Temperment

The Shar-Pei is very loyal to his handler and easily becomes a participating family member.  It is one of the most intelligent breeds and thus does have a mind of its own and does not always follow orders slavishly. The handler needs to be gentled but firm.  They are playful, brave, active, and dominant bonding with their family.  Although  not unfriendly toward strangers they do tend to be aloof at first.  If your dog meets cats and children while it is still young, it usually will not have a problem with them.

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The Chinese Shar-Pei has a frowning expression which can be deceptive. This breed is easy-going, devoted, calm, and independent.  They make a terrific companions and they are excellent watchdogs.  The Shar-Pei does needs a strong confident handler.  If you are too uncertain,  too soft, too inconstant, or too mild in the dog's eyes, it will take over as the boss.  The Shar-Pei needs a firm, but gentle and extremely consistent training. They are stubborn and bold and need firm obedience training to establish your leadership. They may refuse commands from family members who have not established leadership over them.  They need an owner who as the ability to be "Top Dog".

This is a breed that is extremely clean and they almost housebreak themselves.  They generally aren't fond of water, in fact they usually hate water and try as hard as they can to avoid it.  Puppies grow very quickly and must be fed accordingly.  Mixing other dogs can sometimes be a problem and socialization is important.  However some Shar-Pei are less dominant then others and show lines tend to be less dog-aggressive, mixing well with other dogs.  All of our Shar-Pei have been social butterflies loving to play and socialize with dogs, cats, and people.  They don't have an aggressive bone in their body.

Shar-Pei can slobber, and snort.   Some vets refer to them as bred monsters.  But they are great little monsters.  We are quite convinced they must be a cross between a pot belly pig [sounds like it], a Chow Chow [blue tongue] and a cat [cat like skills].  The sound effects are terrific and get use to windows that are covered with doggy snort.  

Look for a reputable breeder when seeking a Shar-Pei.  This breed was so popular in the 1980's. it was called the "Yuppie Puppy", which caused careless over-breeding.   A lot of this breeds personality and health depend on the lines it comes from.    Choose well and you can't do any better

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