Breed Standard

Eventually, with exposure and experience, every breeder develops a picture in his own mind of what his IDEAL Shar Pei looks like. If one then looks at his breeding stock, and with a bit of imagination, a picture unfolds. Not all breeders agree fully with the standard, and some will have good, solid, strong arguments for their differences. However, all should agree on basic principles, and I will list my priorities and discuss each :

SQUARE APPEARANCE

The Shar Pei is a compact and squarely build dog as viewed from the side, and one gets the impression of a little power pack but extremely agile. The height at the withers should be equal to the distance between the shoulders and hips. Most people prefer the stocky built to the slender, tall type structure.

ALERT/ACTIVE

They can move very quick and fast, change direction almost in mid air, and enjoy running around chasing each other. Especially male/female combinations make great play mates. They are hunting dogs, and don't be surprised to see them catching and eating young birds from time to time. If they grow up with other animals, however, they see them as part of the family, and will even protect them.

SHORT COUPLED

The backline dips slightly from the shoulders, then rises behind the withers towards the tail over a short, broad loin, but in a straight line. A rouched back is undesirable as it will detract from the overall appearance and affect agility to an extent.

BALANCE

This is the criterion which should stick in the mind when thinking about Shar Pei. No one feature should be so dominant as to stand out and hide other aspects. We want to see a good balance in proportions of front and back features i.e. not like a hyena. We want to see a good sized head in relation to the body, and almost as wide as the chest. An oversized head will create a lob-sided look. Remember that the front legs are the balancing point for the head and chest on the one side and the body on the other. If the one is dominant, it will be pointed out in the way the legs are positioned under the shoulders. Balance also comes into play when thinking about coat texture, spread of wrinkling over the body, social behavior, eating habits and breeding capabilities. Balancing between brush and horse coats is important to maintain skin protection and prevent too long hair where collecting burs and clogging or clotting could become a practical problem. Wrinkling is a contentious issue as this is the single most prominent feature which people think of when asked about Shar Pei. The question jumps to mind about general breeds functionality. How may breeds of today are still functional in the purpose for which they were originally bred? Probably 10%, I would guess, and the rest have lost their original identity to a large degree. Already we can see diversification in the ranks of Shar Pei breeders where some breed for popularity and specifically with regards to wrinkles. We have to be careful not to create a problem in the process. Harsh hair and excessive wrinkling don't go together! Harsh hair will, through friction push it's way into the soft coat of the wrinkle on the other side, piercing it and causing infection. By the time this happens, a breeding programme of a number of years is proven to have been a serious error in judgment and will cost substantial financial and time investment to rectify. A delicate balance must be maintained to ensure a beautiful, healthy skin and coat.

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

Behavior must be balanced towards people on the one hand, and towards other dogs on the other hand. Shar Pei are sometimes called 'peoples dogs' as they prefer human company to that of other dogs. They will react jealously towards other dogs, acting on their protective instinct. This should be controlled aggression, and when reprimanded, they should stop the behavior. The human in this relation should be the 'leader' of the 'pack' as seen by the dogs. Shar Pei don't normally act aggressive towards people, but as with all rules, there are exceptions and there will always be an air of uncertainty in dealing with strange dogs. Strangers should NEVER enter a property if he doesn't know the animals. Also, it is the responsibility of the owner to supply adequate warning regarding guard dogs on his property. Always be careful not to jump surprises on your dogs. They can go into a condition of shock and will then even in daylight, appear not to recognise you, and they could even attack you. Always let them know that you are about to enter their domain by for example talking or whistling so that they recognise your voice.

EATING HABITS

Eating habits can be a contentious issue and if any doubt exists, consult your veterinarian. Shar Pei shouldn't be fed too much meat, especially if they have sensitive skins. They love fruit and veggies and will for instance plug their own fruit from the trees, lay down and while holding the fruit between their front paws, take little bites from it with obvious enjoyment. They will sometimes catch little birds on their first flight, and after a bit of chewing, will swallow it whole. Some of the females especially develop the bad habit after their first litter of devouring droppings. When this happens, there is but nothing you can do to stop it, not even having a bowl of food available on a permanent basis.

BREEDING CAPABILITIES

If whelping problems are found to frequently occur in a bloodline, one should breed away from that bloodline. We don't want to end up with a situation of breeding an unnatural dog, like the Bulldog, where almost every litter is born by scisarian. Also, the average size of a litter should be manageable for the mother. Shar Pei can handle 5 to 6 puppies but no more. FRONT AND BACK (AS VIEWED FROM FRONT AND BACK) Legs should go straight down from chest to pasterns and paws and from hips to hocks. We don't want to see the elbows carried underneath the chest thereby supporting an overweight chest and head, or pushed outward like that of a Bulldog. The chest should be fairly broad - say 4 to 5 inches between the front legs. TAIL The high set tail is a distinctive feature of the breed and the tightly curled tail is preferred to the one just bending over towards the back. This is almost like a finishing touch to the back to draw as much attention to the back as the front. Again the balanced look scenario is pointed out by this feature. The tail shouldn't be bushy in the case of a brushcoat which immediately indicates the hair being too long (judge on withers), and it should also not be stubby.

CHEST (SIDE)

The chest should be deep, turning at the elbows which should be positioned directly under the shoulder. The chest will then curve upwards behind the elbows towards the groin area and this shape enhances the impression of a powerful front. Bigger is not necessarily better, and where the head and chest is too big for the individual, it shows at a glance in the front posture.

HEAD

Shar Pei is often referred to as a head breed. This head makes the dog! Although many heads are shaped similarly, the wrinkle patterns differ, like a finger print. Viewed from the side, the distance from the nose to the stop should be the same as the distance from the stop to the base of the ears. You want to see wrinkles between ears and eyes falling down into dewlaps which hangs down underneath the chin. You want to see the small ears lying flat against the head with the tips pointing towards the eyes. You want to see some padding on the muzzle, although this is normally less obvious in the bone mouth type head. The meat mouth, which is the wider head with more loose wrinkling and padding, tends to be the more popular. Tight lip syndrome occurs mainly in the meat mouth type heads and is a condition where the bottom lip curls inward and over the teeth in the bottom jaw to render chewing almost impossible in cases. Certainly infections in wounds caused by accidentally biting the lip occurs regularly and could lead to intestinal infections. The condition can be corrected through a operation. Frequent occurrence of the condition in a bloodline should prompt discontinuation of using that bloodline or very careful mating selection and breeding away from the condition. An oversized head tends to go with drewling which is also undesirable for harmonious social interaction.

For more info, please contact Hendrik Momberg.

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