The Shar-Pei Dog

The Shar-Pei is a breed of dog that came to be in China, it is a dog that is known for his deep wrinkles and his black tongue, when the Shar-Pei’s name is translated it means "sand skin" referring to the dog’s short rough coat. When the Shar-Pei is born, he is covered in wrinkles that gradually disappear as the dog grows older and starts to fit into his skin better. This is the breed of dog that was declared the rarest breed of dog in the world and he is even in the Guinness Book of World Records as such. This was not a recognized breed by the AKC until 1991.

Known as one of the oldest dog breeds in the world, the Shar-Pei is a breed of dog that comes from the Guandong province of China where for centuries it was bred to be a fighting dog…although the dog that is known as the Shar-Pei in the west, might not look like much of a fighting dog; that is because of the breeding and genetic messing around that we westerners have done with the breed…the original Shar-Pei was leaner, very muscular with longer legs and a much more fighting dog look was about him. The Chinese even have two different names for the traditional Shar-Pei and the more popular Shar-Pei; the one in the west is called "meat-mouth" and the original one is called"bone-mouth".

The Shar-Pei was a dog that was known for his loyalty…it was something that characterized the very nature of the animal, because of this, they were also used to guard the Chinese royal family! These were the perfect dog for defending, protecting and fighting, they have deep set eyes and small ears, basically nothing there to grab on to, if grabbed by the skin that was no problem because the skin was so loose the dog could turn around and bite right back.

Shar-Pei dogs can be found in a variety of colors, everything from red to cream, black and even blue. Truly a unique dog, the Shar-Pei is completely covered in wrinkles when he is born! This is a feature fades away when the dog is mature; the full grown Shar-Pei only has wrinkles on its head, neck and withers.

Even the wrinkles can be divided up into two categories: the first one is the type that has large folds (the western Shar-Pei) and the other ahs skin that is tighter to the body with wrinkles only on the head and withers (the original Shar-Pei).

Like all pure bred dogs, the Shar-Pei is prone to health problems, this includes problems with the eye called entropion, there are also skin infections that can occur. There is also what’s called Shar-Pei Fever, it is when the dog has fever for up to 24 hour periods and it can be serious…there are other things that pop up also, this only backs up the fact that in order to find a dog that is going to be healthy, you need to look up a good responsible breeder that can give you health certificates and guarantees for the puppy that he is trying to sell you, not to mention the fact that he should have papers showing that the parents of the puppy have been tested and cleared off the different health issues. Buying from puppy mills is only going to get you a dog that will have problems in the future and most likely huge cost in vet bills later on. It is much smarter and safer to spend the time and the money getting a puppy that is well bred and free of health problems…it might cost more but it is well worth it.

The Shar-Pei is an independent breed that tends to be very suspicious of strangers, remember what they were used for in China? Despite all that, they are a great breed that loves their family and they will stay loving and devoted, it is important to properly socialize this breed because they can become aggressive and territorial if not. This is a dog that will not think twice about protecting its family. The Shar-Pei is a dog that is truly unique, one of a kind!