Pekingese

Breed specific discussion of your favorite breed.

Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost

delladooo
Posts: 763
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:53 am
Location: Blackpool, UK

Pekingese

Post by delladooo »

I'm just wondering what people think of pekingese, my mum really wants one in the future and I would be behind a multi-dog household (I'm hoping to one day add a standard poodle to our family once we have a larger garden). I'm just wondering what's the general things to look for in a peke, I'm trying to steer in the direction of getting an older (2+) if it's any time in the next few years (so far it's all hypothetical but talks that ended with Laufey were hypothetical to begin with).

Is it a good idea to get an older peke or is it going to be potentially very problematic - obviously any intro could have issues and I absolutely would not get a dog that Laufey doesn't get on with - but is this a breed we're likely to have issues with? Also, any major warnings about the breed? I know about the long hair; matting, cutting, cleaning, flat face to clean, short legs, is there any colour-specific issues with the breed (I know some poodle colours are more problematic than others)? :mrgreen:
frozen3
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:25 am

Re: Pekingese

Post by frozen3 »

hi

I myself don't have any experience of the peke but my mom dose she has only ever owned tow breeds the peke and the shih Tzu.

peke are really nice dogs they are gentle, playful and can sometimes be stubborn but my mom likes that about them.

ill give you some info first so you can learn about them.

The Pekingese (also known as the Lion Dog, Peke) is an ancient breed of toy dog, originating in China. They are called Lion Dogs due to their resemblance to Chinese guardian lions (the Shih Tzu is also known as a Lion Dog in Chinese).

The breed was favored by royalty of the Chinese Imperial court as both a lap dog and companion dog, and its name refers to the city of Peking (Beijing) where the Forbidden City resides. The breed has several characteristics and health issues related to its unique appearance. Because of its desirable characteristics, the Pekingese has been part of the development of designer crossbreeds, such as the Peekapoo (crossed with a poodle) and Peke-a-tese (crossed with a Maltese).

The Pekingese, originating from Western China, were proud companions of the Chinese Buddhist Monks. These dogs are also found to be owned by Chinese princes.

they have an average lifespan of 11yrs but my moms have always lived beyond 16yrs the eldest that she has at the moment is 18yrs.

they do get a lot of health problems but most dogs do. my moms dogs have never had bad illness they have been very healthy. my mom tends to walk her really early in the morning and late at night as we live in the uk so don't get sun all the time and the peke's don't do very well in hot weather yet when they go to Spain both dogs do fine.

one thing I will say is that they are the 2nd best small dog I have been around (I favour the shih Tzu as there very funny)

and lastly the care routine, Keeping the Pekingese coat healthy and presentable requires daily brushing, and a trip to the groomer every 8–12 weeks. One important thing to remember is that dogs intended as a house pet can be kept in a puppy cut which is much more low maintenance than a show cut ( my mom finds it easier plus I think they look adorable). It is also important to remove dirt from the eyes daily, and from the creases on the face to prevent sores (hot spots). It is also necessary to keep and maintain the fur in the buttocks of the Pekingese clean and well groomed as the area is prone to soiling.

Due to their abundance of fur, it is important to keep the Pekingese cool. The breed is prone to having heatstroke when exposed to high temperature. ( again I have only witnessed this in the uk, in Spain they were fine) my moms get on fine with her shih Tzu's she just introduced them slowly and her first dog was already very confidant around other dogs.


good luck with your search of a lovely peke
delladooo
Posts: 763
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:53 am
Location: Blackpool, UK

Re: Pekingese

Post by delladooo »

Thanks for the reply! Whilst a lot of the Chinese history is not alien information it's still good to read again and the personal experiences are brilliant :D

Personally the Shih Tzu doesn't do a lot for me (they're cute but not something I generally fall in love with) and all of these designer breeds (especially anything -poo) irritates me no end - I say with a poodle cross - especially the cockapoo and labradoodle, with owners that say they're pedigree lines and fine examples of the breed :roll:

Health problems don't scare us off a breed seeing as most dogs do have some problem associated with them but a peke would be the first fur intensive dog I've had and I'm not sure what mum thinks to the puppy cut - she loves the show cut. There would be little chance of us going out in the middle of the day either as Laufey is black and overheats quickly as well as both mum and I hating hot weather.

