Colours

Shar Pei colours are divided into three groups:

Group A: Basic Colours
Basic coloured Shar Pei have black or charcoal pigmentation (i.e skin, nose, tongue, mouth/flews and footpads).

Group B: Dilute Colours
Dilute Shar Pei have no black (charcoal) pigmentation and no black hairs anywhere on their bodies. The skin, nose and nails are self coloured - conforming to the coat colour of the dog (i.e. cream dilute dogs will have pinkish noses and skin, chocolate dogs will have chocolate noses, etc.).

Group C: Not a Solid Colour
Shar Pei that are not a solid colour are generally referred to as Flowered Shar Pei. This will include all Shar Pei that have colour markings (i.e. spots, patches, etc.). This does not include the shading often seen on Shar Pei (the darker hairs on the back, lighter under the tails or rustiness/ashy shine on black Shar Pei).

Coats

There is a big variation in Shar Pei coat lengths, but we generally refer to three coat lengths:

1. Horse Coat (very short coat)
2. Brush Coat (Longer than horse coat but shorter than 2.5 cm)
3. Bear Coat (Longer than 2.5 cm)