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Breed guide · Dogs
He looks at me like I owe him money. I keep a note of every fever he's had.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
Warm with you, cool with everyone else, and in no hurry to say hello.
What's going onShar Peis were bred to guard one household, so loyalty to their own people and reserve with strangers is normal. Growling at visitors or guarding the door is worth raising with your vet early.
At home
Some days they go flat, will not eat and do not want to move.
What's going onIt looks like a mood. In a Shar Pei it can be a fever episode, so write down the date and what you saw, and call your vet.
At home
A puffy back ankle and a limp, often on a day they already seem off.
What's going onA swollen hock, the ankle joint of the back leg, often comes with Shar Pei fever. Call your vet, and do not wait for it to pass.
At home
They look at you, think it over, then decide.
What's going onShar Peis are clever and independent, and not built to take orders. Short, calm sessions with food rewards work. Force does not.
At home
One eye half closed, a little weepy, a paw rubbing at their face.
What's going onTheir eyelids can roll inwards, so the lashes rub the eye. Squinting, weeping and pawing at the face are signs to contact your vet, even in a young puppy.
At home
A shake of the head, a scratch at an ear, and a smell you notice at cuddle time.
What's going onTheir ear canals are narrow, so infections take hold easily. Head shaking, scratching at the ears or a smell usually means an ear problem, not a habit.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their skin
Built for: Thick skin and deep folds, the reason people choose them.
In Dubai: Heat and humidity that keep those folds damp.
Their eyes and ears
Built for: Eyelids that can turn in, and narrow ear canals.
In Dubai: A squint or a shake of the head that passes for a habit.
Their fevers
Built for: A gene shared with the wrinkles.
In Dubai: A quiet day that looks like a bad mood.
Much of this shows up as behaviour first.
You cannot iron them out. You can keep their skin, eyes and ears in good order, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the health risks for a Shar Pei at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Summer pavements burn any dog's pads, and sweat and humidity keep their folds damp, which is where skin infection starts.
Every age
Why
Summer pavements burn any dog's pads, and sweat and humidity keep their folds damp, which is where skin infection starts.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds: if you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. After a humid walk, dry their folds.
Hip Dysplasia (HD, a poorly fitting hip joint) is a risk for Shar Peis from puppyhood, and extra weight loads those hips.
Every age, most of all from 6 months
Why
Hip Dysplasia (HD, a poorly fitting hip joint) is a risk for Shar Peis from puppyhood, and extra weight loads those hips.
What to do
Measure their meals and count treats as food. Weigh them once a month and write it down.
A collar sits in the folds of their neck, where it rubs and traps damp.
Every age
Why
A collar sits in the folds of their neck, where it rubs and traps damp.
What to do
Walk them on a harness that sits across the chest. If they wear a collar for their tag, look at the skin under it each week.
Their hips are at risk, and a sore Shar Pei tends to go quiet rather than complain.
Every age, most of all while growing
Why
Their hips are at risk, and a sore Shar Pei tends to go quiet rather than complain.
What to do
Steady walks in the cool and calm games at home. Skip long sprints and repeated jumping on marble.
Shar Pei fever comes in bouts, and how often they happen shapes their care.
Every age, from puppyhood
Why
Shar Pei fever comes in bouts, and how often they happen shapes their care.
What to do
If they go quiet, stop eating, feel hot or have a swollen back ankle, note the date and what you saw, take a photo, and call your vet.
Their ear canals are narrow, and water trapped in them makes infection more likely.
Every age
Why
Their ear canals are narrow, and water trapped in them makes infection more likely.
What to do
If they swim or have a bath, dry the outside of their ears straight after. Clean them with the ear cleaner your vet recommends, and never push anything down the canal. A careful ear evaluation is in your plan at their puppy visits, with long-term ear care after that.
Warm, damp skin in the folds is where infection takes hold.
Every age
Why
Warm, damp skin in the folds is where infection takes hold.