Are they generally good with cats and small furries? I realise this is a hard question as even an ex-racing greyhound can be good with cats and small furries, but any thoughts there?
frozen3
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:25 am

Re: Pekingese

Post by frozen3 »

hi

im glad my reply was helpful.

my moms neighbour has quit a few cats and the peke is fine with them she just introduced the peke slowly and rewarded her with treats when she behaved the way she wanted her to around cats. so yes I think with the right introductions peke's are fine with small furies

if there is any thing else you want to know just ask and I would be more than happy to help.
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
Contact:

Re: Pekingese

Post by JudyN »

I looked after my aunt & uncle's Peke back in the 1970s (OK, a looooong time ago, and they will have changed since then!). She was fine with our Yorkshire terrier. But the main thing I remember is that she would be out of breath after about 200 yards and have to be carried.

Funny thing - my aunt and uncle gave me a collar to put on her, and I wondered why they hadn't already put it on her. Until I tried to put it on her and she had a hissy fit :lol: Thanks for that, Aunt & Uncle :roll:

They seem to be a breed that has suffered a lot from poor breeding and the desire for ever flatter faces. Personally I wouldn't contemplate owning a dog which simply can't enjoy a full doggy life because of the way it's been bred. But you may be able to 'shop around'. Have a look at this pic: http://www.petmd.com/sites/default/file ... 20cica.jpg The nose emerges from the face, and the eyes don't look like they're about to pop out (the scary Sherley's dog book I had as a child gave instructions for putting Pekes' eyes back in their sockets :shock: ). Compare with this: http://forkyu.com/wp-content/uploads/Pe ... esktop.jpg A Peke that won Best in Show a few years back turned out to have had surgery to allow it to breathe... :evil:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
delladooo
Posts: 763
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:53 am
Location: Blackpool, UK

Re: Pekingese

Post by delladooo »

Thanks Frozen! I have another one, how hard is getting a harness on a peke? I can imagine all that hair gets in the way. Anything else I think of I'll add too :D

Judy, I completely agree with the face thing, definitely looking for a dog that can breath and doesn't need surgery to do so (something that will be made easier to spot with an older dog than a puppy I think). She's quite set on a very short peke though, nothing too tall, which seems to have been a bit of a hinderance on what we've seen available so far. If we were to go the puppy route I want Laufey to be 18 months at the very least so she'll just have to wait. The collar story is quite funny, but at the same time I wouldn't like to own a dog that hates having a collar on, it would worry me.
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
Contact:

Re: Pekingese

Post by JudyN »

delladooo wrote:The collar story is quite funny, but at the same time I wouldn't like to own a dog that hates having a collar on, it would worry me.
Oh, I agree - this was in the days when people just bought a dog and got on with it without opening a book (unless the dog's eye popped out :lol: ), expecting the dog to do the same. Looking back, it's amazing how often it worked out :shock:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
delladooo
Posts: 763
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:53 am
Location: Blackpool, UK

Re: Pekingese

Post by delladooo »

:lol: I agree, it's really surprising how often it went well as opposed to failing spectacularly but I can't imagine just letting them get on with it no matter how well it's gone before
frozen3
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:25 am

Re: Pekingese

Post by frozen3 »

hi everyone

your welcome.

