I got my first two Shar Pei (sisters) in 1982. I immediately loved these funny looking dogs because they were "wrinkled"!! I knew so little then about this wonderful breed.
My two very wrinkled sisters (Ethel & Pearl) turned in to very no wrinkles, bone nosed adults!! But I knew immediately that I would never have another breed of dog because they were the best.
I'm very grateful to my "horse" vet at the time because he treated my dogs like any other dog. I remember asking him to take a look at Pearl because her eyes didn't appear to be open very well. That was my first experience with eye tacks. He used two staples from his staple gun to "tack" them open. This was something he did if foals eyes didn't open properly.
The eye tacking procedure was just the beginning of a long learning experience about these "odd" dogs!! I was told once by a different vet that I should put one of my best looking puppies down because it had severe breathing problems and wouldn't last another month. Thankfully I chose to ignore him and that puppy is still alive today - about 10 years later. This vet knew nothing about this "new" breed and didn't know how much these puppies "snore" !!
I have run into many problems ranging from skin problems to a female that had a Giant Puppy with the rest being normal.
I started showing my first stud dog, Charles, in 1985. There were only specialities then and I didn't know much about showing these dogs. I went to confirmation classes at a local training school and was promptly told that the Shar Pei would never be a good confirmation or obedience dog. Charles was both!! He even remembered his sit and stay command at age 11 after being the house pet of my daughter's when she moved out.