(Chinese Shar Pei)
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Vito was born on April 11, 1987 and has been my constant companion and loyal friend for the past 13 years. He is a Chinese Shar Pei, once considered the rarest breed of dog in the world. (Because of the rise in its popularity and the increased amount of breeding in the past ten years, the Shar Pei has now dropped to about third in this category).
The Chinese Shar Pei is a great breed of dog. They are intelligent, affectionate, and very clean (Check out the Myths & Facts). Despite their wrinkles, they are actually a very distinctive and handsome animal. They are born "naturally housebroken", which means that as puppies they don't have to be paper-trained. They know instinctively to go outside to do their "bizness", and sometimes they will even indirectly hurt themselves trying to wait as long as possible before having an "accident" because their master didn't let them go outside for a while. Not only are these dogs determined, they are fearless (especially the males). They will, without hesitation, take on another dog several times their size.
The Chinese Shar Pei was bred to guard and fight. They have features such as small ears that lay close to the head, loose skin, fatty tissue around the eyes, and wide jaws that act as advantageous features when engaged in battle. As young dogs, they are very distinctive with their very loose skin and wrinkles. As they age, however, they "grow" into their skin and usually retain their wrinkles mostly in just the head and neck. Many times the older Shar Peis are mistaken for pit bulls. True, they are of stocky build and have the big wide jaw like a pit bull (Shar Pei jaws can crush bone very quickly), but they have quite a different temperament. Once the Chinese learned that the Shar Pei was not vicious enough to be a regular fighting dog (like a pit bull), their popularity waned. Chinese Shar Peis, although aggressive, are just too docile to be pitted together against each other or against other breeds to fight in an arena to tear one another apart (Thank God!). That is why they really make better pets than pit bulls. You never have to worry about them turning on you or on your friends and acquaintances (Sorry, pit bull owners, but that's just the way it is). The Shar Pei even has the interesting distinction of somehow being able to recognize another Shar Pei as "one of their own," and they usually socialize very nicely together. Quite the breed!
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 He knows he's a STUD! Vito has been like my child. I give him lots of love and attention, and a great amount of special care. Daily exercise is a ritual for Vito and me. He has a nice muscular body from many hours of sprinting and hiking up mountain trails. He often accompanies me on fishing trips, which I believe are his favorite adventures. Check out the "fishin' dog" in the picture below. I've gone through many trials and tribulations with Vito. He's had an encounter with a porcupine (I had to pull out lots of quills from his face and chest), a skunk gave him a small shot of perfume once, he's been kicked in the face by a cow or a deer, and he's had plenty of scrapes with other male dogs. One time, after he almost died from a viral infection in his ears, he walked too close to a creek while he was still a bit weak, and fell about six feet into the water. I had to go into water almost up to my neck to save him from drowning. I've also nearly lost him in a few river valleys when he's occasionally chased some large animals, and one time I lost him in the mountains and had to go back with a small search party at 2 AM to find him. Is this what parents go through with children? |
(He's looking for a "fishy") Though Shar Peis are expensive (Vito cost me a cool thousand), they are such a special breed and have such great characteristics and personalities that I feel they are definitely worth the money. Because of the stud fees they command and the high price of Shar Pei puppies, you can recover some of the money down the road if you breed them. During the past 10 years there have been a lot of people trying to make money at breeding Shar Peis; unfortunately, sometimes genetic flaws have been overlooked in the quest for dollars. I believe that owner/breeders of Chinese Shar Peis should be very discreet about breeding their dogs -- in other words, be more thoughtful and don't pass on genetic flaws! |