The history of the rare Shar Pei dog breed can be traced back to the Guangdong province of China. Early forms of the breed existed as early as 200 B.C. True Chinese Shar Pei have a different appearance than the Western version. Its heavily wrinkled coat distinguishes the breed. Western versions retain more wrinkles in adulthood than the more rare Chinese versions. Both types of Shar Pei also have small ears, high-set, curled tails, deep-set eyes and blue-black tongues.
The Shar Pei is easily distinguished from other breeds by its unique wrinkled appearance and blue-black tongue. Shar Pei puppies have wrinkles all over their bodies when born but as adults grow into their wrinkles. The original Chinese Shar Pei grew out of its wrinkles almost completely so that the body was smooth and only the face and neck retained wrinkles. A modern Shar Pei breeder maintains a western version of the Shar Pei, which retains more wrinkles. A Shar Pei comes in many colors including red, tan, white, blue-grey and black. The breed's coat comes in three types, horse, brush and bear. Shar Pei also have high-set, short, curly tails.
Though the Shar Pei has increased in popularity, it is still a rare breed. Finding a good Shar Pei breeder may therefore be difficult depending on what area of the country a potential buyer lives in.
Even with common breeds, finding a good, ethical breeder can be difficult. Buyers should do their research on many levels before buying a Shar Pei. Research should begin with deciding why the buyer wants one of these ancient, wrinkled, incredibly cute and lovable dogs.
Buyers should research the breed, its physical traits and temperament, and its common health problems. After buyers have determined what Shar Pei characters are like, they should research what this breed requires to be happy and healthy. Next, buyers should begin to research Shar Pei breeders. The local ASPCA or veterinarian may be good places to start. The Internet is another option. However, any site offering next day pets may be suspicious. Any good Shar Pei breeder will want a buyer to be local so they can visit the kennel and get to know a Shar Pei and its parents before taking it home.
Reputable, experienced breeders never sell puppies to pet stores. A qualified Shar Pei breeder will screen prospective buyers because they care about all the puppies they breed. They want to be sure each and every puppy goes to a great home with loving owners giving proper care.
Second, buyers are not screened, as they would be by a breeder. Anyone with a credit card can buy a puppy. Third, unsold puppies may be shipped to yet another store, sold to a smaller pet store or euthanized. Shar Pei breeders ensure that their puppies remain in a stable environment until they are sold to a good home.
Lastly, pet stores do no follow-up on sold puppies. Breeders, on the other hand, usually keep one out of every litter for themselves and ask for buyers to return dogs to the breeder if owners cannot keep them for any reason. Pet stores cannot offer a real guarantee or warranty on health or pedigree since their merchandise comes from illegitimate backyard breeders. An ethical Shar Pei breeder offers pedigree information, registration papers and a warranty.
Chinese Shar Pei Puppies
Deciding you wanted a Shar Pei was the easy part, now the hard part is getting contact information for Shar Pei breeders so that you can decide on a good breeder to get your new pet from. Never fear, that is what the Internet and informational articles just like this one are for. You can do much more than just crack open the phone book and looking that way. If you use the right sources you cannot only gather valuable information but you can also collect advice you can use along the way as well.
If you are already a pet owner then you also have a vet and your vet can be a great source of information on finding a good breeder. If you do not have a vet yet then the best time to start talking to one is when you are in the process of finding a breeder. Your vet will give you valuable information that you can trust and that will point you in the direction of a breeder that you can feel comfortable doing business with.
If you already have pets then you also have a vet and your vet is a great place to get information about who would be a good Shar Pei breeder to talk to. Your vet is only going to give you the best information they have when it comes to your pets so you can trust that what your vet tells you is something that you can count on and something you should run with. You can always trust the advice and opinions of your vet.
Sometimes Shar Pei breeders will host their own websites and a search of the Internet will help you uncover these sites and from them you can learn a lot about the breeders' standards and how they run their business. The Internet can be a wealth of information.
You can also go through the listings of the various national breeder registries on the Internet to compile a list of reputable Shar Pei breeders as well. Registries set the standards that breeders follow so you can find the breeders that adhere to certain standards by browsing the list of registries on the Internet.
If your circle of friends does not include any Shar Pei owners then find some on the Internet. It would not take a lot of searching to come up with a handful of owners you can talk to so that you can try and get some good breeder referrals.
Finding the right Shar Pei breeder is extremely important and the more sources you use the more names you will compile and the better your chances of finding the breeder that suits you. Take your time and exhaust all of your options because in the end if you wind up dealing with a breeder that you were not completely sold on in the first place then you could regret it for years to come.
Melissa Coleman has sinced written about articles on various topics from Puppies Dogs, Puppies Dogs and Pets. About the author: Melissa Coleman is a passionate lover of the Shar Pei and owns a popular website that can teach you how to have a happy, healthy and well behaved. Melissa Coleman's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
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