shar peis oh so cute, but good idea or bad idea ?

[stokemeaclipper]

myself and DH have decided we want a dog, both have been around dogs, but never owned one.

I have had a lot of experience helping train other peoples dogs and have worked on farms with sheep dogs. And love walking dogs, even my friends staff, that pulls with everyone except me.

Dh has been around alot of family dogs, but never really in charge or them.

We work shifts, but have family and friends close by that are retired and would love a dog to walk. and have agreed to help us out, if we will be out for any long periods of time, though hopefully i will be working from home eventually.

So we can cope with being a strong dog owners as i have read shar peis can be dominant. I have read up on crate training and will be doing puppy classes to socialise the dog from 6 months.

Any advice on the breed, or for a new dog owner.

I've only ever known one Sharpei and despite living in a really clean house he really smelled bad. Don't know if it's the folds hold the smell or if he was just a stinker. He was a nice friendly boy though.

As a vet this is a breed I would probably avoid, they get a lot of problems with their skin folds and many end up needing corrective surgery to remove excess skin around the face. The smell the above poster mentions is due to chronic infection in these folds. They are also prone to ear problems again due to bad ear conformation. I would say 75% of the ones I have met have had aggressive tendencies although as with all breeds this is a probably a combination of genetics and the way they have been raised.

Sorry to sound negative but better to find out all the possible cons before you buy!

Thanks for that, I have spoken to a few owners of shar peis and they have said about maintaining their skin, which i am happy to do.

I am also meeting with a breeder that has both dogs to check temperaments.

We are not rushing into it, and are not going to just get a puppy because its cute.

But will take your info on board. I have been worried about the medical problems, but every dog seems to have something.

Very very aggressive. I used to walk my dog along with my friend who was a dog walker, in Regents Park and Primrose Hill. Every SharPei we met was a nightmare with other dogs. They are notorious for it. I really would not get one , but especially if you have or may have children. Trying to separate fighting dogs is not something you want a child around. And they so often end up needing surgery too. I actually think it is cruel to buy a dog like this. Get something more sensibly configured and much less aggressive.

OP, there are huge variations between breeds in the medical issues they face. Please take a look at the Dog Breed Health Website here which lists all the main breeds and the illnesses they are prone to, along with inbreeding co-efficients. It is a sobering read and should be essential for anyone considering a puppy. It is also one of the KC "HIgh Profile" breeds which means it is recognised as having particularly extreme health issues - see link www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/4042 here.

sharpei we bred as fighting dogs, i too have only ever met nasty ones. even ones we have knows as puppies have turned out to be nasty adults.

why would you want a dog that has been specifically bred to be deformed? why not get your butt down to a rescue centre and re home a dog? so many bloody dogs get put to sleep because people have not a clue!

both of my dogs are rescue, and they are the best boys ever!

*were, not we!!

also you have never even owned a dog and you want to get an aggressive dominant dog with chronic health issues!

i can see this ending up as one of those ' AIBU to re home my dog' ....

I have looked at shelters and nearly took a staffy, that apparently hated everybody on site but we got on really well.

But it is risky, because you don't know what happened to it when it was a puppy

I have always wanted a shar pei, and have never met an aggressive one, maybe thats just lucky on my part.

I will continue researching things, and will go and see more breeders to decide once and for all.

Surely they cant all be nasty

My neighbour has a half sharpei, and though she loves it wouldn't again - it's got an inflammatory hip problem which is special to the breed, and she's been very lucky to find a specialist vet in reasonable distance

Top of my list of dogs I would never own. Most are aggressive and I am not surprised with the amount of painful health issues they get. Bad skin, sore eyes, sore ears, itchy spikey fur and shar pei hock fever. Wouldn't touch one with a barge pole!

I would say you have probably not been out walking a dog and meeting sharpeis from the other side. You may have met ones that are friendly with people, but an aggressive fighting breed is an insane choice for anyone, never mind as a first dog. I love dogs in general but I agree with blackballoon - they are top of my list of dogs I would never own too. I have been walking with 12-15 dogs of all different breeds, and the one we dreaded meeting was a sharpei as there would inevitably be either a fight or a near miss. Also they are essentially deformed. You seem to care more that a dog looks "cute" than that it has a happy life. A life full of pain and irritation, involving essential surgery, and a life constrained by being kept on a lead/muzzled all the time so as not to damage other dogs- miserable. WHY would you even consider this? And good tempered parents are no guarantee of a good tempered puppy- breeding dogs don't get all that well socialised so its hard to tell how they perform in a natural set-up anyway, and this dog has been inbred for aeons to fight, and that is what most of them want to do.

I have never met a shar pei when i have been walking dogs, the dogs I generally walk are staffies, labs and boxers.

I presume i must have been lucky, that ive never really had issues with other dogs. The breeder i am talking to just now, informed me that in england unfortunatly, shar peis seem to be the dog of choice for people wanting them to fight, I presume the same attitude up in scotland with people getting staffies.

Hers is a family pet thou,

I'd also point out that decent breeders very rarely happen to own both parents.

The ones I met were in the main owned by cool, afluent North london types who worked in the media and had bought the dogs because of their looks. Not ypung men who wanted them for fighting. Looks are the last reason anyone should ever choose a dog. I've had over twenty years of wire-haired fox terriers, and of course I think they are beautiful, but its the temperment that I like. However that is the same thing that lands them in rescue at 18m because they are bought by people thinking they look like a cuddly toy dog, and who then discover they are a typical independent terrier and can't cope.Temperment is the only thing you should be going by, even more so for a first dog.

I think I tiger is cute. Doesn't mean I would want one in my house.

I have encountered quite a lot of owners over my years. Without exception, all the dogs were just a designer accessory. Then they realise how hard they are, get rid of it and get a Pug.

Most people don't choose their family pet on it's looks.
I am not saying you are a bad person but rescues are full of "cute" pups who grew up. I am on 50 something foster now so make no apology for my tone.

I met a shar pei yesterday in the woods. It was wearing a full face muzzle (think Hannibal Lecter) and had a very short man attached to it via a very thick rope/lead/collar affair. My spaniel bounded around the corner, took one look, and rocketed back behind my legs. The shar pei was making a high pitched keening sound, which I think meant 'Dinner'. I lead my dog around the frantic beast at a very safe distance and apologised to the man who had his heels dug in and both shoulders dislocated. He said with a sigh 'S'alright. He's a bastard'. I'm going to take his word for it.

these are all interesting points.

The breeder has the mum dog and is only breeding her once, but i can meet the dad if i want.

I would be socialising the puppy from early as possible with friends dogs which are staffies and shitzus, I was told puppy classes were best to start at 6 months. But am still researching.

I have just always liked the breed and not wanting one because its the next big thing.

The breeder has been telling me all about the difference insurances i will need.

But I still havent totally decided if i will go for it. Will not fully commit till we see the pups, and even then i won't decide and just get one because they are cute.

I do admit liking that type of dog as in short fur, broad head medium sized, and all the ones i have met have had fantastic temperaments. But as its been said above, i have only met them with just me, no dogs.

We will keep pondering on it.

"short fur, broad head medium sized"

Sounds like a staffie! there are tons of Staffie pups in rescues :-)

Get a staffy instead. Much nicer! Plus shar pei brings loads of people out in an itchy rash!

A staffy was top of my list of dogs with a shar pei, As i said above, i nearly took a staffy from a rescue. But they were concerned as i am a first time dog owner, the particular one that took a likeing to me did have behaviour issues due to bad treatment.

it was a stunning dog and really friendly, but what had happened to it did worry me.

I obviously keep the wrong company, all my friends dogs are mongrels