Chinese Shar Pei Dog Breed

Chinese Shar Pei Dog Breed

The dog breed Shar Pei originated in China and has the distinctive features of deep wrinkles and a blue-black tongue. The name (沙皮, pinyin: shā pí) translates to "sand skin," not because of color but because of texture. As puppies, Shar Pei have lots of wrinkles, but as they mature, the wrinkles disappear as they "grow into their skin". The American Kennel Club did not recognize the breed until 1991.

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Appearance
Shar Pei come in many colors but have the same characteristic blue-black tongue of the Chow Chow. Superabundant loose skin and wrinkles cover the head, neck, and body of puppies, but adult Shar Pei should grow into their skin so that these features are limited to the head, neck and withers. Improper breeding (detrimental to the health of the Shar Pei) produces adult dogs with wrinkles all over the body. Small ears, a hippo muzzle shape, and a high set tail also give the Shar Pei a unique look.

Health
A common problem caused by irresponsible breeding is a painful eye condition, entropion, in which the eyelashes curl inward, irritating the eye. Untreated, it can cause blindness. This condition can be fixed by surgery ("tacking" the eyelids up so they won't roll onto the eyeball for puppies or surgicaly removing extra skin in adolescent and older Shar Pei). Allergy-induced skin infections can be a problem in this breed caused by poorly selected breeding stock. Shar Pei fever is also a serious problem for the breed. The disease causes short fevers lasting up to 24 hours, after which there may be no recurrence or they may recur at more frequent intervals and become more serious. A possibly related disease is called amyloidosis, and is caused by unprocessed amyloid proteins depositing in the organs, most often in the kidneys or liver, leading to renal failure. At this time there is no test for these seemingly prevalent diseases.

Recently, dry foods have been formulated that are specifically made for breeds such as the Chinese Shar Pei that are prone to skin allergies or sores. Shar Pei whose food intake is restricted to these allergy-free dry foods and receive an antihistamine or two daily will enjoy much healthier lives with little or no skin irritation, itching, or sores common to the breed.

History
The Shar Pei breed comes from the Guangzhou province of China where it was well-known as a fighting and guard dog. It is suspected that due to the laid-back nature of the Shar Pei, the dogs had to be drugged to induce them to fight. Originally, the intense loyalty of the Shar Pei defined its work -- guarding the Chinese royal family. The dogs are ideally suited for defense; the small ears and deep-set eyes are tough to grab and if grabbed on the skin, the wrinkles enable the dog to turn around and bite back. Once Mao took over, he killed everything that had to do with the royal family, including the Shar Pei. At one point they were close to extinction, and were listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as "The rarest dog in the world". Since then, however, the Shar Pei has begun to thrive in many parts of the world as an excellent family dog, due to their loving and devoted nature, which shows that they were originally a utility and companion breed rather than a fighting breed.

DNA analysis has concluded that the Shar Pei is one of the most ancient dog breeds.

Famous Shar-Pei
Lao-Tzu, Martin Prince's dog in The Simpsons, appeared in two episodes; "Bart's Dog Gets an F" and "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds".
Fu Dog from the Disney cartoon American Dragon: Jake Long is a Shar Pei.
Satchel, from the syndicated comic strip Get Fuzzy, is half yellow lab and half Shar Pei.
Malcolm and Derek, from the TV version of Creature Comforts.
A Shar Pei appears in the television show Lost as character Sun Kwon's pet, Bpo Bpo.
In a British television advert for a 'Garnier' beauty product, a Shar Pei puppy is featured. The 'Garnier' advert is promoting an anti-wrinkle cream.

The above-pictured Shar Pei as a puppy. Note the greater amount of wrinkles.Sharpay, a character in High School Musical who is rich and pretty. Her name is a homonym of Shar Pei.

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Chinese Shar Pei Dog Breed