| The Shar-Pei and Their Temperaments Including Dog Fights Everyday I open the newspaper or listen to the news, only to hear of another dog attack, child mauled by a dog or some unforeseen dog aggressive incident committed by *mans best friend*. Law suits and pet owner/breeder liabilities are a happening thing, and when a pet owner is not responsible enough to REALIZE, that any pet, human being, or other living creature, given the right scenario, whether they be frightened, in self defense or in any other natural circumstance that may trigger off the *survive* instinct "HAS THE GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO REACT"!. Puppies vs kids - they do the same things, dogs vs adult humans, and again if humans are capable of a reaction, so is a dog. When a child bites another child, or pulls hair, or punches - what is our reaction as adult human beings? To TEACH "what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behaviour" of course. What happens when we are disturbed out of a solid sleep? Of course none of us are grumpy, or if someone pulls our hair or pokes us in the eye ~~~ so what is unpredictable? to the point where one must consider euthanizing a family pet? We must all learn TO MANAGE our pets like we do our kids. Aggressive shar-pei... have I seen them?... yes, did I have any of them euthanized?.... yes, why?- because after very careful consideration, unprovoked attacks, and an unpredictable nature, I deemed them as mentally ill, with no hope of behaviour modification, or change in temperament due to a re-location or further training. In otherwords no MATTER WHERE THEY WOULD OF GONE they would of done the same thing. It happens with every breed, and with humans as well. As with health problems, many dogs have mental health problems and they only deteriorate becoming a potential threat and no longer a pet. Behaviour modification and a consultation will advise anyone with a concern with regards to their shar-pei, and a possible correctable method or *right* way to approach the problem. People must understand that puppies are born into this world in a group of anywhere from 1 - 10 little bundles of fur lying beside each other, keeping each other warm, teaching each other to survive, especially for food and warmth, AND all the other instincts for canine survival. Domestication has taught our dogs that they can and should trust their human companions to take over many of the survival instincts and become their guardians. Feeding, cleaning, providing shelter, companionship, direction and MOST important their BOSS and MASTER. You are the top dog in the house. Many times if you are not top dog in your house, THEY are, and this is where potential problems start, even as puppies. Management of your puppy behaviour ~ if your puppy is doing something wrong then you have not managed the puppy properly. Your relationship with your puppy and the family, will depend on on how you manage your puppy from a puppy, right through to mental and physical maturity. A dog is a dog and nota person. Therefore, they come programmed with certain canine behaviours or survival techniques that people do not always find particularly appealing or understandable. They cannot help it if they are dogs, so we must HELP it. But that doesn't mean that a particular behaviour cannot be managed. In fact, managing a puppy behaviour such as mouthing, biting, barking, pawing, jumping, chewing etc. etc. is the *manner* stage of personality development, and like it or not you are now at the steering wheel...........so STEER. We have shar-pei that suffer from stress, separation anxiety, some are afraid of thunder and lightening storms, others are skittish towards people, some shar-pei are animal aggressive......so evaluation of the moment must be considered. If some of these traits are breed specific then one must learn to adapt to what works best with that particular situation. If you know you cannot stand shopping when the malls are packed, you go during the week when it is quieter. If you know your dog does not like other dogs, you walk it on-leash at all times and simply avoid other animal contact. If your shar-pei does not like someone in particular, even after you have tried all behaviour modification techniques, then, hopefully, you will have crate trained your puppy/dog and you can remove the animal from the presence of this individual. Many can be unforgiving, as I am sure many humans are, and hold personality grudges for life. For any potential behaviour problems always contact a breeder before a trainer. Learn to crate train, it also teaches puppy to be calmer natured by not allowing it to have the run of the house frantically when no one is home and barking at people passing by windows, again left in a yard unattended also teaches bad habits when no one is there to correct it. Learn to manage your puppy. Continue the puppy education by attending obedience classes with your puppy so you learn how to teach your puppy. When picking a new puppy, all puppies should exhibit friendly natures with tails wagging. When my puppies arrive, their mother is with them for the first 4 weeks to feed and nurture, I am there but on the sidelines. After 4 weeks I AM MOM. They now learn how to cope with human intervention and domestication. They are no longer pack animals but human pets, and therefore I will