Shar Pei

  

Summary

• The Shar Pei is an active, compact and squarely built dog with wrinkles over the skull and mane.
• The breed has a distinctive appearance with small ears and a “hippo-like” muzzle.
• Shar Pei are calm, independent, loyal and devoted.
• The dog has a fairly large head in relation to its body, with a flat and wide skull.
• The movements of the Shar Pei should be free, harmonious and energetic, with good stride length.

Full Breed Description for Shar Pei

The Shar Pei is an active and medium-sized dog with a distinctive appearance. Compact, well built and square built, it has wrinkles over the skull and mane which give it a unique and charming character.Male dogs are usually larger and more powerful than bitches. The Shar Pei is known for its calm, independent and loyal temperament. It is a devoted companion that thrives in the company of the family.The dog has a fairly large head in relation to its body, and folds in the forehead and cheeks form a loose neck skin that is typical of the breed. The skull of the Shar Pei is flat and broad, and the stop is moderate.The nasal cartilage is large and broad, and black color is preferred, but any color matching the coat color is allowed. The nose should have wide and open nostrils.The muzzle is breed-typically wide from the base to the tip of the muzzle without any hint of tapering, and the lips and bridge of the nose are well filled. A certain bulk on the muzzle is permitted. The lips of the Shar Pei have a blue-black tongue, gums and lips are preferred, while a pink spotted tongue is allowed.A pink tongue is very undesirable. In lighter colored dogs, the tongue may be a solid lavender color. Jaws and teeth are powerful, and a perfect, even scissor bite with straight teeth is desirable.The folds of the upper lip should not be so thick that they obstruct the bite. The eyes of the Shar Pei are dark, almond-shaped and have a special expression. Lighter eyes are allowed in lighter colored dogs. The eyelids and vision must not be disturbed by surrounding skin, wrinkles or fur. Any signs of irritation in the eyes are highly undesirable.Entropion, where the eyelid rolls inwards and irritates the eye, is not desirable. The ears of the Shar Pei are very small, quite thick and shaped like an equilateral triangle with a slightly rounded tip. They are set high, and the tips point forward towards the eyes.The ears are widely placed and lie close to the skull. Standing ears are very undesirable. The Shar Pei’s neck is of medium length, powerful and well set against the shoulders. The loose neck skin should not be excessive.The forelimbs of the Shar Pei are straight, moderately long and have a good bone stock. There should be no wrinkles on the front legs. The shoulders are muscular, well laid back and sloping. The middle hand is slightly inclined, strong and flexible. The paws are medium-sized, compact and not spreading, with well-knotted toes. The body of the Shar Pei should not have excessive skin, apart from moderate folds on the mane and base of the tail.The topline has a slightly marked dip and a slight loin arch. The back is short and strong, and the loin is short, broad and slightly arched. The croup is fairly flat, and the chest is broad and deep, reaching the elbows. The bottom line is slightly pulled up below the waist.The tail is thick and round at the base, tapering to a fine tip. It is characteristically set high and can be worn high and bent, tightly rolled or bent over to one side of the back. A completely or partially missing tail is highly undesirable.The back limbs of the Shar Pei are powerful and muscular, moderately angled and seen from behind straight and parallel. Skin folds on the thighs, lower thighs and hocks, as well as thick skin on the hocks, are undesirable. The hocks are set low, and the paws correspond to the front paws and do not have spurs.The movements of the Shar Pei are preferred to be at a trot. They must be free, harmonious, energetic, with good stride length in front and good drive behind. When the speed increases, there may be a tendency to spin. Stiff movements are undesirable.The coat of the Shar Pei is typically short, hard and bristly on the body, usually flatter on the extremities. There is no undercoat. The length can vary from 1 cm to 2.5 cm, and the fur should never be trimmed.Regarding color, all solid colors except white are accepted. The tail and back of the thighs are usually lighter. Darker shading down the back and on the ears is permitted.The Shar Pei has a height at the withers of 44-51 cm. Any deviation from the described points must be considered a fault, and the severity of the fault is assessed in relation to the deviation from the breed description. Gross faults include deviations from scissor bite (slight overbite allowed), pointed muzzle, spotted tongue (except pink spotted), large ears, low set tail and fur longer than 2.5 cm.Good luck!