Xoloitzcuintli character
#1
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I've recently thought about creating a new character since i have already reached the number of posts required to have it...

Ok to the point. I would like to play a dog of this species, the Mexican Hairless Dog. The character would be a pup when it arrives to 'Souls, maybe carried by the ocean and grounding somewhere in Nova Scotia. It would be young enough like to grow up with english as its mother language (though, it would remember a few words in spanish) OR he can arrive to 'Souls speaking some spanish and later learn english.

I know that some of you will point out that a hairless dog is very unlikely to survive in such a cold weather. But i have that already covered. Since it is only a pup, it can be found in the coastline by a female who would become its foster-mother, keeping it warm and safe as she would do with any other pup. But whn It grows up, it would start using clothes in order to keep itself warm...If there is still another detail that i have to check about this, please tell me..

As for how has this particular breed survived for this long: one of Mexico's trademarks are the enormous amounts of street dogs lurking everywhere, and let me tell you, baldness is present among some random dogs, even though they aren't purebreed. Besides, the weather makes it possible for the Xoloescuintles to survive without having many changes on their appearance. And the reason of a hairless, mexican dog ending up in the cold Nova Scotia can be slave trading (a coyote/wolf who owns/trades some of these strange dogs as his slaves, travels to the north, a storm hits the ship, mother and pup escape in a boat, the the mother dies during the journey and the pup ends up in 'Souls's coasts.) I'm not totally sure about how plausible is this, so i need a second opinion XD.

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#2
I've always liked the idea of what one of these dogs would look like as a Luperci, and I think you've got a good solution to its hairlessness. Other than that I really like the ideas! (Unfortunately I have none of my own to use as a "second option".)
The only thing I'd point out is that the Xoloitzcuintli is a small breed, which also makes its survival unlikely; maybe if the dog was a hybrid between this and a larger breed..?
Of course, don't take my word for it; should probably wait until someone in the 'SA shows up. *unhelpful*
#3
Heh, thank you Sorin!

As you said, the size is an important fact, and there are toy variations of this breed, but there is another variation of the breed, which's size ranges from 18 to 22 inches high. Plus the hybridization, i think that the size would be quite fair when it grows up, maybe 22 or 24 inches to the withers. (and thanks for the correction of the name, but here it is also pronounced xoloezcuintle, it is like a variation of the official name. I'll change it right away XD)
#4
What I'm thinking is how would a pup survive being tossed about in the sea? How would it not drown? How long would in the water? What is the exact age of the pup? How far would it have to swim? What is the stamina on the breed? Is the breed even a strong swimmer to begin with? I'm not sure of the grouping but is the grouping listed among those that would survive? Here are likely groups and stuff that would survive if you didn't know.
#5
I already read that section, and I'm aware of the danger that being in the sea (specially in the north) implies for a pup. But this is my idea. The pup's mother escapes a drowning ship with him on her arms by jumping on a lifeboat and remaining there for a while. The mother rescued a bit of food from the boat, and gives it to her pup (that's how it survived starvation), she curls around him to protect him from the cold (how it kept warm) and waited until they reached the coast. The mother dies out of starvation, but the pup, crawled to its mother, manages to survive. As for the age, i still have to figure that out. Maybe a four-month-old puppy will be able to survive all of this. So, no swimming.

As for the breed, I'm already thinking of making it a crossbreed between a hairless dog and any other crossbreed (you know, street dogs which survived until nowadays), resulting in a not-so-weak kind of hairless dog (bald crossbreeds, although not common, are possible in warm places). And i just checked, but the xolo' is not listed there, but i found out that it is somehow related to dogs like the Canaan dog or the Basenji.
#6
Okay, you didn't make mention of a boat before so I thought they would be in the water itself. But still you need to take into account how long the pup would be without food after the mother dies and before it is taken in. Eventually a dead body will lose its warmth and turn cold. And well if the mother is the same thing then she wouldn't have fur to trap in heat so the body would probably cool off quickly and not really give off much warmth for the pup after she is dead.
#7
The size isn't a problem; it comes in sizes from Toy to Standard, so it's very easy to assume it's a standard dog. Here's what I see, though -- it's hairless. These dogs have no fur, except for sparse bits atop their heads, and from what you say it would be a bald hybrid. Coming to 'Souls? Canada is a temperate region, not a tropical one where they are native. Hypothermia would be a big issue, unless it wore thick clothing during the cold months. The resource I'm using even says that they aren't suited to outdoors life; in Northern climates, they're considered 'indoor dogs'.

Also, realistically, groups of canines from Canada (wolves and canines who have never seen hairless dogs) would probably not accept it because it's highly different. Actual animals have been known to shun creatures for being a different color, and this is something much more drastic. The chances of it finding a 'mother' figure who would be willing to raise a pup that could, to her and many others, look diseased or sick is highly unlikely.

It's not a bad idea, but there are a lot of things you'll have to work around to make the character fit into realistic 'Souls society.
#8
I just wanted to add that food is not the only consideration here--dehydration is, too. Meat, dry, and salty foods (i.e. the kind likely to preserve well for travel) actually dehydrate you more. There wouldn't be any shade on a lifeboat and they'd be exposed to the open sun/wind/whatever. Without protective fur, they'd probably get sunburnt, too, which dehydrates you even more x_x For the very young, I think things like these are even more serious.
#9
Also to add to what Kiki said about it being different chicks will peck a different chick to death. That chick only needs a single discolored feather and the others will peck at it until the chick is dead cause they are trying to get rid of the difference.

