If you are thinking of fostering a cute puppy of this breed or you are simply already a new owner of one of them, you will know or would like to be informed about the most common diseases of the shar pei There are several that we must highlight but, do not be scared or discard this beautiful breed since, when considering it, its diseases must be included to have a holistic knowledge of our furry.
In this article on our site we will briefly review its history, characteristics of the breed and thus be able to clearly understand what diseases it may go through during its life.
Continue reading to learn how to detect them in time and thus take care of our friend properly, without forgetting that the best prevention is to go to the vet if you have any doubts.
Little Chinese
For those who are not very familiar with the breed I will give you a short introduction, which never hurts when it comes to understanding its "whys".
This is a very old breed, from before our era, from the southern coast of China. The owners used him to take care of herds, as a combat dog and he was considered, "Guardian of Temples". But in about 1947, he was exterminated in his home country because keeping him was considered a luxury. Under a communist regime, their owners were first fined and then massacred.
However, some specimens were saved from Hong Kong and were exported to the United States, which is why the American shar pei appeared, specimen somewhat smaller and less wrinkled than the traditional one. Fortunately, the breed was rescued and today we have them among us.
Just one detail for the curious is the meaning of his name in Chinese, "shar" which means "sand" and "pi" which means "skin"; being known as "sand skin".
Character and peculiarities
Not forgetting, and very easy to deduce, we said that they were used for fighting and taking care of herds in ancient China, so we can highlight their strong jaws and the hardness of his skin that made it impossible for him to hold on to any opponent who wanted to reach some vital organ to knock him down. Through generations they were distinguished by their loyal, reliable, alert and highly intelligent character; This made them the favorites of Chinese peasants when it came to protecting their properties.
Its appearance is that of a compact, robust dog with a broad, flat head. It is a dog with a guardian instinct, so sometimes it can develop protection of resources. Sometimes, he can also have a dominant temperament with other dogs (especially if we do not apply castration) but he is still balanced and sweet
Common diseases of the Shar Pei
Like any dog, however strong it may be, it can suffer from different illnesses, some more serious than others. Here we share a small guide to be alert and be able to go to the vet when necessary:
- Entropion: is a condition where the eyelid folds inward and the eyelashes can severely injure the eyeball. We will observe tearing, yellow or crusty fleas and when looking externally at the eye, we will clearly see this fold. This is a veterinary emergency as it can ulcerate the eye and even impair our animal's vision.
- Cherry Eyes: Dogs have three eyelids and under the third a gland that can become inflamed and protrudes from the eye with a typical color cherry. The vet may propose to remove it (later we will have dry eyes) or replace it in its place by means of a suture.
- Hip dysplasia: is a displacement between the head of the femur and the hip socket. It is a very frequent pathology in breeds such as the German Shepherd or the Labrador Retriever, among others. We are facing a chronic and degenerative disease of the hip, diagnosed by the veterinarian and with multiple palliative treatments. Among them, our doctor will suggest homeopathy, antiarthritic pain complexes, allopathy and even specific exercises to strengthen the muscles that support this joint.
- Hypothyroidism: is an endocrine disease caused by low production of thyroid hormones. The symptoms that we can observe in our animal are depression, lethargy, weight gain and it can affect the skin with hair loss, excess dandruff and thickening of the skin in the most injured areas. The possible treatments will be traditional medications where the scarce hormone is supplemented and helping with homeopathy or Bach Flowers never hurts.
- Skin: This is the weakest organ of our protagonist. Although we said in the characteristics that it had a hard skin, which would be a strength, being so wrinkled we have endless pathologies in what is the largest organ in the body. In order not to exhaust them and due to the importance of the subject, I recommend you read our article on Shar Pei skin problems, which is explained in detail.
- Shar Pei Fever: is a hereditary disease that, if detected early, is not usually fatal in puppies. Our site also explains this pathology perfectly in an article that I recommend reading as well.
