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 A Shar Pei is an instinctively aggressive
creature. In the wild, aggression came in very handy as Shar Peis
needed aggression to hunt, to defend themselves from other creatures,
to defend resources such as food, a place to sleep, and a mate.
Selective breeding over the centuries has minimized and refined
this trait significantly, but there's just no getting around
it. Shar Peis are physically capable of inflicting serious
harm (just look at those teeth!) because that's how they've survived
and evolved. Mother Nature is pretty wily and it's hard to counteract
the power of instinct. However, that doesn't mean that we, as
Shar Pei lovers and owners are entirely helpless when it comes
to handling our Shar Peis.
There's a lot that we can do to prevent aggression from rearing
its ugly head in the first place - and even if prevention hasn't
been possible (for whatever reason), there are still steps that
we can take to recognize and deal with it efficiently.
There are several different types of canine aggression. The
two most common ones are aggression towards strangers
and aggression towards family members. You may
be wondering why we're bothering categorizing this stuff, after
all aggression is aggression, and we want to turf it out now
and not waste time with the details, right? Well, not quite.These
two different types of aggression stem from very different causes,
and require different types of treatment.
Aggression towards strangers
What is it? It's pretty easy to tell when a Shar Pei's
nervy around strange people. He's jumpy and on the alert (either
he can't sit still and is constantly fidgeting, leaping at the
smallest sound, and pacing around barking and whining) or he's
very still indeed, sitting rock-steady in one place, staring
hard at the object of his suspicions (a visitor, the mailman,
someone approaching him on the street while he's tied up outside
a store).
Why does it happen? There's one major reason why a Shar Pei
doesn't like strange people, he's never had the chance to get
used to them. Remember, your Shar Pei relies 100% on you to
broaden his horizons for him. Without being taken on lots of
outings to see the world and realize for himself, through consistent
and positive experiences, that the unknown doesn't necessarily
equal bad news for him, how can he realistically be expected
to relax in an unfamiliar situation? What can I do about it?
The process of accustoming your Shar Pei to the world and
all the strange people (and animals) that it contains is called
socialization. This is an incredibly important aspect of your
Shar Pei's upbringing. In fact, it's pretty hard to overemphasize
just how important it is.
Socializing your Shar Pei means exposing him to a wide
variety of new experiences, new people, and new animals (generally
speaking, as soon as he's had his vaccinations) from a young
age. How does socialization prevent stranger aggression? When
you socialize your Shar Pei, you're getting him to learn through
experience that new sights and sounds are fun, not scary. It's
not enough to expose an adult Shar Pei to a crowd of unfamiliar
people and tell him "Settle down, Roxy, it's OK" he
has to learn that it's OK for himself. He needs to do it from
puppyhood for the lesson to sink in.
The more types of people and animals he meets (babies, toddlers,
teenagers, old people, men, women, people wearing uniforms, people
wearing motorcycle helmets, people carrying umbrellas, etc) in
a fun and relaxed context, the more at ease, happy and safe around
strangers he'll be in general.
How can I socialize my Shar Pei so that he doesn't develop
a fear of strangers? Socializing your Shar Pei is pretty easy
to do and it's more of a general effort than a specific training
regimen. First of all, you should take him to puppy preschool.
This is a generic term for a series of easy group-training classes
for puppies (often performed at the vet clinic, which has the
additional benefit of teaching your Shar Pei positive associations
with the vet!).
In a puppy preschool class, about ten or so puppy owners get
together with a qualified trainer (often there'll be at least
two trainers present - the more there are, the better, since
it means you get more one-on-one time with a professional) and
start teaching their puppies the basic obedience commands such
as sit, stay, and so on.
Even though the obedience work is very helpful and is a great
way to start your puppy on the road to being a trustworthy adult
Shar Pei, really the best part of puppy preschool is the play
sessions. Several times throughout the class, the puppies are
encouraged to run around off-leash and play amongst themselves.
This is an ideal environment for them to learn good social skills:
there's a whole bunch of unfamiliar Shar Peis present (which
teaches them how to interact with strange Shar Peis), there's
a whole bunch of unfamiliar people present (which teaches them
that new faces are nothing to be afraid of), and the environment
is safe and controlled (there's at least one certified trainer
present to make sure that things don't get out of hand).
Socialization doesn't just stop with puppy preschool, though.
It's an ongoing effort throughout the life of your puppy and
Shar Pei. He needs to be taken to a whole bunch of new places
and environments. Remember not to overwhelm him: start off slow,
and build up his tolerance gradually.
Aggression towards family members
There are two common reasons why a Shar Pei is aggressive
towards members of his own human family:
1. He's trying to defend something he thinks of as his from
a perceived threat (you). This is known as resource guarding,
and though it may sound innocuous, there's actually a lot more
going on here than your Shar Pei simply trying to keep his
kibble to himself.
2. He's not comfortable with the treatment/handling he's getting
from you or other members of the family. What's resource guarding?
Resource guarding is pretty common among Shar Peis. The term
refers to overly-possessive behavior on behalf of your Shar Pei.
For instance, snarling at you if you approach him when he's eating,
or giving you "the eye" (a flinty-eyed, direct stare)
if you reach your hand out to take a toy away from him. All Shar Peis
can be possessive from time to time, it's in their natures. Sometimes
they're possessive over things with no conceivable value such
as inedible trash, balled up pieces of paper or tissue, old socks.
However, more frequently the resource-guarding becomes an
issue over items with a very real and understandable value (food
and toys). Why does it happen? It all boils down to the issue
of dominance.
