Working definition
A regional family in transition.
Xigou is a useful umbrella for Chinese dogs selected to hunt by sight and speed. Regional populations—not one universally recognised standard—are the more honest unit of description.
Shaanxi, Shandong, Hebei and Mongolian traditions are the four names most often encountered. The evidence behind them is uneven: Shaanxi has a published Chinese institutional standard, Shaanxi and Shandong appear as separate populations in genomic studies, while Hebei and Mongolian descriptions still rely more heavily on historical and secondary records.
Official description
What the November 2017 standard actually says.
CKU publishes the dog as Xian Hound / 陕西细犬 and places it in its sighthound group. That is a CKU classification, not evidence of current FCI recognition.
The preferred head has a long, narrow profile and an unpronounced stop; a convex foreface is also accepted. Long, mobile ears carry silky hair, and the low-set curved or ringed tail is feathered. The coat is smooth and silky with feathering on the limbs and thighs. Listed colours include black, blue, grey or silver, cream, white, red and fawn; brindle is accepted.
The standard gives no weight range, so the frequently copied 20–30 kg figure should not be presented as official. Its English origin line says “Shanxi Province” while the Chinese text correctly gives Shaanxi (陕西); this appears to be a translation error.
Primary source: CKU — Xian Hound / 陕西细犬 standard. The standard’s historical preface contains conjectural ancestry claims; this guide uses it for the formal description, not as independent historical proof.
Comparison
Four commonly named traditions.
| Regional name | Geographic association | Evidence-led description | Evidence status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shaanxi Xigou | Guanzhong and Weihe plain, including Weinan, Xi’an and Xianyang | Feathered ears and tail; long, narrow head; official CKU standard | Institutionally and genomically documented |
| Shandong Xigou | Shandong province | Recorded separately from Shaanxi in two genomic datasets; smooth and feathered descriptions circulate | Population distinction documented; morphology needs stronger field sources |
| Hebei Xigou | Hebei province | Often described as smoother and more greyhound-like | Common name; primary standard and field record still needed |
| Mongolian Xigou | Inner Mongolian and Mongolian contexts | Historical photographs record slender working dogs under the word xigou | Historic visual record; modern taxonomy unresolved |
Disambiguation
Shaanxi is not Shanxi.
Shaanxi (陕西) and Shanxi (山西) are neighbouring but different provinces. The hound described by the 2017 standard is Shaanxi Xigou (陕西细犬). “Shanxi Xi dog” also appears in a 2019 genomics paper and in English databases, so it is useful as a search alias but unreliable as geography.
Names encountered in Chinese sources
陕西细犬 means Shaanxi slender hound. Qin Xian (秦猃) is a historical or literary regional name. Xigou (细狗) and xiquan (细犬) both centre the idea of a fine or slender dog; usage varies by source and context.
How to pronounce Xigou
Xì gǒu is roughly “shee goh” to an English ear, with a falling fourth tone on xì and a dipping third tone ongǒu.