Shar Pei types

More interesting things about the Chinese Shar-Pei:

• However, the Shar-Pei is probably related to the Chow Chow, which is also an ancient Chinese breed. Both breeds have a blue-black tongue.
• According to DNA studies, the Shar-Pei is among the 14 most ancient AKC breeds.
• Shar-Peis may have been around since 200 B.C.

• In the early 1900s, the dogs were used by Chinese farmers as guard dogs and wild-boar hunters; they were also used for dog fights.
• During the Communist Revolution, the Shar-Pei population became almost extinct. A Hong Kong businessman named Matgo Law gathered many of them, and he also appealed to Americans through a dog magazine to save the breed.
• When a subsequent Time magazine article named the Shar-Pei as the world’s rarest dog, people from around the world took interest in saving them. The Guinness Book of World Records also named them as the world’s rarest dog.

• Initially, around 200 Shar-Peis were brought to America. These dogs form the foundation of most of today’s American Shar-Pei population.
• The breed was AKC recognized in 1992 as a member of the Non-Sporting group.
• The Shar-Pei is now the 54th most popular AKC breed, down from 40th a decade ago.
• The loose skin seen in puppies gets tighter as they grow, so adults are less wrinkly.
• Shar-Peis have a range of wrinkling. Those retaining the thick lips around the mouth are referred to as “meatmouthed.”

• The excessive wrinkling is the result of an excess production of the substance hyaluronic acid, distributed throughout the dogs’ skin. This excess production is in turn caused by the over-activation of a gene called hyaluronan synthase 2. This gene can have many copies in a dog’s DNA; the more copies a dog has, the more wrinkled he is.
• This same gene is responsible for the periodic high fever known as Shar-Pei fever. It doesn’t last long, but it comes and goes and can sometimes damage the kidneys. The more copies a dog has of the mutant gene, the higher his risk for Shar-Pei fever. The Shar-Pei is now being used as a model for inherited periodic high fevers in humans.