Yana Contemplando - December 2011 Peru Photo Contest

by Veronica http://www.flickr.com/photos/veristica/
(Lima, Peru)

~ by Veronica - http://www.flickr.com/photos/veristica/,
Lima, Peru

This photo was taken in Saqsaywaman, Cusco on December 2010. It was sunny and we had great clouds in the sky. Actually December, January and February are the months which I love Cusco the most. There is not much tourism because it's rainy season and all the ruins and hills turn green.

Yana (meaning black in quechua), my peruvian hairless dog is not easy to catch on a photo because she doesn't stop moving. At this moment she was staring the llamas that where about 200m form us. She hast to watch them because the llamas like to chase her, they've never caught her so far.

Peruvian Hairless dogs has its origins in Peruvian pre-Inca cultures. It is one of several breeds of hairless dog. It is not to be confused with the Xoloitzcuintli (Mexico) or Chinese.

They were kept as pets in pre-Inca cultures from the Peruvian coastal zone. Ceramic hairless dogs from the Chimú, Moche, and Vicus culture are well known. Depictions of Peruvian hairless dogs appear around 750 A.D. on Moche ceramic vessels and continue in later Andean ceramic traditions. The main area of the Inca Empire (the mountains) is too cold for the natural existence of the dogs. The Spanish conquest of Peru nearly caused the extinction of the breed. The dogs survived in rural areas, where the people believed that they held a mystical value. In recent years, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) accepted the breed and adopted an official breed standard.

The hairless dogs have a tendency to sleep in tight spaces, such as under small tables, house corners, holes in the ground to avoid air currents. Also, if provided with a blanket, they will make it their own and carry it from one ambient to other if they move around (without any type of training). TRUE!

They keep their tongue inside their mouth and do not drool, and as expected, don't shed any hair. Therefore, it is a very clean dog.  The body temperature of hairless dogs feels higher than other dogs due to the lack of hair. According to Peruvian folklore, letting the dog "hug" you is believed to help with stomach pain (so true) and other disorders such as asthma.

I used a Nikon D90, Exposure 0.002 sec (1/640), Aperture f/8.0, Focal Length    32 mm and ISO Speed 200, (don't try to shoot less than 200 without a tripod unless you have a really steady hand).

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Details: This special photo is in the December Inside-Peru Photo Contest.

It is also entered in the 2011 Photo of the Year - Inside-Peru Photo Contest.

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