There are more than 400 breeds of dogs, and each of them has its own characteristics. Many like shar pei - lovely dogs with an abundance of folds on the skin. They are smart, loyal, funny and cute. Do you want to become the owner of such a wonderful dog? Then we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the breed of Chinese shar pei.
It should start with a brief history of the breed. When the first shar pei appeared, it is not known exactly - the documentation of breeders of that period was destroyed. But a reliable fact is that they occurred about 3 thousand years ago in China and are the descendants of one of the oldest base breeds. At first Shar Pei was used as a fighting dog, then hunting. Later, already in the twentieth century, in China, these animals were subject to mass extermination along with other domestic pets. From the complete destruction of the breed they were saved by the fact that literally several surviving dogs were imported to the USA, where professional breeders and amateurs took all measures to restore the breed. Thanks to them shar pei survived, retaining their exotic appearance. Today they are very popular breed.
Characteristics of a shar pei
The large head of the shar pei is pear-shaped, the skull is wide and flat. The muzzle is wide, wrinkles (on the forehead and cheeks) are marked on it. Wide open nostrils are located on a large and wide nose. The eyes of the animal are usually of medium size, almond shaped, dark. Professionals note that the natural expression of the eyes and, accordingly, the muzzle sharieja - gloomy, sad. The ears of the dog are highly planted, they are small, thick and have the shape of an equilateral triangle. At the ends of the ears are rounded, their tips point toward the eyes.
The tongue, gums and sky of the dog have a blue-black hue, which is typical only for shar pei and chow-chow . This is one of the signs that these two breeds have common roots. Depending on the variation of the breed and the color, the dog's tongue can be lilac, purple, lavender or have pink spots on a blue background.
The tail of the shar pei is highly set, short and thin, it forms one steep curl. The animals themselves have growth standards from 46 to 51 cm, weigh 18-25 kg.
The most notable feature of the shar pei is his skin. It is hypertrophied folded, due to the mutation of one of the genes responsible for the skin. The animal's fur has no undercoat, it is prickly and stiff, short enough and feels like a horse's hair. Its length is from 1 to 2.5 cm.
In color shar pei are very different, but they are all divided into two groups:
- basic - such dogs are characterized by the presence of a black "mask" on the muzzle and the so-called strap on the back. The color of shar pei in this group can be cream, black, deer or red-deer, mahogany, blue or isabel;
- delute - the animals of this group do not have a black shade: it's apricot, chocolate, red, purple.
Characteristics of the character of shar pei
Based on the above described characteristics of the breed, it is easy to imagine the temper and temperament sharieya - calm, judicious. These dogs are both independent and devoted to the owner and his family. An adult animal is distinguished by a cautious, distrustful attitude towards strangers. He can be frightened by sharp movements, which is due to deep planting of the eyes. Also, the future owners of shar pei should bear in mind the need to begin early training and socialize the animal, since shar pei puppies tend to aggression towards other dogs. Showing the dog, "who's the boss", should be from an early age. Otherwise, Sharpey himself will take a leadership position, and to cope with this stubborn and independent animal will be much more difficult.