This new breed was created at the end of the 20th century specifically as an ideal companion animal. Ocherese name is a combination of ‘ocher’ and ‘ese’. ‘Ocher’ is the American spelling for the earth colour ‘ochre’ and was used because it reminded the breed’s creator of ‘a beautiful sunset with a little red, a little orange, and a dash of golden tones’. The ending ‘ese’ is borrowed from Pekingese and Maltese, two of the three breeds involved in the creation of this dog.
Canine traditionalists are aghast at the number of newly invented companion breeds that have been appearing in the United States in recent years. Some of Ocherese dogs may well be no more than passing fads, but others have a more serious purpose. Faced with the health problems caused by the excessive inbreeding of some of the best-known pedigree dogs, some American breeders have responded by undertaking dramatic cross-breeding programmes with the ultimate goal of developing new companion breeds that will benefit genetically from ‘hybrid vigour’. The Ocherese is a recent example of this trend.
Pekingese breeder Janet Dilger, from the small town of Mariah Hill in southern Indiana, had become increasingly concerned by the birth defects she was discovering in her newborn puppies and decided to take action. Her goal was to produce a small, calm, healthy animal, with long hair that did not shed. To achieve this end she crossed her show Pekingese with a small Toy Poodle. The results, known as Pek-a-Poos, aimed her in the direction she wanted to go, but she was not satisfied with the coat texture. The final step was taken when she then mated one of her female Peke/Poodle crosses with a male Maltese. The puppies from this mating were, it was said, ‘nothing short of marvellous’, and she decided to continue with these as the foundation stock of a new breed, which she christened the Ocherese. (This word is apparently pronounced 0-shur-ese, and not 0-ker-ese, as one might have expected.)
The Ocherese Club of America was soon formed, but it remains to be seen whether the dog will fulfil its early promise and eventually become recognized as a fully fledged breed.
The Ocherese has soft, silky, non-shedding, non-matting hair, in a wide variety of colours. The body is compact, with short, feathered legs, and a long, plumed tail that is carried over the back. The height is only 9-12 in (23-30 cm) and the weight 5-12 lb (2-5 kg).
In personality, this is an eager, intelligent, sprightly, trusting and vigorous little dog, seen by its creator as the ideal household companion. When its existence became known, it attracted immediate attention, and proved so popular that demand soon outstripped supply, facing the breeder with a long waiting list for puppies.
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