What to do
Keep their room air-conditioned through the summer, and give them a cool spot to lie. Water in two places.
Skin-fold dermatitis (infection in the skin folds) and entropion (an eyelid that rolls inwards) are their first risks as a puppy.
Every age, most of all in the first two years
Why
Skin-fold dermatitis (infection in the skin folds) and entropion (an eyelid that rolls inwards) are their first risks as a puppy.
What to do
Each evening, open their folds, wipe with a vet-approved wipe, and dry them properly. Look at both eyes. Squinting, weeping or rubbing means a call to your vet. An early eyelid evaluation is in your plan at their puppy visits, and skin care guided by tests.
Hip Dysplasia (HD) and later osteoarthritis (wear in the joints) are known risks in the breed.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Hip Dysplasia (HD) and later osteoarthritis (wear in the joints) are known risks in the breed.
What to do
Rugs where they turn on marble, a ramp for the car, and steady exercise. Stiffness getting up is worth telling your vet about. A hip and gait evaluation (a check of how they walk) is in your plan at their puppy visits.
They are reserved by breeding, and their eyes, ears and folds will need handling every day of their life.
Every age, easiest as a puppy
Why
They are reserved by breeding, and their eyes, ears and folds will need handling every day of their life.
What to do
As a puppy, let them meet calm people and dogs at their own pace, paid with food. Every day, hold their face, lift their folds and look in their ears, then reward them. While you are there, brush their teeth. The coat only needs a brush once a week.
Five of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Horse coat or brush coat
A horse coat is very short and feels bristly, like the name says. A brush coat is a little longer, up to about 2.5 cm. Both are the same dog underneath, folds and all.
Colours
Shar Peis come in solid shades of black, red, fawn and cream, and in softer dilute shades of blue, lilac and chocolate. Most have a blue-black tongue. The dilute shades have a lavender one.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first. Start the evening routine straight away: open the folds, wipe, dry, and look at both eyes, with a treat for each. An early eyelid evaluation matters in this breed.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Keep their room air-conditioned through the summer, with a cool spot to lie and water in two places. Keep soft towels, vet-approved wipes and an ear cleaner by the door, so folds and ears get dried after every walk and bath.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder about both parents' eyelids, skin and ears, and whether either has had Shar Pei fever. Entropion (an eyelid that rolls inwards), skin-fold infections and fever episodes can all start in young puppies.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
He'll keep looking at you like you owe him money. If he goes quiet and warm, write down the date and contact your vet the same day.
Before they were yours.
Before the 1900s
In Guangdong province, in southern China, the Shar Pei guarded farms and homes and helped with hunting and herding.
What they still carryA dog who chooses their people, and keeps a polite distance from everyone else.
The mid-1900s
Dog keeping collapsed in mainland China, and the breed survived in small numbers in Hong Kong and Macau.
What they still carryA breed rebuilt from very few dogs.
1973
A Hong Kong breeder, Matgo Law, appealed in an American dog magazine to save the breed, and the first dogs reached the United States that year.
What they still carryA family tree that runs back to a handful of dogs.
1973 to 1992
American breeders favoured heavier wrinkling and a fuller face. The American Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1992.
What they still carryDeep folds, eyelids that can roll inwards, narrow ear canals, and the fever that came with the wrinkles.
Today
A family dog and a quiet guard, in heat that keeps their folds damp.
What they still carrySkin, eyes and ears that need daily care, and a devotion that runs deep.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Shar Pei suits you, so might these.
English BulldogThe same kind of dog: a heavy-set companion with skin folds, more affectionate with strangers and far less able to cope with heat.
PugAnother wrinkled companion with roots in China, much smaller, and far more outgoing.
Chow ChowThe same reserved, independent temperament, also from China, in a thick coat that needs regular grooming.
RottweilerA similar sturdy build and the same short, easy coat, in a bigger, calm guardian breed.
