Shar Pei

Shar-Pei is a medium-sized dog breed that has small eyes tiny triangular ears, and abundant folds of loose skin. Their height from the withers to the ground should equal the length of the body.  They have a dark tongue much like the Chow Chows and that tongue is considered normal and desirable by dog show enthusiasts.

Grooming and care

Shar-Pei dogs come in many different colors, including

• cream,
• fawn,
• solid black,
• red,
• sable,
• blue.

These are naturally clean dogs and they don’t require much grooming to keep them in good shape. They don’t shed much. Weekly brushing will remove dead hair. Bath them only when needed. They don’t have a doggy odor, so they don’t require bathing more than every 3 months unless your dog rolls into something dirty. If you frequently bathe your dog, you could irritate his skin.

Bathing and grooming is the easiest part of the care. The most difficult and the most essential part is getting them dry after bathing. If you don’t dry them well, especially their folds and wrinkles, most likely your dog will develop a fungal infection. You will need to wipe between the folds to remove all moisture.

Shar-Pei teeth should be brushed weekly to remove tartar buildup and to secure their fresh breath. If they don’t wear down their nails naturally, you will need to cut them. Check their ears with every grooming session for redness or bad odor. Wipe their ears with the cotton ball dipped into a ph balanced ear cleaner. Because their ear canals are small, they are prone to irritations and infections, and that is why you need to be extremely careful and always check them.

If you want your Shar-Pei to enjoy these things when he grows up you will need to start with them early. Make a positive experience for the dog full of praises and rewards, and you can be sure that your adult dog will enjoy grooming, bathing, and cleaning.

Exercise and training

Exercise need varies from dog to dog. Shar-Pei is a very adaptable dog breed. They can easily adapt to an active lifestyle and live in an apartment with a few daily walks. As long they are with the owner, they will be happy.

These dogs are very smart and intelligent but sometimes can be stubborn, and that’s why you must be the boss. They will constantly find new ways to do things you will not like. If you want training to be successful, you will need to be consistent and firm. These dogs are eager to please, which makes training a little bit easier. In most cases, they will learn quickly if you do everything right.

FUN FACT: Shar Peis are great dogs for participating in agility, obedience, tracking, and rally activities.

Socialization

To be sure that your dog grows into a well-rounded dog, early socialization is essential. Start from the moment you bring your new Shar-Pei puppy home, and be consistent and committed to socialization. To prevent shy or overprotective behavior, expose your puppy to many different things, people, and animals, and that will secure your dog to grow into a well-behaved dog.

hey are suspicious and reserved with strangers, but once they get to know a new person, they will be friendly with them.

Shar-Pei - kids and other animals

Shar-Peis are very family-oriented dogs and are very protective of their family, especially children. They are best suited for older kids who know how to make an interaction and play with the dog. To be sure that your dog and kids will get along you will need to teach your kids how to properly approach and interact with the dog, and also, you will have to expose your dog from an early age to many children so he could get used to them.

No matter how good your dog is, you should always supervise their play.

In most cases, they will get along well with other dogs, but that mostly depends if you socialize your dog the right way. If they are raised with other animals and dogs they will get along excellent.

Health problems

Shar-Pei dogs have a life expectancy of 8-12 years. These dogs are prone to some specific and unusual health problems that every owner and future owner should be aware of.

Their eyes are one of the major problems – they can suffer from

• entropion,
• glaucoma,
• retinal dysplasia,
• SARDS.

They are also prone to respiratory, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, skin, and gastrointestinal disorders.

As we already said, their skin is prone to infections. They can suffer from pyoderma (bacterial infection). It can be primary and secondary, and this infection is treated with antibiotics. Like most of the dog breeds, they are prone to hip and elbow dysplasia.

One more specific condition is Shar-Pei fever (swelling of the hock joint). This will result in abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and reluctance to move. Fever usually lasts 24-36 hours, and treatment includes reducing fever.

TIP: Because these dogs are prone to overheating, you must keep them inside with the fan or air conditioning on during the summer.

There are a few recommended health tests that can confirm that your dog is healthy: hip and elbow evaluation, patella and thyroid evaluation, and ophthalmologist evaluation.

Shar-Pei breeders

Shar-Pei is a very popular dog breed, and because of their popularity, many unethical and unofficial breeders started the breeding process to earn money without worrying about the puppy's healthy, temperament, and well-being. These dogs are prone to some serious problems, and because of that, we advise you to only buy a dog from a reputable and official Shar-Pei breeder.

Never buy a dog from a pet shop or a puppy mill breeder because, in most cases, you will end u with a dog who will develop some serious problems and who will have temperament problems. When talking to the breeders, always ask them to show you the health certificates of their breeding dogs.

To be sure that you are talking to an official Shar-Pei dog breeder, only search for them on the World Dog Finder website or at the national cynological association of your country. Prepare questions for the breeder and always choose a few options, if possible, before deciding from which breeder you will buy a dog.

Shar-Pei is an excellent companion that will enjoy your company. From an early age, you will have to devote your time and energy to training and socialization to secure a well-behaved dog. Like we already said, they are prone to some health problems, so we advise every new owner to do research about them so you can prevent those problems.

They need a firm owner who will know how to be a leader for this dog to listen. These dogs are very devoted to their family and especially to their owner, so you can be sure that you will enjoy spending time with this dog breed.

World Dog Finder team

This dog breed originates from the southern provinces of China. Shar-Pei dogs date back to the Han Dynasty. They were bred to be hunters, herders, and guardians, and Chinese farmers employed them. When the Peoples Republic of China was established, the 1949 population of this dog breed was nearly wiped out.

Because of the efforts of Matgo Law, this dog breed managed to survive, and they were bred in Taiwan and Hong Kong. A few Shar-Pei dogs were brought to the US in 1973, and in 1974 Shar Pei fanciers formed the Chinese Shar-Pei Club of America.