How to Jive with the Shar Pei Dog Personality

Most people take one look at the shar pei dog, then they can't help but look at it many times. There is first of all those arresting body wrinkles over the loose skin, and also the dark-bluish tongue.

Shar peis are really wrinkly dogs that came all the way from China. They have been guarding households and royal palaces in that country for centuries, but none of them got to be known in the US prior to their becoming the rage of dog breed aficionados in the 1980s. There is reason to believe that the shar peis that were brought to the US mainland were of inferior stock, most of which must have been ill-mannered and sickly street dogs.

While breeding has practically rooted out the defects of that founding stock, the characteristic wrinkles are definitely here to stay. Shar peis are big, well-muscled dogs; healthy males can weigh around fifty to sixty pounds. They were originally meant for dog fighting, and this explains certain quirks in their personalities not found in practically all other breeds. They also happen to be single-person dogs, which may explain why they get along even with some children, but not well with most dogs. Their strong wills fit with their compact bodies. These dogs are definitely not for inexperienced dog owners, for those with physical problems, or people with submissive personalities.

When it comes to the show ring, a shar pei dog can be disqualified by a non-solid colored coat, or by the dog having a pinkish tongue! How can a dog have a non-solid colored coat? The offending color is a brown and white coat that looks like that of an English Springer Spaniel. But judges are not that adamant; a small tuft of white can be permitted in a show dog. A bear coat, in which the hairs are over an inch long, can be disqualified, though.

The shar pei dog temperament is another matter that needs to be discussed well. The first idea here is that shar peis were meant for fighting. The loose skin was meant to deter those who will attempt to bite, or take a hold, on the dog. The result is that shar peis are far from making good candidates for ambassadors of good will. They prefer to bond close to just one member of the family. They make good watchdogs though, and every day look forward to plenty of exercise and activities to fight boredom.