Last update: 9/24/2004

The Flowered Shar-Pei is a medium size, squarely built dog, with a distinctive, "manatee" shaped muzzle; small, triangular shaped ears; curled, high set tail; harsh coat; and loose skin covering the body. The most striking characteristic of all, however, is the distinctive pattern of a stark white coat, sporting splashes of color in the form of spots and ticking. The Flowered Coat Pattern is unique to the Flowered Shar-Pei alone, and sets him apart from the rest of the dog world.

**SIZE, PROPORTION, SUBSTANCE**

The preferred height of the Flowered Shar-Pei is 18 to 20 inches at the withers. The preferred weight is 45 to 60 pounds. The male will usually be slightly larger and more substantial than the female.

**HEADPIECE**

HEAD - The head should be slightly large in proportion to the body, with wrinkling on the forehead. The headpiece of the Flowered Shar-Pei is a very important feature.

EYES - The eyes should be dark, almond-shaped, and open; neither sunken nor protruding, displaying a scowling expression. In dilute dogs the eye color may be lighter. Eye tacking in puppies is permitted, however, eye tacks are not to be displayed in the showring. Entropion surgery is a disqualification.

EARS - The ears should be small, triangular, thick, lying tight against the head. The edges of the ear can either lay flat, or lay curled back at the edge (known as a "tulip" ear). They should set wide apart, forward on the skull and angle toward the eye. The ears are mobile. A pricked ear is a disqualification.

SKULL - The skull should be broad and flat, with a moderate stop. The plane of the forehead and top of the muzzle should parallel.

MUZZLE - The muzzle should have sufficient bone with enough padding to give a square appearance to the head with no hint of snippiness. (The length from nose to stop is roughly the same length as from stop to occiput.)

NOSE - The nose is large, wide, and dark. On lighter colored dogs, a brick nose is acceptable. Dilute dogs will have a self-colored nose. The generous padding of the muzzle and lips may cause a bulge above the nose.

TONGUE - Spotted pigmentation on tongue is preferred, as is consistent with the Flowered coat pattern, although a pink tongue or a tongue with solid pigment are not penalized. Pigmentation will be bluish/black in all coat colors except dilutes, in which the pigmentation will be lavender. **The tongue pigment will lighten somewhat due to heat.**

TEETH - The teeth should be strong, meeting in a scissors bite. Deviation from a scissors bite shall be faulted.

**NECK, TOPLINE, and BODY**

NECK - The neck is thick and muscular, of medium length, and set well into the shoulders. The abundance of wrinkles on the forehead and laterally on the face shall extend into a varying amount of dewlap around the neck and throat.

TOPLINE - The topline dips slightly behind the withers, rising somewhat over the loin. A level, roach, or swayed topline shall be faulted.

CHEST - The chest is wide and deep, with the brisket extending to the elbow, rising somewhat under the loin.

BACK - The back is short and broad. The croup curves slightly downward to a high set tail. There will be an overabundance of skin forming profuse wrinkling on puppies. The wrinkling on most adults is limited to the withers (shoulder) area, and a wrinkle on the back, above the base of the tail.

TAIL - The tail is thick at the base tapering to a point. The tail can fall over the back resting in a curve (known as a sickle tail), or can be tightly curled into a donut shape (known as a coin tail). The tail should be carried high, up and over the back. The hairs on the tail of a brushcoat are full, the hairs on the tail of a horsecoat are short and close to the body. A straight or low set tail shall be faulted. The absence of a complete tail is a disqualification.

**FOREQUARTERS**

SHOULDERS - The shoulders are very muscular, sloping and well laid back.

FORELEGS - The forelegs should be straight, moderately spaced with elbows close to the body, when viewed from the front. Viewed from the side, the forelegs are straight with adequate bone, the pasterns being strong and flexible. The feet are proportionate to the size of the dog. Removal of front dew-claws is optional.

HINDQUARTERS - The thighs are muscular, full and well-defined with moderate angulation. The hocks are short and perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other when viewed from the rear. Rear dew-claws must be removed.

**COAT**

COAT - The coat shall be harsh, sometimes "prickly," standing off on the main trunk, and generally laying flat on the limbs. Coat lengths vary from the very short "horsecoat" (1/2 inch or shorter), to the longer "brushcoat" (longer than 1/2 inch, yet not exceeding 1 inch at the withers). A soft coat shall be faulted. A wavy coat, trimmed coat, or a coat in excess of 1 inch in length is a disqualifying fault.

COLOR - White, not cream, is the primary color of the coat, and preferably consists of at LEAST 50% of the entire body color. Remaining portions of the coat are a single corresponding color in the form of patches, spots, and/or ticking. The head should be at least 3/4 colored, with emphasis on the Classic Flowered inverted "V" color pattern on the back of the head, at the base of the skull. Absence of the inverted "V" shall be faulted. **Flowered Shar-Pei are correct in any color, that is correct in a Solid Shar-Pei, including Cream, Sable, and Masked (An abundance of darker shaded hairs on the face, with the main concentration on the muzzle).** Note that a Tri-Colored coat is a disqualifying fault, i.e., a coat consisting of more than two colors, with the exception of a Sable dog, or a Masked dog.

