Is it now time to iron out the wrinkles? Health of Shar Pei dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK

Background The Shar Pei is a common dog breed with a distinctive appearance caused by hyaluronosisthat has been linked with several health conditions. Anonymised primary-care veterinary clinical records wereexplored to extract data on the demography, common disorders and mortality of Shar Pei in the UK in 2013.Results The study population of 455,557 dogs included 1913 (0.42%) Shar Pei. The mean adult bodyweightwas 22.26 kg. The most prevalent fine-level precision disorders were entropion (prevalence 17.88%, 95% CI: 16.16-19.59), otitis externa (16.36%, 95% CI: 14.70-18.02), ear disorders (6.69%, 95% CI: 5.57-7.81), aggression (5.23%, 95%CI: 4.23-6.22), and pyoderma (4.29%, 95% CI: 3.38-5.19). The most prevalent disorder groups were ophthalmologic(prevalence = 22.27%, 95% CI: 20.40-24.13), dermatological (21.01%, 95% CI: 19.19-22.84), aural (18.66%, 95% CI: 16.92-20.41), traumatic injury (7.53%, 95% CI: 6.35-8.71) and behavioural (7.21%, 95% CI: 6.05-8.37). The median longevityof 190 Shar Pei that died during the study period was 7.28 years (IQR 5.04-10.05, range 0.04-15.04). Of 184 deathswith a recorded method of death, 157 (85.33%) deaths involved euthanasia and 27 (14.67%) deaths were unassisted.Among 136 (71.58%) deaths with a recorded biomedical cause of death, the most common causes of death at grouplevel precision were neoplasia (15.44%, 95% CI: 9.37-21.51), renal disorders (13.24%, 95% CI: 7.54-18.93), and behaviouraldisorders (11.03%, 95% CI: 5.76-16.29).Conclusions Almost one fifth of Shar Pei receive veterinary care each year for entropion, a condition linkedstrongly with the extreme conformation of thickened and folded skin and bristly hair that characterises the SharPei breed. Several other common disorders are also linked to hyaluronosis. Current UK legislation can help supportefforts to avoid breeding or acquiring animals with extreme conformations and to promote adequate veterinary carefor already-owned animals with extreme conformations.