hair flowing back over the body, and the Lunkarya Coronet with a crest on the forehead.

It was initially described as a dominant rex Peruvian, but later was named Lunkarya, a variation of the last name of breed's creator Lundqvist.

Corenet Guinea Pig

The Coronet resembles the Silkie with its smooth coat growing backwards over its body, but it has a crest on its forehead. Like with the short-coated crested breeds, this crest should be symmetrical with a tight centre and no sticking hairs.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Alpaca Guinea Pig

The Alpaca resembles a Peruvian with a "forelock", but it has curly coat. It is a relatively rare breed.

Peruvian Guinea Pig

The Peruvian resembles the Silkie with its smooth coat, but has a prominent "forelock" resulting from a portion of its coat on the head and the neck growing forward on the body.

Texal Guinea Pig

A Texel has a long coat flowing back over the body like with a Silkie's, with the difference that the coat is curly. Originating from England, the Texel was officially recognized as a breed by the ACBA in 1998.According to the US standard, the curls should ideally be tightly wound corkscrew curls and should cover the entire body, including the stomach. A lengthwise part in the coat is acceptable. However, the original standard from England, where the breed originated, states, that the Texel is the rexoid equivalent of the Sheltie, and therefor, the Texel should be combed out the same way you would comb out a sheltie, though still show a rexoid appearance.

Ridgeback Guinea Pig

Ridgeback

Ridgeback is a very common breed with a smooth short coat, with a lengthwise ridge of standing hair on its back. The ridge should ideally be short, regular, straight and should look like a mountain top . It should go from the head to neck . Ridgeback cavies as well as non-ridged carriers of the genetic ridgeback factor both have so called tufty feet, with the hair on the hind feet growing "the wrong way", upwards on the leg. Ridgeback cavies sometimes have rosettes on the body, which is considered a fault.

The Ridgeback is a recognized breed in the UK and is show under the guidance of the Rare Varieties cavy club and is also recognized as a Rare Variety in Sweden.

American Guinea Pig

American Crested (a.k.a. White Crested or simply Crested)
The American Crested, referred to simply as the Crested by ACBA and as the White Crested by ANCC, closely resembles the English Crested, in having a single rosette on the forehead. The breed standards and ideals are nearly identical, with the exception that an American Crested cavy's crest should be completely of a color different from the rest of the animal. Most usually the crest is white, as necessitated by the ACBA standard. No other white hair should be present in the animal. By this standard, American Cresteds are not bred in colourations that have white anywhere on the body, such as Dutch, roan, and Dalmatian.