A Well-Groomed Shar Pei

Tags: Chinese Shar Pei, Grooming

 

Since the Chinese Shar Pei is so well-known for its magnificent coat, maintaining a healthy coat should be one of the top priorities for Shar Pei owners. Grooming your Shar Pei won't take up much of your time, regardless of which coat you decide to adopt. Even though the coat of the Shar Pei is the most distinctive feature, grooming your companion also involves clipping nails, bathing and keeping the ears spotless. This sounds like a lot of work, but if maintained regularly, it should take no more than 15 minutes of your time.

Bathing

A common myth among owners of Chinese Shar Peis is that they need to be bathed weekly. Besides being a huge burden on your time and energy, weekly baths will only dry your Shar Pei's skin and cause irritation. If you find that your Shar Pei is beginning to smell (regular exercise and perspiration can cause this), then you should bathe it as needed. When it is time to bathe your Shar Pei, you should make sure you're using a veterinarian recommended shampoo that won't dry out your pup's skin.

Preparing your Shar Pei for the grooming process is simple. When you play with your companion, be sure to touch its body all over so that it can get used to your handling and won't fight you when its bath time!

Brushing

With such a lovely coat, the Chinese Shar Pei requires brushing at least every other day. If you have a bear coat Shar Pei, you may have to brush daily to remove excess hair; otherwise, every other day will suit your pup just fine. It is very important that you brush the coat regularly because the brushcoat sheds a little throughout the entire year and if you let more than one day pass without brushing it, it is guaranteed that you'll find hair all over your house. The horsecoat Shar Pei sheds only periodically but it is equally important to keep its coat well-groomed.

For the horsecoat Shar Pei, you should use a fairly coarse bristle brush to make sure the entire coat gets a thorough brushing. You should also find a suitable comb if you are the owner of a bear coat Shar Pei. You can find out which brush is most appropriate for your Shar Pei by inquiring at the pet shop or the vet.

Nails & Ears

Your Shar Pei will require frequent nail clippings because its nails grow incredibly fast. This will probably cause you a bit of a headache in the beginning, but once your Shar Pei is used to the process, it will resist less. Don't clip the nails too low, but make sure they aren't overgrown or they will scrape and become dull as your Shar Pei jumps and runs throughout the day.

As you may have already noticed, the Chinese Shar Pei has remarkably tiny ears, which do require frequent cleaning. Frequent for a Shar Pei is about once each week, and in some instances, twice a month will do the trick. To correctly clean your pup's ears, use make up pads along with an ear cleanser from your vet.

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