chinese shar peis?

after doing a whole bunch of research and wanting one for over a year my sister and her fiance bought a sharpie.((i know i know i tried for 2 years for them to get an american pitbull terrier)) i was just wondering if anyone has any past experience any pros/cons from actually owning one rather than just everything you read online and in books and from what the vetrenians say. I know the biggest downfall are the health issues, however they have a 5year health kind of warranty on her, and from what i understand they seem like a pretty dominant dog. Anyways, does anyone have anything??

 

Weren't they originaly bred for fighting, and to supposedly dethrone the apbt. Just what I've heard I don't know much about them. I personally think their pretty ugly and useless but like I said I don't spend much time learning about curs. Sorry I couldn't help more.

 

Yes, the Shar-pei was bred for dog fighting but no, it was not bred to de-throne the APBT. You're thinking of the Japanese Tosa. The Shar-Pei existed centuries before the APBT was even thought of.

From what I understand, the Shar-Pei is very much like it's relative the Chow Chow in temprament. Loyal, intelligent & very protective.

A Shar-Pei owner must be a responsible owner. B/c of their fighting past Shar-Pei can be dog aggressive & b/c of their protective personality they can be human aggressive.

So care must be take not to let a Shar-Pei run loose & the Shar-Pei's yard must be secure to both keep the dog in & strangers out. This is especially important b/c many Shar-Pei are territorial & will bite either an adult or a child if they feel they, their owner or their property is threatened.

And like the Chow, the Shar-Pei has grooming requirements, not of the coat so much as the Chow does, but instead the wrinkles must be washed & dried to prevent skin infections.

Overall the Shar-Pei can be a great dog for the right person. But this is not a dog I would recommend for a first time dog owner or a dog owner who wants to treat their dog as a child.

BTW, just as a bit of GWI, did you know the very first Shar-Pei registered in the United States was registered with the ADBA? Sure was!

Good luck!

 

great info and right on from my experiences. Two of my family members have them and they are HA as can be. Once they get to know who you are then they are cool. I agree 100%, not a newbie type dog.

 

Thanks Nolefan & I agree, they are not a dog for a novice.

And just as a side note about the HA, the Shar-Pei is devoted to the death to it's owner, but they are not the type of dog you want if you want to have dinner parties or bring over kids for play dates!

A well meaning person trying to give a Shar-Pei a nice pat might end up w/ a handful of teeth for his effort & a child who invades the Shar-Pei's space might end up getting a rude (& painful!) awakening.

They'll be cool w/ you once they decide you're OK, but that decision will be on THEIR terms & time table, not yours. Until then, be it child or adult, the Shar-Pei will expect strangers know their place & keep a respectful distance. If that distance is not respected Shar-Pei will make sure it's respected - with his teeth.

Also, the Shar-Pei is OK w/ respectful children they know, but should the kids' play turn rough, a Shar-Pei will not hesitate to bite another kid in defense of "his" child.

A lot of the nordic oriental breeds are the same - I tell ppl that a Shar-Pei (or Chow or Akita) doesn't think of itself as a dog. It thinks it's human. An asian human at that!

Think of the old Kung-Fu movies. Honor & respect are big for the Shar-Pei. A Shar-Pei is not going to allow itself to be beaten, hit, kicked, yanked around, threatened or forced to do something they don't want to do. If you respect the Shar-Pei, the Shar-Pei will respect & honor you. But if you disrepect the Shar-Pei it will disrespect you - up to the point of biting you!

A lot of ppl laugh when I say this, but the nordic oriental family of dogs is very intelligent & they DO have a sense of respect & honor. I guess to experince it you'd have to own one.

A lot of ppl say Chows, Shar-Pei, Akitas, etc, are dangerous, but every one I have treated w/ honor & respect I have never had a problem out of.

But they are not for everyone. As Nolefan said, these are not dogs for newbies.

 

the first sharpeis i seen where short and hell of wrinkly..but now a days they are looking taller and not so wrinkly..if anything the ones i have seen are not friendly they may make good gaurd dogs if that..

