The Art of Being a Responsible Shar Pei Breeder

When it comes to breeding dogs, whether it’s shar pei or another breed, there will always be the breeders that go beyond the call to try to produce the best pups, the responsible breeders, the lazy breeders, and the just plain bad breeders.

If you are in the market to buy a shar pei puppy it’s important that you take your time to research the breeders you are considering dealing with. Do your homework. You don’t have to be a backyard breeder to be a bad breeder. Bad breeders come in all shapes and sizes. That said so do good breeders, and I’d like to believe there are more good breeders than bad, so I headed out in my local area to do a little research myself.

I took a drive down to Duncan, BC where Joan Rochford, Pet Palace Breeder of Toy & Mini Shar Pei is located. I wanted to hear what she had to say about breeding shar pei. I know she’s been breeding for more than 25 years and I know she’s very well respected in shar pei circles. She was kind enough to take some time out of her busy day to talk with me.

Many people don’t realize just what’s involved in being a good breeder. It takes more than putting a male pei and a female pei in the same room to mate, and then the next thing you know you’re enjoying puppies.

The breeding needs to be supervised so that neither dog gets hurt. Once the dam in pregnant she needs high quality food. As her due date approaches the breeder needs to be near and needs to make sure that they have everything they might need on hand.

I asked Joan Rochford what a breeder might need. She said, “The breeder needs to invest in whelping supplies, build a whelping box ( a child’s hard plastic swimming pool works well), stock up on clean bedding, have sterile forceps on hand to clamp the cord, sterile scissors to cut the cord, a bulb syringe to remove the mucus from the puppies nose, and..” It's quickly clear that this breeder knows exactly what she needs to be prepared. I'm a bit overwhelmed as I think to myself, "wow there really is a lot to making sure there are healthy puppies."

Rochford was kind enough to show me her setup. The first thing I had noticed when I arrived is the beautiful clean spacious concrete dog yards. In my mind I was thinking, “wow, there’s a small fortune.” But once I entered her home I knew that was just the beginning of her costs. Joan says, “All our Mini Shar Pei are raised inside our home, we breed on a limited basis. We don’t do this as a living. We do this as a gift of love for the breed.”

So when she took me to show me the whelping room, I shouldn’t have been surprised. It reminded me of a hospital nursery complete with incubator. Everything was organized and sterile.

I asked her if it got easier once the puppies came. She replied, “You have to be there for the delivery. Things can go wrong really fast, and you have to ready to help the mom if a pup gets stuck. You also have to be ready should a c-section be necessary.”

I learned that with the mini and toy shar pei a c-section is actually not that unusual, and their litters are actually quite small. A call to a couple of local vets and I was quoted around $1800 for an emergency c-sections, and they can cost more, which must be paid up front. Ouch!

When the puppies come the mother is going to eat a lot more while she’s nursing. She’s also going to need to drink a lot more so she can keep producing milk. Joan went on to tell me, “If there is a sick puppy you will need to have the necessary equipment so you can tube feed that pup. Once they are strong enough to suck you can use bottles.” “But you sometimes lose a pup and that’s devastating.” You can see the emotion in Joan’s face. “It’s not easy, and you hope it never happens, but it does, and then you beat yourself up wondering if you could have done anything different.”

Looking around I can’t think of anything this particular breeder could do different. These were definitely happy shar pei. Every time Rochford moved their little tails wiggled, and they looked at her with adoration, following her from place to place. I was lucky enough to time my visit to see a new mom with her three new pups pictured here. Joan was beaming. You could see the love and the pride in her face.

When the puppies are 3 or 4 days old, the breeder removes the dew claws. At 6 to 8 weeks old they are de-wormed and get their first vaccines. They are then micro chipped and registered with the Canadian Kennel Club"

But wait, it’s not over yet. Now the breeder has to make sure they find “forever homes,” for their pups. And in the back of their minds, I’m sure every breeder knows that for some that forever home isn’t forever. Good breeders are there for the life of the dog, whether it's advice you need about your shar pei or you cannot keep your dog because of life changes. That's because for the good breeders this isn't about a commodity for sale it's about love and confidence in the shar pei you breed.

In just an hour I learned a lot about breeding shar pei. Most of all I learned for some breeders, like Joan a Rochford, it is a labor of love. When you are looking to purchase that beautiful adorable shar pei puppy, do your homework, visit the breeder, and from that visit you can learn a lot about whether this is who you should be buying your shar pei puppy from.