The Chinese Shar Pei is a special breed. It looks different from others because of the wrinkles, blue tongue, cute head and sometimes a constant frowning face. They are independent and loyal dogs. Very smart, but suborn by nature. It’s not easy to train a them. More then most other breeds they require a confident, consistent trainer. It is not uncommon for a shar pei to be the boss over it’s trainer.
If you are planning to get one, you should first read this entire article.
Hair
Shar Pei is translated to “sand-skin” which is the main characteristic of its coat. When rubbing against it will feel a lot like sandpaper. Needless to say that people with sensitive skin may dislike this. The sandpaper feel will be much less an issue with long haired versions.
Health
Shar Pei will grow up to be 8 to 11 years old. The main factor that will influence your dog’s health is the breeder. Shar Pei tend to be over-bred. If this is the case your dog will have a lot of health issues and will not reach the age indicated above.
It is very important to find a good breeder and pay a little extra to have an healthy dog. You should also look for a vet with shar pei experience near you and follow up with them especially when they are still puppies.
Wrinkles
The breed is most known for its wrinkles. Historically the dogs were bred as fighter dogs. The excess skin would protect their vital organs. Nowadays the wrinkles are just cute. So people are interested in this cute dog.
The wrinkles are excessively present in puppies. When adult the wrinkles will be much less, mostly located around the head and neck.
Care
They should be played with and taken on long walks daily. It is an outside dog and loves the long walks to check in on the neighborhood. They require weekly brushing. Being an outside dog, you can keep them indoors most of the day, if you take into account to take them on a walk daily. You should also have at least 10 toys for your dog. You can never have enough toys.
Shar Pei Character
A Shar Pei is notorious for it’s stubbornness. It’s the most used word to describe the breed, which should tell you enough. That being said, there are plenty of good qualities to look forward to. A Shar Pei is a family dog. It will be very loving of its owners and be loyal to them. The breed in general does not take very kindly to outsiders. I’m not saying that they will be aggressive, not at all. Because it will take a lot of effort to get a shar pei mad. But the dogs are cautious of strangers.