[1][2][3] This "breed" of dog is known for being “semi-wild”, meaning they tend to follow rather than live with the cattle breeders; though they occasionally serve as valuable companions on hunting trips.

The many names of this “breed” include the words Egyptian, Abyssinian, and Zulu, which simply suggests that the genes for hairlessness have appeared independently in multiple areas of the continent as a cooling system in high heat.

A number of early European accounts from Africa mention a small hairless dog.

[1][4] Three examples were brought to Britain in 1833 and were displayed at the London Zoo as Egyptian Hairless Dogs; a specimen dating from 1903 is preserved at the Natural History Museum at Tring in Hertfordshire, England.

They are believed to be extinct, although no thorough search has been conducted across Africa to confirm that they no longer exist.