Toy Chinese Shar Pei

Today, a word combination like “Toy Chinese Shar Pei” is a frequent occurrence in various online dog breed information resources, and this is highly misleading. The AKC breed standard does not recognize any byproduct of the breed, many of which were produced during the 1980s, shortly after the breed’s arrival in America. There is only one term the American Kennel Club accepts – the Chinese Shar Pei. However, purebred Shar Peis do differ in body shape within acceptable limits.

The Chinese Shar Pei originates in China as a herding, guarding and hunting companion. These dogs have been around for many centuries, and their protective instincts are strongly inherent in them. The dog has a sturdy body formation, characterized by a square form and tight musculation. The head is blunt and broad, the ears are small, lying close to the head, and there are three types of tail: sickle, spear and coin (curled). These dogs also vary in mouth type (bone mouth and meat mouth) and coat type (horse, brush and bear; the latter is not accepted). These dogs stand 18-20 inches tall at the shoulder; Toy Chinese Shar Peis are not mentioned in any standard.

The Chinese Shar Pei dog is a determined, strong-willed and somewhat obstinate and dominant dog. Not infrequently, these dogs exercise dominance not only on their own like, but on people as well. Shar Pei owners must be competent and hardy enough to counteract any attempt on the dog’s side to challenge; otherwise, a Shar pei may take up the position of a boss in his family. In this case, the dog will be used to have everything in its own way, and may develop serious behavioral problems. For this reason, these dogs are not recommended for young owners. The behavior of so called Toy Chinese Shar Pei Dogs is all the more difficult to foresee and foretell because their origins are uncertain.

Chinese Shar Pei Dogs have come through a lot of ordeals in their country of origin in the 20th century. During the reign of Communism, they were declared a luxury breed that ‘took breed from the mouths of babies’, and hence they were exposed to political pressure. This line of policy all but destroyed the breed to the ground and it was due to Matgo Law, a businessman from Hong Kong, that the breed took its second wind abroad. In the 1970s, he managed to save the breed by sending a few species to American breeders, who took up the breeding program and went in line with the breed standard. Unfortunately, breeding got out of control in the USA, and the dog become a fad, which resulted in the appearance pf poor quality dogs and numerous hybrids and outcrosses labeled as “Toy Chinese Shar Pei”, “Miniature Shar Pei”, etc.