Shar Pei

Independent, close to its family and comfortable with some space

The international breed standard describes the Shar Pei as calm, independent and affectionate towards its family. Many enjoy their people's company without greeting every stranger just as enthusiastically. Visits should therefore be allowed to start with some distance. Choosing to approach builds trust more effectively than being held still so someone can stroke the dog.

When meeting another dog, a calm walk together with space between them may work better than a close greeting on tight leads. The individual dogs and their past experiences should guide the approach. Cats and other household animals require careful preparation. Describing a breed as attached to its family cannot establish how a particular dog will respond to another animal.

Training through rewards should offer clear cues and understandable outcomes. Waiting at an open door or choosing to go to a bed are useful foundations. If a dog suddenly avoids touch, reacts irritably or refuses an exercise that was previously easy, pain should also be considered and a vet consulted. Skin, ear or eye discomfort can noticeably affect interactions.

Size and build

The Shar Pei comes from southern China, where its roles included guarding and hunting. The modern breed was also developed outside China during the twentieth century. As its popularity grew, some breeders favoured dogs with more heavily thickened and folded skin. Veterinary research explains why this development makes health and welfare particularly important considerations.

The body is compact and nearly square, the head broad and the ears small. The coat is short and harsh, with no undercoat. The standard of the international canine organisation FCI gives a shoulder height of 44 to 51 cm but specifies no set weight. It describes solid colours except white. Excessive body folds in adult dogs are explicitly undesirable, as are folds or hair that interfere with the eyes. Clear vision, healthy skin and comfortable movement should matter more when choosing a dog than the greatest possible number of wrinkles.

From puppy to senior: caring for your dog through every life stage ↗

Health

Health deserves detailed discussion before choosing a puppy. Available eye examinations, skin and ear reports, family illnesses and any previous corrective procedures should be documented openly. Eyelid surgery can relieve the affected dog's discomfort. A predisposition to the original abnormality can still be passed to offspring.

Entropion means that an eyelid rolls inwards. Hair and the lid edge can then rub against the cornea, the clear surface of the eye. This is painful and can lead to severe damage and loss of vision. A squinting, watery or red eye should therefore be examined promptly. A puppy should not simply be left to grow out of the problem.

Another important condition is SPAID, short for Shar-Pei Autoinflammatory Disease. This is an inherited tendency towards repeated episodes of inflammation. Autoinflammatory means that the body's inflammatory system reacts excessively without a known infectious cause. Affected dogs can have fever episodes and painful joint swelling. Fever has other possible causes too. An unwell, feverish dog therefore needs veterinary assessment rather than a diagnosis based solely on its breed.

Affected dogs can also develop deposits of abnormally folded proteins in their organs. This is called amyloidosis and can particularly damage the kidneys. Suitable monitoring should therefore be discussed with the vet. Urine tests can show whether protein is being lost in the urine. The genetic test described by Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine estimates an increased risk of SPAID. It does not diagnose current disease or exclude other causes or genetic changes.

The inherited basis of heavily thickened, folded skin is associated with these inflammatory risks. Tight skin folds and narrowed ear canals can also encourage local skin and ear infections. These are different connections, which cannot be removed through grooming alone and do not affect every dog equally. An existing Shar Pei needs careful, individually tailored care. When choosing a new dog, health should take priority over an especially wrinkled appearance. The American Kennel Club gives a lifespan of 8 to 12 years, which cannot predict the age of an individual dog.

Could this breed fit your life?