Q: My husband wants to get a shar-pei dog, however, we have small children. Are they good family dogs?
Are they aggressive? Is there any reports of attacks from these dogs?
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Answers and Views:
Answer by I Love my Pyr.
I don't think they are among the most popular breed. I have heard that they are mean when they get older but I don't know of any personally and that could be in the raising. Just socialize it well and lay down the rules in the beginning.
Answer by ChickenLiLsydney2770
I have a 7-year-old female shar pei and have never had an ounce of trouble with her fully toilet trained after 3 days most loyal and faithful dog I have owned and I have had quite a few she can be stubborn at times if there's an open gate but never goes far and always returns to a whistle. I'm also a new father and have a son of 6 months who she is rather fond of wants to always be close to him when he's nearby. The moral of my story is don't judge a dog by breed or apparent breed analysis.
Ps I originally purchased the dog as a guard dog and she has only had minor contact with friends and neighbors and has never shown any real aggressive behavior she will snarl a bit and stand her ground but I don't believe that she would hurt ANYBODY.
Answer by Lissa
Have to agree that it completely depends on the dog’s personal temperament and socialization as a puppy.
My family has had another shar pei before, but our current pei is just over a year old now. Extremely leery of strangers, but he is always friendly with kids no matter if he knows them or not. But we made sure he was exposed to children when we brought him home as a puppy and the breeder also had a young son so he was definitely properly socialized.
Even still, definitely not a dog for everyone. Mine listens to me well and is a serious love bug. Quite full of personality and even shows some manners. But he can be extremely stubborn (especially when it comes to listening to other family members) and it's really true that they need to understand the pecking order. A great plus, as mentioned by other reviewers, he was extremely easy to house train- very very few accidents from day one, and not once has he ever chewed anything up in the house. The only issue he has is being alone, he loves to be around people even if it's just a matter of being able to see you from down the hallway.
Overall, they’re extremely loyal and affectionate dogs but each dog has his own unique personality and needs serious training and socialization. And if you’re going to get one, who you choose to buy from is a big factor.
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Answer by Serch
Shar peis are not for everyone. If you are looking for a cute dog to play with you better get one of the smaller breeds. Shar peis are strong dogs, both mentally and physically. They need a strong leader who would set the rules from day one.
When I say set the rules, I mean it., I have a Shar pei, and she is very stubborn, but since I am the Alfa male of the house, what I say goes. If you can get your dog to understand it, you will have one of the most rewarding experiences ever. I haven't found a dog that is more loyal, affectionate, smart, sensitive than a shar pei. But watch out, you MUST be firm, but never violent with the shar pei (or any other dog for that matter)
My shar pei is EXTREMELY sensitive to family situations. The other day I had quite a strong argument with my brother and she just kept on licking my hands and did not leave my side. The next day she did not eat at all. Was very depressed. When we play and she bites me a bit too hard, she stops immediately and licks my “wound” like if she were apologizing… :D
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Lauren Oneill says
I have a shar pei 8 months old. We made sure he socialised with people and other pets from day 1. He is walked twice a day well trained. And today he attacked my son totally unprovoked my son had to have stitches 2 injections and is on an antibiotic. I am absolutely devastated that we have to rehome him but I do not recommend these dogs round children. We done everything right from day 1 and he attacked today for no reason.
RussianDog says
Sorry to hear about that.
Leah says
My sharpei is extremely good with children and all people, a little hyper so the greeting is always warm however he often jumps on people and with his size thats not always good, though he loves children and is always very gentle and sensitive with them, he’s my gentle giant and I would never hesitate to bring a chid in the house as he loves and is great with them.
Elaine says
My Pei is 6 years old and she is the most loyal dog I have ever had. She senses seizures in my Granddaughter and she alerts us by a single bark and lays on our grand. She has never been trained for this, she just knows. Terri also has allergies. She is allergic to all grains! Before we figured out what was her allergy she lost all of her fur and itched terribly. She loves all children. We have a busy young neighborhood, she sits in our bay window and watches the kids play all day. When I take her outside she stays by my side as we walk. Once a ambulance took a family member to a hospital 7 miles away and I rode with them. She must have followed us to the hospital because when my husband come to visit several hours later he asked me why Terri was in the parking lot of the emergency room. She’s very smart, kind, loyal and wants to be with her family all the time! I take her everywhere I can.
RussianDog says
Thank you for your comment Elaine. We have published it on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RusDog/
ChickenLiLsydney2770 says
The comment has been moved into the body of the post.
karen says
I have 2 shar-pei a bitch and a dog !!! he is adorable and whilst she is loving she isnt keen on strangers yet they have been brought up exactly the same ?bit like my kids really
Suzanne Jackson says
We have a 10month shar pei brilliant with kids soft and gentle always by there sides when playing they love him , always out soicializing with other dogs x never had a problem with him x
Sarah-Ann says
We recently bought a sharpei puppy as a friend for our maremma sheepdog. We are now considering re-homing him, He has only been bought up with love, and has turned into an aggressive and tries to over power everything and very territorial, He randomly went and bit my almost 4 year old on the side the other day, he will attack our maremma for her dinner so after he scoffs his i have to try and make him sit and keep him away but he is so angry more so when it comes to food. Loves older people but not keen on sharing with dogs or kids, even though hes been around his brothers and sisters since birth, then our kids since very young. he looks like a great dog. But i think they suit more of a child-less home with someone who can afford the vet bills if needed, and the time to train these dogs aswell, they are the most stubborn bread! and i thought our maremma was stubborn! over all it depends on the dogs personality. I love our sharpei but he isn’t for us. And i feel so guilty thinking of rehoming him, but with a 4yr old and a 6 month old i wont have an aggressive dog. He needs a more suited home with no other dogs, no kids and full human attention.
Really says
I would love to appreciate/take into consideration your comments, however, your spelling is atrocious and if you can’t be disciplined enough to educate yourself and approach situations such as this, attempting to offer sound advice to others who seek it, being a “Pei” owner myself, I do recommend you focus on your improvement, not your passing of judgment on an animal and it’s behavior. If you take no pride in your presentation, then it’s not credible you take pride in disciplining/raising a dog who needs consistent work…for at least the first 2 years…poor “puppy”.
Chaz says
Wow, you are smug and condescending little person! Does that make you feel better to cut down someone else?
Reallyfuckoff says
I agree with Chaz and thank you Sarah Ann for sharing your experience, my friend also had a similar experience with regards to her dog being agresive towards her children and cat.