Shar Pei: The Heavily Wrinkled Breed

In addition to pug, mastiff and bulldog, another breed known for wrinkles is the shar pei. This breed originated from China thus also called the Chinese shar pei.

The name shar pei, which also means sand-skin, sand-coat or shark-skin was given due to this breed's deep wrinkles and short, rough coat. Shar pei puppies have several wrinkles. These wrinkles come in two varieties; large of folds of wrinkles even into adulthood and the other variation wherein the skin appears tighter on its body with wrinkles just on the face and at the withers. But regardless of the amount or variety of wrinkles a puppy has, these wrinkles decrease as the shar pei matures.

The coat comes in three different types namely the horse coat, brush coat and the bear coat, with the latter regarded as the rarest coat and is not recognized by the AKC though sharpeis with bear coat are quite popular as pets. A bear coat shar pei can occur in any litter. The horse coat type is rough to the touch, extremely prickly and can be irritating when petting in the opposite direction of the fur. Brush coat shar pei on the other hand have slightly longer hair and a smoother feel.

This breed comes in various colors such as fawn, red (rose), sand, cream, black, lilac and blue, all of these must be solid and sable in order to be accepted by the American Kennel Club. Spotted, brindle, parti-colored or patterned and color such as albino are not recognized by the AKC.

The shar pei breed is recognized not only because of the great amount of wrinkles.This breed is also recognized because of the blue-black tongue that resembles that of the chow-chow's. They also have thick, curled tail that is carried over their backs on either side thus exposing their anus. Other attributes of this breed are small, triangular ears and muzzle shaped like that of a hippopotamus.

These dogs are snobbish, have scowling expression and are often aloof with strangers but once a shar pei consider you as his family, you will surely gain his devotion.