They're a lovely breed. They're intelligent. They're really loving and loyal. They've got
cheeky characters sometimes. Basically, once you've got one you become addicted and most
people end up with two - or five like I've got. Shar Peis have increased in popularity
over recent years, and it's been a little bit to the detriment of the breed. Their highly
wrinkled appearance makes them popular with some people, simply just for their appearance.
And yet, really the breed shouldn't have a lot of wrinkles. It has a loose fitting skin,
but the more wrinkled it is the more care it's going to require because they can get
infections inside those wrinkles. We don't breed for over-exaggerated wrinkles. They
should only have moderate wrinkling over the shoulders. As a puppy they will have more
wrinkles and they will grow into those wrinkles - but you shouln't be looking at a puppy that's
absolutely dripping in wrinkles, because that is not what they should be bred for. Shar
Pei have got a reputation of being quite difficult to train. I think that's because they've got
that aloof personality. Having said that, I've had a fair few through my training classes
and they have been absolutely delightful to train. They've got to see why you want them
to do it. You've got to try and find out what makes them tick a little bit. They're really
clever dogs and as a youngster, you really need to give them their boundaries at a young
age. So if you don't want them on the settee, don't put them on the settee at a young age
because they pick things up really quickly - so we all have to train them at an ealy
age. So as long as they're really well socialised, they're good with children, good with people
and good with other dogs. It's going to be a very powerful dog. It's not an enormous
dog, but it's a powerful dog as an adult. You need to think about getting lots of early
socialisation, teaching it about life - taking it out and about - doing all that in a very
positive manner so it has a good experience of the life it's going to lead. When you've
got a powerful dog you really need to do more than the rest of us - with a smaller dog - so
you can control that power when you're out in public. When they're puppies, you don't
need to over-exercise them. They grow quite rapidly, so you have to be careful with the
exercise. Just moderate exercise - buidling up and then once they get to adult size, and
hour a day would be perfect. They're quite laid back dogs. They're very loyal to your
family. They have got a guarding instinct - so obiously you don't need to bring that
guarding instinct out, it's there. They'll fuss people and then go away because they
want their own space. Generally they should be happy, healthy, fun-loving dogs. There's
two types of coat - there's a horse coat and a brush coat. The horse coat is a more harsher
coat - and these are brush coats. Bascially it's like a once over groom, once a week.
You don't need any clipping. They're a wash and go dog. And then twice a year, they moult
and they go from their summer coat to the winter coat, or the winter to the summer,
and then they do need a really good brush out. We use a grooming rakeand get all the
dead hair out. All that old coat out. Give them a good bath, shampoo and then your new
coat's all in. So twice a year you do have quite a heavy moult with them. Make sure you
go to a breeder who really understands the breed, who knows what they're doing, and gives
you good advice. The last thing you want to do is buy a dog that's going to give you health
problems in the coming years. When looking for a puppy, you should make sure the puppy
has got clean eyes, clean ears, it's got good skin - it's not itching or scratching - it's
got a nice coat on it and it's not dripping in wrinkles. And therefore it should be a
happy healthy puppy. If you buy carefully, they can make an ideal famly pet. They're
a little bit reserved with strangers, so perhaps wouldn't like one if you have a lot of strangers
coming to the house. Nevertheless, in the right hands and the righ environment, they
can make an ideal family pet. \par }
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