Health Concerns With the Shar-Pei

Let me first preface this to say that I think the Shar-Pei is a much maligned breed. All breeds have inherent problems, some more so than others. For some reason various vets develop a dislike of Shar-Pei and say some very bad things about them. Most vets have never even seen one...and lets face it, most dogs vets see are there for illness, which doesn't bode well for the healthy population of the breed. Being a vet is an occupation...a means of deriving an income. Your dog should only be seen and treated by a vet that knows the breed and isn't attempting to treat a problem they have only heard about at vet school. It is not in the interest of the dog or your pocket to let a novice vet attempt to educate themselves at your expense.

The following is a list of ailments that have been found in shar-pei. In reading this I ask that you are sensible and understand that, like reading a medical dictionary of ailments in people, a shar-pei is not neccesarily going to suffer from any or all of these problems, this is simply for reference and education. If you are considering purchasing a shar-pei and are wary due to the health concerns I recommend you visit this site Guide to Hereditary Diseases in Dogs and aquaint your self with the realities of all dog breeds and their potential problems before you dismiss owning a shar-pei.

One of the most common questions I get on the phone and by e-mail is "do they have any problems?" In breeding dogs you do not endeavour to propogate problems and sensible breeding practises should minimise this. In my many years of breeding shar-pei I have seen varying health issues as you would expect however, I do not think they are potentially worse or a more expenisive pet to own from a medical expense aspect than any other type of animal.

Ultimately you should not purchase a dog that is not sound and healthy and far too often I have people come to me for advice that have purchased from a pet shop or from an unregistered breeder and upon finding problems will have no-one to turn to as the seller no longer wants to know about the dog. I am assuming your dog is going to become part of your family and as such you want it to be healthy and to live as happily and for as long as possible. I advise you do not buy a dog in poor condition from a breeder that you are not comfortable with out of sympathy for the dog. All you are doing is encouraging that breeder and giving them a market for their dogs. Quite often a cheap dog turns out to be very expensive in the long run.