Shar Peis

[flutterby]

Do Shar Peis have a lot of health problems? I saw one at the pet store yesterday and she was the cutest little thing!

[southern_girl09]

Please DONT buy nothing from the petshop.. you can goto www.dogbreedinfo.com to see about teh breed-if you are thinking about getting a dog then PLEASE DO NOT buy it from a petstore.

[rutylr]

Here is a site that has some of the health problems of the breed
http://www.geocities.com/chhills/Health.htm

[flutterby]

No, an owner brought her in to socialize. Our petstore doesn't sell dogs or cats. Just small animals and reptiles.

[sheplovr]

Like every breed on earth it posses some health issues, but if you find a very good Breeder, not a pet store that can not tell you much about the pet it is selling, you can almost eliminate such things, such as skin disorders. Good breeders can breed this out of this wonderful cute breed, but if u just buy one your in for alot of skin issues.


Also Amolydosis (Kidney failure) with lumps over the back starting this disease is one main issue of poor health in this breed, but again, go to a Good Breeder, get a warranty for any of these issues to be replaced or a refund and your safer than buying from a pet shop.

[Faith]

i have only been around one of these dogs (a cousin had one) and they didn't have many health issues with him. but, they had a horrible time with him with temperment / socialization issues. he was constantly trying to break his leash and run down the street and pick fights with other dogs in their neighborhood. they ended up having to have his tail cropped because of a bad infection due to one of the fights, and he had scars on his face from another one.

[Rusty-Buck]

I think that alot of it has to do with the wrinkle fur. It catches dirt and is hard to keep clean and may cause skin infections. And I think that they have this thing where their eyelashes get in their eye but alot of different breeds have that. I don't really know anything about shar peis

[weezyNollie]

Shar Peis do have a lot of dematological problems. Regardless of the breeder. It's because of the wrinkles. They get dermatitis and end up with fighting an infection for some or most of their life. They also are notorious for GI problems. My dad had one growing up who fought a life long battle of vomiting and diarrhea. We switched foods, did medications.. and it would always come back. I was too young to understand, but now it seems like a form of IBS. They also get ear infections (since their ears are so close to their heads.. for fighting purposes). And they have webbed feet and this can easily get infected as well. I've also seen a Shar Pei have a tumor on the spleen and had to get that removed. They aren't one of the healthier breeds, no doubt about that.

Cute though

[rottiegirl]

No one has mentioned this so...

Flutter, you said you saw a puppy? Just letting you know those wrinkles go away drastically! Sure, they will still have a few, but nothing like a puppy, that's one breed that really grows into it's skin!

[flutterby]

I was just curious because one of the pet store employees told me she didn't understand how someone could want an unhealthy over-all breed like a shar pei. I didn't quite understand what she meant so I figured I'd ask. She was really cute though! (the puppy)