My Beautiful Shar Pei named Ty

by Carmen Souhlas

(New Orleans, La. U.S.A.)

I love my Shar-Pei "Ty". I've had him since birth, he was our "pick of the litter".

He is now 15 yrs. old and is only in recent years showing signs of old age. He is in-tact and has never caused problems.

I began dog training early because I knew he would grow large (65 to 70 lbs.) and willful. His size is my fault. He was the runt & I fed him extra brewers yeast; wheat germ & vitamins.

I wouldn't recommend this because his body grew larger than his legs can comfortably carry at his old age & this has stressed his spine. I have deep guilty regrets about this.

He is a loyal & loveable dog. Protective, yet not aggressive without persistent provocation. Well mannered with that air of Shar-pei pride. Even will stop defending himself if another dog attacks when I tell him to back-off.

He has never started a fight. He has protected our family, people & pets. I'll be heartbroken when he's gone.

I would recommend this breed for any family that can give the attention; care; & training. I live in New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina he protected me from looters. He has protected me & my grandchildren on long distance trips.

He loved to run when he was young. So much that we had to keep an eye on him because he would quietly sneak off. He is always on leash or in a fenced yard, but given the opportunity he's smart enough to sneak away.

He's been fed mostly "Pedigree" brand dog food. He still has a beautiful coat. We all love him very much, he has been good to us.