teach them what will be needed for them hopefully to be stable, well-socialized, confident additions to any given family. A Little More on The Alpha Shar-Pei, when there is more than one dog! Temperament, personality, hormones, health and genetics -what a combo to be put together to spell out why a select few of our dogs show aggression with and towards each other, and how to avoid it. It took me many years to understand dog talk, growling, barking, snorting, whining, one dog standing on another dogs back, rear butting, and the difference between a potential trigger for an attack of aggression or a possible dog fight, when there is more than one dog in the house. There are many things to take into consideration, and when two dogs show aggression towards one another and a fight does take place, it does not mean that the dogs have a nasty nature. It does not mean they will always fight when together but it is now a stronger possibility. When we buy our first puppy, we generally look for laid back couch pototo personalities, we look for signs of good health and we check the temperaments of the adults or the parents of our potential new puppy and when we meet that little package that comes gift wrapped in wrinkles, we are certain we are home free, with no problems. Generally the majority of the time we are, HOWEVER there are circumstances that do trigger an aggressive or self defensive act of aggression amongst dogs. Any breed of dog CAN do a LOT of damage IF THEY REALLY WANTED TO, but most of the time they are in a *reaction to an action* mode, and not out to hurt each other but rather establish who is boss within themselves. To explain a little more, a bitch in heat, a male in tact (not neutered) that detects females in heat, the addition of another same sex animal into the house, physical or mental abuse, two dogs wanting the same bone or spot at the fence line to watch, or other small things could always trigger a potentially heated argument between dogs and depending on the apha nature of the animal it could escalate into a full fledged dog fight, if not addressed, and be dangerous to anyone that gets involved. In 95% of all households peace prevails with our animals, we do not run into much more than the aloof, protect my home march that the single shar-pei exhibits within its own territory, gently on guard to its family, but the other 5% may hold potential, when there is more than one animal of same sexes and could escalate into something a little more worry some. Dogs fights can and do break out between 1) females that have housed together and gotten along well with other shar-pei in the house until their heat cycles and then all of a sudden the growling and fighting may start 2) males that have gotten along up until they hit about 13 months of age and then all of a sudden a fight takes place....why? how? what caused it?? Hormones and mental maturity takes place from about 13-18 months of age and all of a sudden there has to be a boss or top dog between males and females, and generally the way to this is through a growling episodes with each other that can escalate into a fight if not stopped. Same with females in heat, the hormones send the female into "looking for a male" cycles and nothing will get in the way not even their *past best friend* another female that may have dwelled in the house peacefully, and playfully before. Most breeders are well equipped and experienced to break up a fight or know what triggers a dog fight off, and know how to ward off grumbling. I have always recommended in the past to my puppy buyers that I do not recommend two dogs of the same sex in the same house as pets. In many cases it does work out, and they get along faithfully for their lifetimes, making a liar out of me, however for the small percentage that DO NOT, it is not worth the risk because a fight when no one is home can be a bloodbath, and once it happens once, it can happen again. So if there must be two dogs, one of each sex is the safest, and in my books the most recommended. When breeding, I was always in a position to keep my females separated when they were in heat, that way there were no worries, same with my males, separate them when the females were in heat. It becomes a full time watch when dogs do not get along as you are constantly watching to make sure that once the first fight or aggressive moment breaks out, that there is not a second or third, which could be triggered over food, or a bone or a place to lie or by a rush for a spot at the fence line to watch what is going on. Each thinks they are top dog. When females are in heat they are very sensitive to accidental touch, as they are also on guard to males trying to breed to them when not in their proper time to be bred, and therefore a person accidentally touching a female in heat, or startling her may trigger a reaction to this action by her snapping or growling. When and if a fight does break out, generally it breaks up quickly on its own when they have sorted out who won, but sometimes a fast loud holler NO, is warranted to interrupt their focus on each other and if it does turn into a fight, do not get in the middle of it up, if there are two people, one can pick up the back legs of both dogs rendering their back legs inactive and pull them back from each other, looks like you are going to do the wheelbarrow race, but