Before You Start Your Shar Pei Training

One of these days, you may have wanted to start your shar pei training, only to keep putting it off because your enthusiasm over the breed keeps dying out like a candle in the wind. Indeed, where's the romance in taking care of a dog that is sort of half-Dr. Jekyll and half-Mr. Hyde, transforming now and then into a totally stubborn and unknown personality?

Before you totally give up on giving your dog the priceless experience of shar pei training, let's discuss a few interesting cultural and historical stuff about this ancient breed.

Among the older Chinese who are familiar with the breed, the set of wrinkles immediately just above the spot between the eyes is known as the "guarding line". It is said that the tighter the wrinkle area is, the better the dog's guard capability. The guarding line that points inward is known as the rat line. Its presence is said to indicate that the dog is good at catching rats!

It gets curiouser and curiouser (to paraphrase Lewis Carroll) when we learn that the wrinkles or guarding lines in the dog's forehead have a certain semblance to the classic Chinese character meant to signify “longevity.” Anybody who wants to give this Chinese character a shot can go to a Chinese restaurant or in China town and inquire about an example of the symbol of longevity. Hence, the description of the head is called "Sau ge tau" meaning longevity head.

Anybody with the skill to read Chinese characters may observe furthermore the similarity of the “longevity” character to the one for “king,” a royal figure. Other animals that have been ascribed this royal title seem to bear these wrinkles in the forehead to indicate their kingliness, and examples of these creatures are the large hunting cat families, and the guardian mastiff dogs. Thus, some Chinese call this trait "Wong's feature," which means the “sovereign's look.”

Before we end, it is important mentioning that this discussion actually has important breeding implications. How so? While the wrinkle seems to be a symbol of positive things, wrinkles (and that's the plural now) definitely mess up the dog's vision. And now, everyone is head over heels with breeding Shar peis that need to turn out as walking piles of wrinkles!

To end, give your dog the benefit of a doubt. With all that history backing up the stubborn fellow, you cannot expect a dog with Wong's, or with the “sau ge tau” to be at your beck and call after some sharp shar pei training! Seriously now, praise and a food-based positive reinforcement will win your little king over.