Breed Feature – Shar-Pei

The Shar-Pei is a loyal and very loving companion who are adaptable to almost any situation, although they prefer to be in the company of their owners inside the home.

Shar-Pei (literal translation from Cantonese) is ‘sand skin’ which refers to the short rough coat texture that is typical of the breed.

HISTORY OF THE SHAR-PEI This ancient breed has its foundations as far back as 206 BC in a small town named Dah Let in the South China Province of Kwong Dong. As evidenced in the ancient tombs from around 2000 years ago, archaeologists discovered statues bearing the likeness of the Shar-Pei. Clearly, the Shar-Pei has known foundations as a Temple dog however history shows this breed to be better known as a Chinese fighting dog. These dogs were multipurpose working farm dogs that were used for hunting, tracking, herding, protecting livestock and as basic guard dogs.

Following the Chinese revolution in the 1940’s communism was born. The new communist China imposed harsh taxes on the keeping of multiple dogs as this was a luxury. This ultimately led to the Shar-Pei becoming an endangered breed. In 1978 the Guinness Book of Records listed the Shar-Pei as “The world’s rarest dog”.

In the early 1970’s this rare and ancient breed was bought out of virtual extinction by the breed’s saviour Mr Matgo Law. Following a letter written to an American magazine by Mr Law, he pleaded to those who might be willing to pick up the challenge of rescuing the Shar-Pei from potential extinction. There was tremendous response from over 200 American dog enthusiasts that took up the challenge to save the breed.

THE STANDARD AND GENERAL APPEARANCE An alert compact dog of medium size and substance. The Shar-Pei should be square, close coupled and has a well-proportioned head in line with the body. Other characteristics include distinctive lavender to blue-black tongue, relatively loose skin on head and over shoulders, small ears, “hippopotamus” muzzle shape, high set tail and compact well knuckled toes.

TRADITIONAL VS MODERN It is widely thought that the original type of SharPei is commonly known as the “Bone Mouth”. The traditional look had much fewer wrinkles, roof-tile muzzle, pointed tail and short hair (sandpaper type coat). The modern day Shar-Pei as we know it “The Western Meat Mouth” is a melting pot of integrating In contrast the “Western Meat Mouth” has a heavier muzzle (hippopotamus look) with meaty padding on top and generally has longer hair (Brush Coat).

COAT TYPES Horse coat – extremely short with a course sandy feel. Brush coat – must not exceed more than 2.5 cm at the withers and should still feel course and be offstanding. It is unacceptable and considered a major flaw to have a soft or wavy coat that exceeds 2.5 cm at the withers.

Shar-Pei are one of those breeds whose appearance is quite unique. They are abundant in wrinkles, and they have a broad hippopotamus muzzle which creates a serene but powerful appearance. Apart from these traits, they also come in a varied array of colours.

KENNEL CLUB ACCEPTABLE COAT COLOURS

Australia (ANKC) Fawn, Red Fawn, Red, Mahogany, Black, Brown, Chocolate, Blue, Lilac, Cream, Cream Pigmented, Isabella, Five Point Red

All above colours must be solid in coat colour, often having a darker shading along the dorsal and ears.

Currently, sable is not acceptable as it is not seen as a solid coat colour.

American Kennel Club (AKC) Recognized colours are Apricot Dilute, Black, Black Sable, Blue, Blue Dilute, Brown, Chocolate, Cream, Cream Dilute, Cream Sable, Fawn, Fawn Sable, Five-Point “Red Dilute, Isabella Dilute, Lilac Dilute, Red, Red Fawn, and Red Sable.” (“Shar-Pei Colours: All 21 Coat Colours Explained With Pictures”) Meanwhile, Blue Sable, Brown Sable, and White are considered non-standard.

Canadian Kennel Club (CKC)

Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) Solid and Sable are acceptable.

All solid colours except white. Darker shading on the ears and back is permissible. Tail and rear tights are usually lighter.

GENERAL APPEARANCE Alert, active, compact, shortcoupled, squarely built. Dogs larger and more powerful than bitches.

CHARACTERISTICS Relatively loose skin, frowning expression, harsh bristly coat.

TEMPERAMENT Calm, independent, affectionate, and devoted to their family/ owners.

HEAD AND SKULL Relatively large but not disproportionate to the body, skull flat, broad, moderate stop. Length from nose to stop approximately equal to length from stop to occiput. Moderate wrinkle on forehead and cheeks. Muzzle moderately broad and full with no suggestion of tapering. The lips and top of muzzle may be slightly padded. When viewed from front, bottom jaw appears wider than top. Nose large, wide, preferably black but any colour conforming to general coat colour permissible.

