Shar-Pei
Shar-Pei coats are unique because they come in three varieties. The horse coat is a single coat. It is short and prickly with only one hair per follicle. This coat is the most irritating to your skin and tends to produce a rash on humans who handle it. The brush coat is a slightly longer single coat. It was developed because it is a bit softer and less irritating to handle. Both of these varieties are recognized by the AKC. The bear coat is a thicker double coat, much like a Chow. It is longer and softer and dogs with this type of coat seem to have fewer skin problems. However, because it is longer than one inch in length, a Shar-Pei with a bear coat can't compete in the show ring.
Shar-Pei require a lot of brushing with a hound glove or bristle brush to stimulate the oil glands in the skin and spread it to keep the skin healthy. The Shar-Pei's coat isn't the only problem. Because they have a lot of wrinkled skin and many skin folds, they are also prone to skin-fold infections. Consequently, you need to make sure to clean and dry each fold.
Some Shar-Pei develop a skin condition called mucinosis. Mucin is naturally present in Shar-Pei skin; it's what gives the breed its characteristic wrinkles. However, in some individual dogs, an excess of mucin can cause blister-like bubbles to form on the skin. To groom dogs with mucinosis, lightly towel them and let them air dry. Then, brush them with a zoom groom or soft rubber curry.
The skin gets moist, then becomes red, and is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria such as staph and fungus such as yeast. Yeast organisms called Malassezia commonly overgrow on moist skin surfaces and can cause a stale, rancid odor and often irritate the affected area. You end up with an itchy dog who will scratch and abrade the skin, inviting more bacteria and fungus to grow. Then you treat the secondary bacterial infection with an antibiotic, which kills the good bacteria as well as the bad bacteria, and yeast takes over. It can be a losing battle once you let things get out of hand.
You must also take special care with Shar-Pei ears. Their ear canals are very small, and there is a lot of wrinkly skin around the ears that needs to be cleaned and dried regularly to avoid infection.
