l History l

The Shar Pei is a breed of dog known for its distinctive features of deep wrinkles and a blue-black tongue. The breed comes from China. The name "sha", thant means "sand", and "pi", that means "skinl" translates to "sand skin" and refers to the texture of its short, rough coat. As puppies, Shar Pei have numerous wrinkles, but as they mature, these wrinkles disappear as they "grow into their skin". Shar Pei were once named as one of the world's rarest dog breeds by Time magazine and the Guinness Book of World Records, the American Kennel Club did not recognize the breed until 1991.

The origin of the Shar-Pei can be traced to the province of Kwun Tung (present day Guangdong) and has for centuries existed in the southern provinces of China. These dogs helped their peasant masters in various tasks such as herding cattle, guarding the home and family, and have proven themselves to be qualified hunters of wild game, usually wild pigs, and, of course they were used for generations as fighting dogs, by the Chinese nobility, although the practice became rarer after the people's Revolution when such activities were seen as the preserve of the decadent classes.

The Shar-Pei is believed to have shared a common origin with the smooth-coated Chow-Chow because of the blue-black mouths and tongues, possibly the Great Pyrenees, a source of the double dew claws, and the Tibetan Mastiff. It was believed in ancient times that the dark mouth of the Chow-Chow, exposed when barking, helped to ward off evil spirits. The Shar-Pei when translated means "sand-skin" or "shark skin." This uniquely rough, loose, prickly coat enabled the Shar-Pei to wriggle out of its opponents grasp while fighting in the dog pits. The coat when stroked against the grain may be abrasive, producing a burning, itching sensation. Their tail is carried over their backs on either side exposing the anus. The first tail set is a tightly curled tail, a "coin" tail. The second tail set is the loose curl, and third is carried in an arch over the back. The Shar-Pei with his tail sticking out straight or between his legs was thought to be cowardly. The tail should denote bravery.

While viewing the body head on, if the toes were slightly turned out this was thought to help the dog with balance according to old-time dog-fighting fanciers. The Chinese crawling dragon with his feet pointed east and west was considered a sign of strength. Because of these poor breeding practices many of the Shar-Pei have bad fronts. A dog with straight forelegs is correct.

Incidentally, Western breeders maintain that any dog in China that protects property is called a fighting dog, whereas in Canada and the United States they are referred to as guard dogs. This is still a moot point. Up until the introduction of Breed Specific Legislation, designed to target breeds alleged to be "more likely" to attack and largely aimed at criminalising the American Pit Bull Terrier. Shar Pei were regarded as a breed designed, bred and selected for dog-fighting, after the introduction of various BS legislation, many breeders started to deny the fighting ancestry and concocted fanciful tales of a hunting heritage. It is worth mentioning that the Chinese and Taiwanese still regard the Shar Pei as a dog-fighting breed, although the prohibitive cost of the breed has done much to discourage such abuse.

Following the establishment of the Peoples' Republic of China as a communist nation, the dog population was virtually wiped out[citation needed]. If not for the efforts of Matgo Law of Hong Kong, the Shar-Pei would not be here today. Due to his dedication to the breed, a small number of Shar-Pei were brought to the United States in the 1960s and early '70s. In 1974 American and Canadian fanciers answered Matgo's appeal for help and in 1976 the first Shar-Pei was registered. The foundation stock brought over from Hong Kong were of poorer quality than the Shar-Pei we see today. In August 1991 the Shar-Pei officially completed the requirements for recognition by the American Kennel club and was placed in the Non-Sporting Group. In 1992 the Canadian Kennel Club also officially recognized and grouped the Shar-Pei in group 6, Non-Sporting n g events. Since that time several Shar-Pei are now and continuing to become CKC and AKC champions.

Over 100,000 Shar Pei exist in the United States and Canada. This unique breed is also recognized by the FCI, HKKC, and the CSPCGB. The CSPCGB operates independently receiving no input or influence from the UK Kennel Club. The FCI recognizes the HKKC standard which is a standard based on the traditional type and not the AKC's western modified type at this time, as per its general policy of using the standard from the country of the breed's origin.

l Standard l

FCI N° 309 / 1999 / E

ORIGIN: China.

PATRONAGE: FCI

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 14.04.1999.

UTILIZATION: Hunting- and watch-dog.

