Your happiness with your new Shar Pei will depend on how well you socialize your puppy. Socializing your Shar Pei involves getting your pup used to interacting with other animals and people. Because most puppies spend the first 2-3 months with their mothers and siblings, they will have some experience interacting with other dogs, but they are still not used to people or new surroundings. Socializing your Shar Pei should be an ongoing process that continues into adulthood.
The Good
When you first bring your Chinese Shar Pei home, it's so cute and cuddly that you'd probably forget about the world around you and focus only on your new companion. Even though this allows you to bond with your new companion, you are actually doing a great disservice to your Shar Pei. Just like any other dog, your Shar Pei needs exposure to the outside world in order to get acquainted with it. If you live in a neighborhood with a dog park, you can socialize your Shar Pei when you bring it out for daily exercise.
The Bad
If you do not socialize your Shar Pei properly or ignore the socialization process altogether, your relationship with your pup will suffer. Instead of spending time and having fun with other people and animals, you and your Shar Pei will have a relationship that resembles a prisoner and a warden. However, over-socializing your Shar Pei can also be bad for your pup. If you leave it in the company of a rowdy group of people, your Shar Pei may be frightened by the noise and confusion that goes on around it. This may lead to depression and other forms of psychological disorder.
The Truth
It is extremely important that you take the time to socialize your Shar Pei properly. When you get a new puppy, it's difficult to introduce it to people because it is not properly housebroken and it gets excited too easily. But the more you acquaint your Shar Pei with the elements of the outside world, the more it will get used to them and learn how to control its behavior. As soon as your Chinese Shar Pei has been given its first round of shots, you should begin the socialization process.
It is recommended that you first socialize your dog at home, with some of your friends. Getting your dog used to people in an environment that it is familiar with will make the socialization process easier. At home, your Shar Pei has the choice to retreat if it feels threatened, and it can come back when it feels that everything is alright.
Dog parks are also ideal for socializing your Shar Pei because there are many people and other dogs around, not to mention the other stimuli of sights and sounds that are found there. Socializing your dog should be a fun 'getting to know you' process that will strengthen the bond between you and your Shar Pei. Socializing your Shar Pei properly allows it to know that you are someone it can rely on for safety, and once that is established, you and your Shar Pei can enjoy each other's company fully.
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