General Information for the Chinese Shar-Pei

Provided by the Centennial Chinese Shar-Pei Club

Without a doubt, the Chinese Shar-Pei is one of the most unique looking breed in the canine world. The animals’ unusual appearance, personality and reputation as a “rare breed” are among the many
reasons for its amazing popularity. These attractions should be examined.

From its hippo-like face and furrowed brow to its over-abundance of skin, the Shar-Pei is both comical and irresistible. Most of the puppies are wrinkled, and as they grow into adulthood, many of
the body wrinkles disappear, leaving folds on the neck, face and back. The small, tight ears, deeply set eyes, huge muzzle and short coupled body round out the Shar-Pei’s features. The name Shar-Pei
means sandy-coat and refers directly to the texture of the hair. The coat can range from extremely short and stiff (a horse coat) to longer and thicker up to 1″ in length (a brush coat). There is a third
coat that sometimes shows up in Shar-Pei, which is called a bear coat. It looks more similar to a chow coat.

The coat was developed to irritate the mouth of its opponents and can cause a mild skin irritation to some people when handling the dog. If you develop a rash when touching a Shar-Pei, it will
disappear within 30 minutes after contact. Only solid colored coats are acceptable in the show ring. Colors vary from fawn, black, chocolate, sable, red, apricot, cream and blue.

The endangered breed status the Shar-Pei has enjoyed has also added much to its popularity. The story of the breed’s rescue is indeed fascinating. Chinese Shar-Pei began to arrive in the United
States from Hong Kong in 1973 after Matgo Law, a Hong Kong dog breeder, made a plea for the breed’s survival. He viewed U.S. dog lover’s as the best hope of avoiding possible extinction of a
breed whose numbers where dwindling in its native country. From a limited number of dogs imported throughout the 1970’s and subsequently bred, the total number of dogs registered in 2002 now
exceeds well over 100,000. This tremendous popularity and the dog’s reputation as the “dog of the nineties” has spawned many thousands of owners and breeders. It is owners and breeders, who
together form the foundation of the national and local Shar-Pei clubs that are continuing to perfect the breed. With greater numbers of high quality dogs available, the true Shar-Pei enthusiast has the opportunity to build foundation stock of sound animals by breeding and purchasing dogs with solid backgrounds and NOT merely for fad and appearance.

The Shar-Pei makes a very devoted and loyal family member. They are very easily house trained, and get along great with kids.

Pictures of coat types seen in Shar-Pei:

Lacy is a brushcoat

Satchmo is a black brushcoat

Petey is an ‘old fashioned’ horsecoat

Maya is a fawn horsecoat

Dolly is a Bear Coat (Coat longer than 1″)