The Mini Shar Pei is seventeen inches in height and cannot exceed that
height in order to be considered a Mini Shar Pei. They will have either
the horse or brush coat that cannot be longer then one inch on the
back. They have tiny triangular ears and look like miniature
hippopotamuses.
Mini Shar Peis can only be a solid color with a bluish or black tongue.
The colors range from red, fawn, black and brown. The puppies are
completely wrinkled with the adults taking the brunt of the wrinkles in
the face and neck area while only some wrinkling will be on the body.
There are some Mini Shar Peis that are tight skinned, with only
wrinkles on the face.
The basic difference between the standard Shar Pei is that the Mini
Shar Pei can only be seventeen inches tall. They are a solid color with
a black or bluish tongue. Their coat colors can be black, brown, red or
fawn and they have a very wrinkled face. All Shar Pei puppies are
wrinkle puppies. They are one of the cutest of breed puppies. They have
a short tail, which comes above its back and ends in a tight curl. They
can have either a brush coat or a horse coat with the hair no longer
than one inch on the back. The texture of the coat can be harsh to
soft, but never long and wavy or excessively thick.
The Mini Shar Pei’s most noticeable characteristic is the wrinkling
around his face. He is a short dog who is broad and square. Shar Peis
were originally bred in China hundreds of years ago. They were bred as
fighting dogs and through the years became known as guard dogs. Today
these dogs are our lovable companions.
They will always defend their family and their territory fiercely. But
Shar Peis and Mini Shar Peis, in particular, make great family pets.
They are loveable and affectionate with their family and have a
tendency for comedy.
The Chinese royal family’s ancestry once used these dogs as their
official guard dogs. The word for Shar Pei is sand coat. This refers to
their coarse coat. The coarse coat makes a natural defense for the Mini
Shar Pei. The wrinkles make the dogs hard to grab and will allow the
dog time to turn around and bite.
These dogs were made for defense. They are hard to grab because of
their small eyes and ears and if there body is grabbed the grabber will
only get a handful of wrinkly skin as the dog has time to turn around
and bite. These dogs were great guard dogs in their day. At one point
they were nicknamed the Golden Lion. They eventually became the most
rare breed on earth only to reappear in the last century.
They slowly began to reappear in the last century only to become
beloved family pets. People speculate as to whether maybe these dogs
were first bred as companion dogs rather than fighting dogs. The Mini
Shar Pei with its wrinkly face and black tongue is now one of the most
popular dogs on earth.