And adding to Zero, I know for humans it is 3 minutes without air 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food. Not sure on how that relates to luperci... but yes, you would die of dehydration before you would ever starve to death.

And to add, you might want to think about you life boat. How is it found? What is it made out of? What condition is it in? Wood rots and so does rubber... if that is what it is called... I know it dries out and breaks apart and stuff.
#10
What about a dachshund luperci? (I know I'm probably not helping lol)

They'd have, like back problems... 0.0

Yes, I have heard of the Xolo breed before I saw his, and I think that'd be the coolest luperci evar!! <3Big Grin
#11
re: Dachshund, the issue would not be simply their size/build, but the fact that dog breeds would have changed over time. It is highly unlikely purebreds exist after 20+ years without humans, especially those incapable of surviving in the wild.
#12
Not to mention, small dogs would likely turn into prey for larger animals. Bears, cougars, and even larger feral canines would eat most feral 'Toy' or other small breeds eventually.
#13
Xoloizcuintli: Yeah, i didn't thought about that issue Kiki, seems like i forgot about rejection against animals with different traits. So, i think that i will drop the idea of having a hairless dog. After all, it would be difficult for it to join 'Souls' society without suffering extreme harrassment. Instead, i think that i will play a crossbreed, this time with fur. The story would be similar, but i still have to figure that out. However, thanks for pointing out all of those things that my lazy brain didn't think about XD

Daschund: Yeah, indeed, those poor dogs wouldn't survive alone in the wild, and it would be very unlikely that they will be able to mate with other breeds (for obvious reasons), so monogamy would be a problem, apart of being prey animals, like Kiki said, in which case the breed would cease existing. Besides, their poor backs and legs would not be very useful in order to survive or compete against other breeds. But if, by any chance, a single Daschund survives, bearing the same traits as its ancestors, and reaches 'Souls, then i would love to see it.
#14
Well, there are coated versions of the Xoloizcuintli; 1 out of 4 puppies born are often coated. They're built the same, but have fur. It might lessen some of the issues, though not all. Because it's still a dog from a hot climate, the fur is probably quite thin and not very useful against the cold. However, clothing is still an option; Krystalle Horzana is from the desert and wears clothing to make up for the fact that her coat is naturally thinner because of her childhood home.
#15
Hn, that is also an option...i have to think about it, though.
#16
I think you'd be better off with having them be a hybrid, honestly. If you're really set on someone being hairless, mange causes hair naturally--it would grow back once treated, of course. Smile
#17
YAY FOR HAIRLESS DOGS!! hehe, well, the dog being hairless or not wasn't my priority. The fact that it spoke spanish fluetly was. So, seeing as it would be difficult to integrate this kind of dog into the plot, i think that i would better go for a crossbred. Why? they are the coolest dogs i've ever seen XD

But poor dog, mange is not something pretty to deal with. But now that i think about it...nyeh nyeh *evilface*
#18
There are other options you might try rather than mange -- non-communicable diseases, I mean. Sarcoptic mange is actually highly communicable in canines as opposed to demodectic mange, so the latter is still a viable option, but there areeee other diseases you can check out. Hypothyroidism is a potential way to go -- it seems to cause hair loss and could be mild enough to not significantly affect the dog's health otherwise, aside from perhaps general weakness and lethargy? Would have to research that a bit more.

With regards to dogs, I usually prefer that they're hybrids, myself. Kaena wasn't very well-designed when I first came up with her, but I figure her dog heritage includes a bunch of different crap. A NPC/adoptable I'm designing has at least six different breeds and knows only generic terms like he's a hound-shepherd mix. XD

If you were at all interested, I'd be okay with you designing a character from Eterne? ^_^ I don't have a way to offer a relative to the Eterne characters I currently have, unless you wanted a relative to Eris's NPC slave, Molca. Your character wouldn't have to be a slave; the rest of Molca's family (excepting her children and brother) were an upper-class family from that area. ^^ They speak Spanish, mostly, with a few words of Nahuatl mixed in for religious purposes and so forth.
#19
Hmm, mange is always an option. And, albeit less common than albinism, i've heard of some animals that born with a trait that makes them completely or partially bald. The animals are usually killed when they are born, but that details can be worked out. Hypothyroidism is also an attractive option. However, i don't know if this is appliable to canines. Our bodies work in a different way, so yes, i would have to investigate it.

Well, the Eterne family seems temptating. I may as well create a character from that family (but is it possible to make it half dog at least?). I already have some ideas for the reason of it's arrival to Souls. Maybe a slave that escaped for some reason? Or a part of a family who decided to leave the society because he/she was against it's family's beliefs...I don't know yet. And Molca, hmmm, i don't know. I will think about it...she looks like a good character, but i would like to play a younger canine. However, thanks for the information! XD

[EDIT] Corrected Eterne XD
#20
Not Eternity family. Eterne; it's a place in Mexico that Tlantli Kimaris' family originates from. It's...unique.


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