Is it now time to iron out the wrinkles? Health of Shar Pei dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK

Background The Shar Pei is a common dog breed with a distinctive appearance caused by hyaluronosis that has been linked with several health conditions.

Anonymised primary-care veterinary clinical records were explored to extract data on the demography, common disorders and mortality of Shar Pei in the UK in 2013.

Results The study population of 455,557 dogs included 1913 (0.42%) Shar Pei.

The mean adult bodyweight was 22.26 kg.

The most prevalent fine-level precision disorders were entropion (prevalence 17.88%, 95% CI: 16.16-19.59), otitis externa (16.36%, 95% CI: 14.70-18.02), ear disorders (6.69%, 95% CI: 5.57-7.81), aggression (5.23%, 95% CI: 4.23-6.22), and pyoderma (4.29%, 95% CI: 3.38-5.19).

The most prevalent disorder groups were ophthalmologic (prevalence = 22.27%, 95% CI: 20.40-24.13), dermatological (21.01%, 95% CI: 19.19-22.84), aural (18.66%, 95% CI: 16.92-20.41), traumatic injury (7.53%, 95% CI: 6.35-8.71) and behavioural (7.21%, 95% CI: 6.05-8.37).

The median longevity of 190 Shar Pei that died during the study period was 7.28 years (IQR 5.04-10.05, range 0.04-15.04).

Of 184 deaths with a recorded method of death, 157 (85.33%) deaths involved euthanasia and 27 (14.67%) deaths were unassisted.

Among 136 (71.58%) deaths with a recorded biomedical cause of death, the most common causes of death at group level precision were neoplasia (15.44%, 95% CI: 9.37-21.51), renal disorders (13.24%, 95% CI: 7.54-18.93), and behavioural disorders (11.03%, 95% CI: 5.76-16.29).

Conclusions Almost one fifth of Shar Pei receive veterinary care each year for entropion, a condition linked strongly with the extreme conformation of thickened and folded skin and bristly hair that characterises the Shar Pei breed.

Several other common disorders are also linked to hyaluronosis.

Current UK legislation can help support efforts to avoid breeding or acquiring animals with extreme conformations and to promote adequate veterinary care for already-owned animals with extreme conformations.

The Shar Pei dog breed is instantly recognisable by their copious loose folded skin and bristly coat, with Shar Pei translating from Chinese as ‘sand paper skin’.

Although originally a fighting, hunting and guarding dog in China, the Shar Pei breed was re-invented in the US as a companion animal in the late 1970s where a more wrinkled and heavy-set American ‘meat mouth’ variety replaced the traditional ‘bone mouth’ variety originally popular in China.

However, the underlying disease of hyaluronosis that causes the characteristic extreme appearance of the Shar Pei has also been linked with several other health problems in the breed such as in-turned eyelids (entropion) and ear disease.

Using anonymised veterinary clinical records collected within the VetCompass Programme at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), Shar Pei made up 0.4% of all dogs in the UK in 2013 and had an average adult bodyweight of 22 kg.

The most common specific disorders diagnosed in Shar Pei were in-turned eyelids (17.88%), ear infection (16.36%), ear problems (6.69%), aggression (5.23%), and skin infection (4.29%).

Among the 30 most common specific disorders, females were more likely to show in-turned eyelids and conjunctivitis, while males were more likely to show aggression and infected paws.

Once the disorders were grouped, the most common disorder groups were eye disorders (22.27%), skin (21.01%), ear (18.66%), traumatic injury (7.53%), and behavioural (7.21%).

The average lifespan of Shar Pei was 7.28 years.

The most common causes of death were cancer (15.44%,), kidney disorders (13.24%), and behavioural disorders (11.03%).

This study highlights that almost one fifth of the breed receive veterinary care each year for in-turned eyelids that can lead to extreme pain and are linked to the thickened and folded skin that humans find so appealing in this breed.

Current UK legislation can help support concerted efforts from all animal welfare stakeholders to avoid breeding or acquiring animals with these and other extreme conformations and to promote adequate veterinary care for already-owned animals with extreme conformations.