EYES Dark, medium size, almond-shaped with frowning expression. Amber and lighter colours permissible in paler shades. Function of eyeball or lid in no way disturbed by surrounding skin, folds or hair. (“Breed Standard | SPCGB”) “Any sign of irritation of eyeball, conjunctiva or eyelids highly undesirable.” Free from entropion.

EARS Very small, rather thick, equilaterally triangular in shape, slightly rounded at tip, and set high on the skull with tips pointing towards eyes, set well forward over eyes, wide apart and close to skull. The tips and edges may turn up. Pricked ears are highly undesirable.

MOUTH Tongue, roof of mouth, gums and flews: solid bluish black is preferred. Solid pink tongue undesirable. Dogs with self-coloured pigment and amber or light brown eyes would be expected to have a lavender tongue. Teeth strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e., upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. “Padding of lower lip should not be so excessive so as to interfere with the bite.”

NECK Medium length, strong, full; set well on shoulders, with some loose skin under neck permitted, but this should not be excessive.”

FOREQUARTERS Shoulders muscular, well laid and sloping. Elbows close to the body. Forelegs straight, moderate length, good bone; pasterns slightly sloping, strong and flexible. Forelegs completely wrinkle free when mature.

BODY Height at withers approximately equal to the length from point of shoulders to point of buttock. Depth of brisket approximately half of height at withers. Chest broad and deep, underline rising slightly under loin; back short, strong. Topline dips slightly behind withers then rises over short, broad loin. Adult dogs should display moderate wrinkling over shoulders and base of tail. Excessive skin on body when mature highly undesirable.

HINDQUARTERS Muscular, strong; moderately angulated; hocks well let down without excessive wrinkling or thickening.”

FEET Moderate size, compact, toes well knuckled.

TAIL Rounded, narrowing to fine point, base set very high. May be carried high and curved, carried in tight curl, or curved over. Lack of, or incomplete, tail

highly undesirable.

GAIT/MOVEMENT Free, vigorous and balanced, rear single tracking is normal at a fast trot, stilted gait undesirable.”

COAT Extremely harsh coat straight and off-standing on the body but flatter on the limbs.” No undercoat. Length varies from short and bristly, under half an inch (1.25cm) or longer and thicker, between half an inch (1.25cm) and one inch (2.5cm), but still off standing and harsh to the touch. N.B: no particular coat length within the accepted length should be preferred above the other. Never trimmed.

COLOUR All Solid colours except white are acceptable. Frequently shaded on tail and back of thighs with lighter colour.

SIZE Height: 46-51 cms (18-20 ins) at withers.

FAULTS Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

NOTES Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING The health and well-being of a Shar-Pei is largely determined by providing a well-balanced and nutritional diet that supports Healthy skin/coat brain development, eyes, bone density/strength, stamina, metabolism, dental care. Fundamental to this breed is a diet which is predominately made up from either chicken or fish. Many brands of dog kibble do contain both these basic ingredients however, the quality and grades do vary. The essential ingredients are as follows: • No more than 22% protein (chicken or fish) • Omega 3,6,9 fish oils • Whole brown rice • Vitamins and minerals

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• Transcervical insemination with fresh, chilled and frozen semen. • Semen collection and freezing. • In-house progesterone testing - results in 20 minutes. • Dog and bitch fertility assessment and much more.

Registered specialist - veterinary reproduction Dr Jennifer Larsen BVBiol BVSc Ph (07) 3204 4332

Certain ingredients to avoid are as these are cheap fillers and offer no real nutritional value. Some of these include but are not limited to.

• Soy based products • Wheat bran and Corn gluten • Beet pulp Some side effects of a poor nutritional diet are excessive shedding, dandruff, loose stools, gassiness, itchy skin. Never feed a Shar-Pei red meat as this can lead to skin problems. Other factors to consider with this breed regarding their health and well-being are eyes, ears and moderate exercise.

EARS Closed ears and small canals often lead to bacterial and yeast infections therefore regular and thorough cleansing is required.

EYES As this breed can be susceptible to Entropion (eyelash rolling inwards) regular monitoring of the eyes is imperative to identify any irritation before leading to a more serious medical condition.

EXERCISE The Shar-Pei requires only moderate daily exercise to maintain healthy muscle condition and mental alertness. This might consist of several short walks/ runs, throwing a ball and general backyard fun. This makes them a versatile breed suitable for individuals or families looking for a low-medium maintenance dog.

SUITABILITY The Shar-Pei is a loyal and very loving companion who are adaptable to almost any situation, although they prefer to be in the company of their owners inside the home. As they do not require a great deal of exercise, they are comfortable to live in everything from a small unit to a large farmhouse as long as they are surrounded by love and assurance.

The Shar-Pei is best suited to living with their own kind as they can be misunderstood due to the way they interact and play which is almost completely different to most other breeds.

They are a very family orientated breed with a natural propensity to be protective. All in all, they make a great family pet.