 

Shar-pei's are not my favorite choice of breed, but I am a bit bias due to the fact that I was attacked when I was 10 by a full breed shar-pei.. I had 24 stitches to the back of the head and 5 on my back.... I always found this shar-pei to be aloaf and very territorial. Not saying that Shar-pei's cannot be a good dog, but I still have ill fellings towards the one that attacked me.... Best of luck to them with their new dog....

 

ABK great advice . My experience with Shar Peis are limited to the Vet Hospitals I worked at. And they are usually ok until you try to make them do something that they do not want to do. BUt I will warn you due to their anatomy you must stay on top of those ears. They tend to get ear infections. Best of luck!

 

Check out this link, especially the historic pictures. Some nice looking dogs and most likely pretty cabable in their day. Basically the sharpei has gone the way of the neo here, shells of there former selves. You must understand that there are 2 different dogs being called shar-peis, the show type which is almost exclusively what we have here in the states with all the medical problems, and the original type that is almost non-existent. I have actually seen a few throwback types on a few rescue sites, so they're out there. Check out a few of the dogs on the rescue link I posted. Some nice looking dogs, and not overdone for the pet trade. I've seen unrelated sharpei/abpt crosses on 2 different occasions, I was pretty impressed.

http://www.sharpeiclubhk.com/Sharpei1.html

http://www.californiasharpeirescue.com/ourkids/index.php?page=2&Order=

 

thank you so much for all the info!!!ABK,i really appreciate it.. i sent this to them and they are convinced this is the right dog for them, they have a nice big secure yard and are ready to socialize, socialize, socialize and put in tons of time.. like i said i would never own anything other than a rescue bully but well see what happens, thanks again =)

 

thank you for these links, they already contacted the cali rescue and its just a hassel bc they dont ship a lot of rescue animals so we would of had to drive across the country heres the link if anyone is interested http://www.affectionatepeis.com/

 

Those were some great links Toddrock! I looked at the CSPCA's historical pictures link & was very surprised to find the first dog pictured actually looked like an APBT! Amazing!

But yes, breeders here started breeding looks - excessive wrinkle & "hippopotamus" muzzles, etc. So the modren Pei looks very little like it's combat ancestors.

And have you seen what the AKC is doing to the Neo?? Horrible! That's all I can say. Horrible.

Luckily for the Shar-Pei, the pedulum is starting to swing the other way & Pei w/ less wrinkle & a more traditional look are coming back into vogue. I guess folks couldn't keep up w/ all those wrinkles! lol.

 

i thought they looked similar also in the first picture!! i was just thinking that when you wrote it haha

 

I heard they can be hard as forty hells to train.. very stubborn and head strong dogs. But I personally don't have any experience with them... but they just look like over grown pugs to me.. minus the buggy eyes

 

Jessica, if you don't mind me asking, what did your sister pay for her pup? Affectionate Pei has some nice looking dogs, but I noticed the peds weren't that great & none of the dogs have been shown & they plan on breeding 2 females who haven't even proven themselves worthy of breeding.

 

actually from all the info ive gotten they are very intelligent and say "easy" to train, the breeders said theirs is already potty trained, but headstrong yes..especially the males

 

umm i believe 200 hundred plus 250 for shipping, they chose them because they have a health agreement for 5years and they are really strong about the personality of the breed

 

yah the 2 star and mya.. its teh danm blue colored it pisses me off

 

I hate to be the turd in the punch bowl here but I have read Affectionate Pei's contract. Look closely. It only covers Amyloiosis up to 5 years. The general health guarantee is only for 72 hours & the hip/knee guarantee is only for 2 years!

And the hip/knee thing is pretty much worthless b/c you can't even get a dog OFA'd until they're 2! So by the time the dog has reached the age it can even be examined, the guarantee has run out!

Affectionate Pei has a nice site & talks a good game, but I don't think they're all that. Luckily your sis didn't pay a whole lot for that pup.