About Shar Pei

Although Chinese Shar Pei is believed to be a few centuries in existence, it is fact that the breed was nearly extinct as recent as approximately 40 years ago, and from that point on multiplied at an incredible rate such that it is currently regarded as abundant in South Africa.

The lovable nature of the Shar Pei and the wrinkles of course made them very popular and the rarity made them expensive, which drew breeders of suspect repute into the Shar Pei family. Selection of breeding stock wasn't practiced for the sole purpose of improvement of the breed, resulting in a very wide range of characters and structural features being found around the world.

Most people only see pictures of little lovable wrinkly puppies in adverts or magazines and are disappointed when they find out that most of the wrinkling on the back disappears as the dog grows to maturity. In many cases this happens after having invested a substantial amount of money. Responsible breeders market the total package including character, health, structural soundness, breed standard conformance, looks, colour and social interaction balance of behavior. The puppies wrinkles is a major initial attraction and then when the owner gets familiar with the total package, it becomes a unique individual member of the family, very much loved by all and respected for it's guarding responsibilities and general role as a true friend and 'kid' in the family.

Some bloodlines tend to be inherently aggressive towards other dogs and these cause a lot of pain in the longer run. Responsible breeders select breeding stock carefully to eliminate this characteristic from the breed and rather produce playful dogs for happy families.

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