CLASIFICATION FCI: Group 2 Pinscher and Schnauzer, Molossians and Swiss Mountain-and Cattledogs.
Section 2.1 Molossian, Mastiff type.
Without working trial.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Active, compact, short coupled and squarely built dog of medium size. Wrinkles over skull and withers, small ears and " hippopotamus " muzzle impart to the Shar Pei a unique look. Dogs larger and more powerful than bitches.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS: The height of the Shar Pei from withers to ground is approximately equal to the length of the body, from point of shoulder to point of buttock, especially in males. The length from nose to stop is approximately equal to the length from stop to occiput.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT: Calm, independent, loyal, affectionate to his family.

HEAD: Rather large in proportion to body. Wrinkles on forehead and cheeks continuing to form dewlap.

Skull : Flat, broad.
Stop : Moderate.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose : Large and wide, preferably black, but any colour conforming to general coat colour permissible. Wide opened nostrils.
Muzzle : A distinctive feature of the breed. Broad from root to tip of nose with no suggestion of tapering. Lips and top of muzzle well padded. Bulge at the base of the nose permissible.
Mouth : Tongue, roof of mouth, gums and flews : bluish black is preferred. Pink spotted tongue permissible. Solid pink tongue highly undesirable. In dilute-coloured dogs the tongue is solid lavender.
Jaws/Teeth : Jaws strong with a perfect scissor bite, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Padding of lower lip should not be so excessive as to interfere with the bite.
Eyes : Dark, almond-shaped with a scowling expression. Lighter colour permissible in dilute-coloured dogs. Function of eyeball or lid in no way disturbed by surrounding skin, folds or hair. Any sign of irritation of eyeball, conjunctiva or eyelids highly undesirable. Free from entropion.
Ears : Very small, rather thick, equilaterally triangular in shape, slightly rounded at tip and set high on the skull with tips pointing towards eyes; set well forward over eyes, wide apart and close to skull. Pricked ears highly undesirable.

NECK : Medium length, strong, set well on shoulders. The loose skin under the neck should not be excessive.

BODY : Folds of skin on body in mature dogs highly undesirable except on withers and base of tail, which show moderate wrinkling.
Topline : Dips slightly behind withers; then it rises slightly over loin.
Back : Short, strong.
Loin : Short, broad, slightly arched.
Croup : Rather flat.
Chest : Broad and deep, brisket reaching the elbow.
Underline : Rises slightly under the loin.

TAIL : Thick and round at the root, tapering to a fine point. The tail is set very high, a characteristic feature of the breed. May be carried high and curved, carried in tight curl or curved over or to either side of the back. Lack of or incomplete tail highly undesirable.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : Forelegs straight, moderate length, good bone. The skin on forelegs shows no wrinkle.
Shoulders : Muscular, well laid and sloping.
Metacarpus (Pastern) : Slightly sloping, strong and flexible.

HINDQUARTERS : Muscular, strong, moderately angulated, perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other when viewed from the rear. Wrinkles on upper thighs, lower thighs, rear pasterns as well as the thickening of the skin on hocks undesirable.
Hocks : Well let down.

FEET : Moderate size, compact, not splayed. Toes well knuckled. Hindfeet free from dewclaws.

GAIT / MOVEMENT : The preferred gait is trot. The gait is free, balanced, active with good forward reach and strong drive from the hindquarters. The feet tend to converge to a center line when the speed increases. Stilted gait undesirable.

COAT

HAIR : A distinctive feature of the breed : short, harsh and bristly. The coat is straight and offstanding on the body, but generally flatter on the limbs. No undercoat. The coat may vary in length from 1 cm to 2,5 cm. Never trimmed.

COLOUR : All solid colours acceptable except white. Tail and rear part of thighs frequently of a lighter colour. Darker shading down the back and on the ears permissible.

SIZE :
Height : 44 - 51 cm at withers (17,5 - 20 ins).

FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

SERIOUS FAULTS :
" Deviation from a scissor bite (as a transitory measure, a very slightly overshot mouth is permissible).
" Snipy muzzle.
" Spotted tongue (except pink spotted tongue).
" Large ears.
" Low set tail.
" Coat longer than 2,5 cm.

ELIMINATING FAULTS :
" Aggresive or overly shy.
" Flat foreface with badly overshot bite; undershot bite.
" Solid pink tongue.
" Lower lip rolled in, interfering with the bite.
" Round, bulging eye. Entropion, ectropion.
" Skin, folds or hair disturbing the normal function of the eye.
" Pricked ears.
" Absence of tail; stumpy tail.
" Heavy folds of skin on body (except withers and base of tail) and limbs.
" Not a solid colour (albino, brindle, patches, spots, black and tan, saddled pattern).

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

REMARK : Any artificial physical alteration to the Shar Pei (in particular lips and eyelids) eliminates the dog from competition.