this makes them feel defenseless and generally will break up the fight, some will stop the fight with the spraying of water, and some breeders have had some success with throwing a dark blanket over each one. Lets hope no one runs into a situation like this, but personally I have on several occassions and it is truly frightening, but I have many years of experience and can deal with this situation quickly and effectively. My bottom line opinion on this is it is better to prevent a situation like this from happening by avoiding the cause, two shar-pei are great and even three, so if you must have two go with the opposite sex to start and then add from there, however on the other side of the coin I do know shar-pei owners that have same sex animals together with no trouble at all. Spay and neuter immediately at 6 months and if you are breeding just stay on top of their body language. Avoid disputes over bones, food and common likes. You are in the end the alpha dog and the boss and YOU RULE THE ROOST. Temperaments may also change if the dog is not feeling well or has been abused. It is their reaction to pain or discomfort mentally or physically and their actions may be to growl or snap, which is equal to our ouch or leave me alone, I am not feeling well. You get to know their body language and just like knowing when there is something wrong with one of your children you also learn to recognize when something is wrong with your pet. These dogs are wonderful gentle friends, companions and family additions, and the above is meant for the very few that do run into this type of situation. Like all breeds of dogs, and people, we all have our triggers that put us in bad moods, make us insecure and react to the act. So for those of you that have asked me about these situations I hope the above helps, again my opinion and once you have one shar-pei, you will more than likely want another, they are truly additive clowns and family pets. If one does run into true aggression with any breed of dog, professional assistance of a trainer familiar with the breed or a breeder with good experience in this area should be able to assist in giving you good advice to help correct the problem. Once you have to decided to become a family with the addition of a canine companion, along with that decision should be a commitment as with children, to lifetime ownership, teaching, dedication and if you are NOT WILLING to commit to that, you are NOT READY to own a Chinese Shar-Pei, especially one of mine! Puppy Play-Biting Management Puppies bite but not to be nasty, or ill tempered. For puppies, play-biting or mouthing or puppy biting is their way to explore the world. Our human babies grab with their hands and put everything to their mouths to explore. Puppies play with their siblings or litter mates and others, using their teeth, and their litter mates hardly even notice this, or maybe you will hear a small yelp or two. Play-biting is not a sign of aggression but it is a sign of play, and puppy play is good. Puppy play is how puppies learn. To us and our children, puppy bites hurt. Their tiny razor sharp teeth are like needles. Puppies do not know that you aren't covered in tough canine skin like them so you need to do two jobs when the puppy is mouthing. First, teach the puppy not to bite hard. Second, teach the puppy not to bite at all. Your puppy must learn that human flesh is much more sensitive than the flesh of puppies and dogs. This is one of the most important things that you will teach your pup. An adult dog may bite if she has pain inflicted on her. Just imagine your beloved, well-behaved dog is asleep on the family room floor. A 3-year-old child comes running over, falls on your dog and sticks a finger in the dog's eye or ear or causes pain to your dog in some other fashion. If your dog bit the child at this point, that would be normal behavior, or a *reaction to the action* on the dogs part. If you were sleeping on the sofa and someone woke you up by slapping you hard on the face, you would wake up in an aggressive fashion, and nobody would say you have bad temperament! Teaching the puppy that human flesh is sensitive (bite inhibition) is a must, just as you teach your children not bite and pull hair. You will be glad you did it, and hopefully it will never be tested. One way to help your puppy learn is not to give her the opportunity to bite. Don't hold out your fingers or feet for your puppy to bite, but when your puppy does bites you as they will do when finding a toe or finger to munch on, say "No bites" loud and sharp to startle the puppy into recognizing that you are reacting to their action. I take my pups jowls and press their thick lips over their little sharp teeth and press hard enough that they can feel how much it hurts and again say *no bites*, they will yelp and get the message. Do this over and over until puppy starts to mouth gently.Do this consistently, and your puppy will learn that she needs to be careful when playing with humans. You may have to endure a few uncomfortable nips during this process, but this is a great start to modifying your puppy behaviour, and also making puppy note that you are now MOMMA or ALPHA dog, and they sit up and listen. These pages are copyright 2009 Shar-Pei Canadiana. Original Web Site opened October 25, 1997. Web page designed by Vicky McBeth. |
 |
 |
