My cousin runs the UK Pei rescue centre - SHAR-PEI RESCUE OF GREAT BRITAIN

Please give him a call if you need any advice as he is always happy to chat about his beloved breed!

His name is Paul Saxton - feel free to say that Liz has sent you!

This thread is donkies years old!
DT

fingers crossed the FSF test is validated soon, would save so much heartache

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I hope it gets major publicity when it is validated so that potentiial buyers know what to ask for. Hopefully then the unethical breeders will put out of business of be forced into testing

Actually, Paul Saxton runs one rescue which is NOT affiliated to the breed club. He was previously a committee member but for various reasons, no longer is.

The Shar Pei Club of Great Britain does have rescue co-ordinators and a Facebook page. There is also the Midland Shar Pei Club and another one within the UK.

Edit: It is the irreputable breeders who tend to have "over done" dogs (Those with too many wrinkles). Reputable breeders won't and don't do this - one reason being because many also do the show ring circuit and if they had "over done" dogs, they wouldn't get placed. It is breeders who are out to make a fast buck who don't give you an information pack on the breed, don't take back the puppies if things go wrong, etc.

Would you put down a human being if they had the flu? No. You may well euthanise if an old person had pneumonia together with kidney failure and it was legal to do so within the country where you lived. There are varying degrees of SPF. As I said, many never get it; others may get it twice a year for 24hrs at a time (Fixed with a small dose of an NSAID to relieve pain and temperature) whilst those (Usually as a result of poor breeding) may get it every month.

It is difficult to introduce new lines, given that only a handful of Shar Pei left China in the late 1970s - I think it was under 100 dogs. Reputable breeders know the lines inside out; the same, unfortunately, cannot be said for irreputable breeders.

What should I feed my shar pei? Well, they need a hypoallergenic diet - no gluten (So wheat is out), no beef (Including tripe). A low protein diet is recommended. Nope to loads of treats full of EU permitted colourings.

Re cleaning - the skin is free moving and so there isn't a problem re cleaning because of the wrinkles.

I could go on but like many other pet owners, you can always get a decent book out of the library or buy one off Amazon - I think that goes for any breed you intend to purchase.


As for the comment made about what I posted, as someone else has stated, shar pei fever is an illness. Whilst perhaps unique to shar pei, as I stated, not all develop it. Given that the results of the research have only just been published within the last 6 weeks or so, that is hardly a vast amount of time for reputable breeders to act upon it!

Shar pei can develop other health problems such as entropian - but then they are not the only breed to suffer from this - St Bernards being one of them. Indeed, many Staffordshire Bull Terriers now have many more health problems, simply as a result of being over-bred, as do labradors, etc.

So why pick on the shar pei? Because it is fashionable to pick on this breed perhaps? What is required, IMHO, is stricter control on who can become KC registered breeders and for Local Authorities to actually do what they are empowered to do - inspect more often, etc. Many Local Authorities aren't even aware of their obligations.

I know this is an old thread, but Muppett your Shar Pei are gorgeous. I owned 2 Shar Pei bitches when they very first arrived in this country and bred just one litter, my OH wouldnt let me breed again as I kept all 4 puppies because I couldnt part with any of them. We campaigned our boy all over the country, winning major awards. One day I will have another, I just hope you are still breeding .......