Let me take a moment to explain this concept: Shar Peis
are pack animals. This means that they're used to a very structured
environment: in a Shar Pei-pack, each individual animal is
ranked in a hierarchy of position and power (or "dominance")
in relation to every other animal.
Each animal is aware of the rank of every other animal, which
means he knows specifically how to act in any given situation
(whether to back down, whether to push the issue, whether to
muscle in or not on somebody else's turf, etc etc). To your Shar Pei,
the family environment is no different to the Shar Pei-pack
environment. Your Shar Pei has ranked each member of the family,
and has his own perception of where he ranks in that environment
as well.
This is where it gets interesting, if your Shar Pei perceives
himself as higher up on the social totem-pole than other family
members, he's going to get cheeky. If he's really got an overinflated
sense of his own importance, he'll start to act aggressively.
Why? It is because dominance and aggression are the exclusive
rights of a superior-ranked animal.
No underShar Pei would ever show aggression or act dominantly
to a higher-ranked animal (the consequences would be dire, and
he knows it!) Resource guarding is a classic example of dominant
behavior. Only a higher-ranked Shar Pei (a "dominant"
Shar Pei) would act aggressively in defense of resources.
To put it plainly, if it was clear to your Shar Pei that he
is not, in fact, the leader of the family, he'd never even dream
of trying to prevent you from taking his food or toys because
a lower-ranking Shar Pei will always go along with what the
higher-ranking Shar Peis (you and your family) say.
So, what can I do about it? The best treatment for dominant,
aggressive behavior is consistent, frequent obedience work, which
will underline your authority over your Shar Pei. Just two
fifteen-minute sessions a day will make it perfectly clear to
your Shar Pei that you're the boss, and that it pays to do
what you say. You can make this fact clear to him by rewarding
him (with treats and lavish praise) for obeying a command, and
isolating him (putting him in "time-out", either outside
the house or in a room by himself) for misbehaviour.
If you're not entirely confident doing this yourself, you
may wish to consider enlisting the assistance of a qualified
Shar Pei-trainer.
Brush up on your understanding of canine psychology and communication,
so that you understand what he's trying to say - this will help
you to nip any dominant behaviors in the bud, and to communicate
your own authority more effectively.
Train regularly: keep obedience sessions short and productive
(no more than fifteen minutes two or three times per day. Why
doesn't my Shar Pei like to be handled? All Shar Peis have
different handling thresholds. Some Shar Peis like lots of
cuddles, and are perfectly content to be hugged, kissed, and
have arms slung over their shoulders (this is the ultimate "I'm
the boss" gesture to a Shar Pei, which is why a lot of
them won't tolerate it.) Others on the other hand, usually the
ones not accustomed to a great deal of physical contact from
a very young age aren't comfortable with too much full-body contact
and will get nervy and agitated if someone persists in trying
to hug them.
Another common cause of handling-induced aggression is a bad
grooming experience, nail-clipping and bathing are the two common
culprits. When you clip a Shar Pei's nails, it's very easy
to "quick" him, that is to cut the blood vessel that
runs inside the nail. This is extremely painful to a Shar Pei,
and is a sure-fire way to cause a long-lasting aversion to those
clippers. Being washed is something that a great many Shar Peis
have difficulty dealing with a lot of owners, when confronted
with a wild-eyed, half-washed, upset Shar Pei, feel that in
order to complete the wash they have to forcibly restrain him.
This only adds to the Shar Pei's sense of panic, and reinforces
his impression of a wash as something to be avoided at all costs
if necessary, to defend himself from it with a display of teeth
and hackles.
Can I "retrain" him to enjoy being handled and groomed?
In a word, yes. It's a lot easier to handle your puppy a lot
if you start from a young age, get him used to being touched
and rubbed all over. Young Shar Peis generally enjoy being
handled while it's only older ones who haven't had a lot of physical
contact throughout their lives that sometimes find physical affection
difficult to accept. Practice picking up his paws and touching
them with the clipper; practice taking him into the bath (outside,
under the faucet or whatever works for you, but warm water is
much more pleasant for a Shar Pei than a freezing spray of
ice-water) and augment the process throughout with lots of praise
and the occasional small treat.
For an older Shar Pei that may already have had several
unpleasant handling/grooming experiences, so things are a little
more difficult. You need to undo the damage already caused by
those bad experiences, which you can do by taking things very
slowly with an emphasis on keeping your Shar Pei calm. In
the instance that he starts to show signs of stress, stop immediately
and let him relax. Try to make the whole thing into a game (give
him lots of praise, pats, and treats). Take things slowly.
Don't push it too far, if they get nervous, stop. Shar Peis
show aggression for a reason: they're warning you to back off,
or else! If your Shar Pei just can't seem to accept being
groomed, no matter how much practice you put in, it's best to
hand the job over to the professionals. Your vet will clip his
nails for you (make sure you tell him first that he gets aggressive
when the clippers come out, so your vet can take the necessary
precautions!). As far as washing and brushing goes, the Shar Pei-grooming
business is a flourishing industry: for a small fee, you can
get your Shar Pei washed, clipped, brushed, and whatever else
you require by experienced professionals (again, make sure you
tell them about your Shar Pei's reaction to the experience
first!).
For more information on handling aggressive and dominant behaviors,
as well as a great deal of detailed information on a host of
other common Shar Pei behavior problems, check out |
Ultimate
House Training Guide
click image for
immediate download |
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