GAIT - The gait is balanced and free-flowing. Both front and rear legs should tend to converge on a center line with strong forward reach and rear drive. The Flowered Shar-Pei is judged at a trot. Good movement is important.

TEMPERMENT - The Flowered Shar-Pei should be alert, confident, dignified, adaptable, intelligent, affectionate, devoted to his family, and sometimes snobbish with strangers.

**MAJOR FAULTS**

Body lacking at least 50% white
Head lacking at least 3/4 coloring
Absence of the inverted "V" Flowered Pattern at the base of the skull
Incorrect topline
Low Set Tail
Deviation from a scissors bite

**DISQUALIFICATIONS**

Pricked ears
Absence of a complete tail
A soft coat, a wavy coat, a trimmed coat, or a coat in excess of 1" in length
A Tri-Colored coat, i.e., a coat consisting of more than two colors, with the exception of a Sable dog, or a Masked dog. A Flowered Shar-Pei is correct in any color that is correct in a Solid Shar-Pei.

DESCRIPTIONS FOR COLORED SPOTS AND TICKING IN FLOWERED SHAR-PEI

**Group 1 - BASIC COLORS FOR SPOTS AND TICKING**

Black pigmentation, i.e. skin, nose, tongue, mouth/flews and foot pads. Nails may be lighter.

CREAM - An "off-white" color. May have apricot ears and shading in the spots/ticking along the dorsal area.
SABLE - Either light colored hairs with black tips, or an even lacing of black hairs over a lighter ground color, i.e., two separate colored hairs -- one black and one a lighter color, but not white.
FAWN - A very light tan/golden color ranging to a dark tan/golden color.
RED FAWN - Fawn with a pronounced red tinge. May have darker shaded spots/ticking along the dorsal area.
RED - Mahogany to rich chestnut red (example: Irish Setter).
BLACK - Ranging from a deep, true, black, to a black with grayish or brownish shading.
BROWN - A medium to dark brown color.
BLUE - A definite blue/gray color, as that of a Russian Blue cat. Ranges from a light, almost "powder" blue, to a deep "navy" blue. One of the three colors (Blue, Isabella, and Lilac) which make up the blue gene pool.
ISABELLA - Ranging from a pale "Corn Flakes", or "cinnamon" color, to a deeper dusty rose. Has definite blue masking, may also have blue shading in the spots/ticking along the dorsal area. Can either be the Isabella color at birth, or born blue and slowly fade to the Isabella color over the first 12 weeks of life. One of three colors (Blue, Isabella, and Lilac) which make up the blue gene pool.

**Group 2 - DILUTE COLORS FOR SPOTS AND TICKING**

No black pigmentation located on any part of the dog. Skin, nose and nails are self-colored, blending with the coat color. Eyes may be light or dark. Tongue color may vary from light to dark lavender.

CREAM DILUTE - An "off-white" color. May have apricot shading on the ears and spots/ticking along the dorsal area.
CHOCOLATE (Always a dilute) - A medium to dark color (example: Hershey milk or dark chocolate).
APRICOT (Always a dilute) - A distinct apricot or "peachy" color. Similar to, but lighter in color, than a five-point-red.
SABLE DILUTE - Either light colored hairs with a darker colored tip, or an even lacing of dark hairs over a lighter ground color, i.e., two separate colored hairs -- one dark and one a lighter color, but not white.
FIVE-POINT-RED (Always a dilute) - A distinct deep red fawn varying to a dark red color. The "five points" are the nose, eyes, skin, foot pads and anus.
BLUE DILUTE - A definite blue/gray color, as that of a Russian Blue cat. Ranges from a light, almost "powder" blue, to a deep "navy" blue. One of the three colors (Blue, Isabella, and Lilac) which make up the blue gene pool.
ISABELLA DILUTE - Ranging from a pale "Corn Flakes", or "cinnamon" color, to a deeper dusty rose. Has definite blue masking, may also have blue shading in the spots/ticking along the dorsal area. Can either be the Isabella color at birth, or born blue and slowly fade to the Isabella color over the first 12 weeks of life. One of three colors (Blue, Isabella, and Lilac) which make up the blue gene pool.
LILAC (Always a dilute) - Ranging from a dull "salmon" to a distinct silvery pink color. One of three colors (Blue, Isabella, and Lilac) which make up the blue gene pool.

**Group 3 - NOT THE FLOWERED COAT PATTERN**

ALBINO - A dog that is totally white, no pigment present anywhere on the body. Typically has pink or pale blue eyes.
BRINDLE - A mixture of black hairs mingled with hairs of a lighter color, usually fawn, brown, or gray, sometimes in a tiger stripe pattern.
IRISH SPOTTING GENE - Consisting of one, or a combination of all: white points on the chin, throat, chest, feet, stomach, and tip of the tail.
SADDLE PATTERN - Such as a German Shepherd, in any combination of colors.
SOLID COLORS - All solid colored dogs, with the exception of an albino dog, are shown in AKC and other kennel clubs as a Chinese Shar-Pei.
TAN POINTED - Such as a Rottweiler, in any combination of colors.



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