I have asked my mom about the harness thing and my mom said that she gets it on fine but you do have hair stick up so she just brush's down. Judy N is right that it only take about 10mins of walking and my moms a pooped. and they have a rest and off they go again it is very funny to watch as they match my mom as she's out of breath to half the time.

my mom also finds it very easy to put the collar on.

anything else just ask

best wishes
Frozen
delladooo
Posts: 763
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:53 am
Location: Blackpool, UK

Re: Pekingese

Post by delladooo »

Ahhh, thanks frozen. I was slightly worried about getting all that fur caught in a harness and after talking to my mum she would definitely be looking to keep her (wanting a female peke which would work better with Laufey anyway) in a show cut - or at least long.

Short burst would be completely fine for us and Laufey will happily just play fetch so if a peke wanted to stay close and rest as he did so that would be fine by me :lol: Only possible drawback there would be trips to the fells but that can happily be reserved as just an activity for Laufey and I (or teach peke to happily sit in a bag so she could have walk and carry time) :P
gwd
Posts: 1958
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:33 pm

Re: Pekingese

Post by gwd »

Perhaps your mom might want to consider a Tibetan spaniel........... kind of the same look but less waddle-y and less chance of eye problems.
Image
delladooo
Posts: 763
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:53 am
Location: Blackpool, UK

Re: Pekingese

Post by delladooo »

They are very cute and very similar indeed! I did know the dog existed but completely forgot its breed name :roll:
Unfortunately (depending on which way you look at it) she's very taken with the peke and is looking for the short legs. From a casual look online to see what older pekes are about at the minute they are all longer legged (and look very like tibetan spaniels, possibly more so than pekes) which is what's put her off going to see any of them. Putting it off doesn't bother me in the slightest though, hopefully the longer she spends looking the more grown up Laufey will be when another dog arrives, I'm hoping he'll calm down slightly soon but I'm not counting on it

Edited to ask: one of the adverts we've seen (not considering as she's too young) says they have two "pekingese hybrids" for sale but then says that they have "pedigree registration", just wondering if anyone has any ideas what they mean by hybrid? :? :? :?
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
Contact:

Re: Pekingese

Post by JudyN »

From a poke around the internet, a hybrid is a crossbreed - so can't be registered with the Kennel Club or similar traditional bodies (according to Wikipedia). But I've found this company, where crossbreeds can be registered: http://k9pedigreeclub.com/hybrid-dogs-registration.html

Possibly it's a scam. But then again, if someone wants a particular 'designer dog', for whatever reason, it's got to be good that they can ensure that the cross is what they're told it is - and possibly that it is an F1 cross, because subsequent crossings have much less predictable results. I'm not against 'designer breeds' per se, as long as people want them for the right reasons (after all, lurchers were possibly the first designer dogs :lol: ).

I do worry that your mum is drawn to appearance at the possible cost to the health, wellbeing and comfort of the dog - when I see the Pekes at Crufts I just feel sorry for them. But I might be talking rubbish as I really don't know anything about the breed beyond Si-Boo back in the 70s!
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
delladooo
Posts: 763
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:53 am
Location: Blackpool, UK

Re: Pekingese

Post by delladooo »

That's what I was thinking Judy and hence why I was very confused. I'm not against cross breeds but it does irritate me that everything at the minute is a poodle cross breed to say that they're hypo-allergenic (something no dog is) when the cross can have very unpredictable results and even though Laufey is half poodle we find his hair everywhere, we don't mind but the fact is that not all poodle crosses work out the same and I think it could damage the long term image of the poodle itself and leave a lot of dogs that aren't the 'ideal cross' without homes.

As far as my mum wanting a peke for the way it looks, I suppose she does. Similarly I do feel sorry for some of the pekes I see on crufts (and a lot of other breeds, especially any flat faced breeds) when they just look hot and uncomfortable but I think the features she's looking for in the peke is the short stature which can cause problems but is a feature of many breeds and the coat. I would never let her get anything with a face so flat it couldn't breathe, which I think is the major issue with many breeds. I'm unsure (anyone feel free to correct me) but I think a lot of the waddle is the speed they run and the coat exaggerating it, but I could be wrong. Similarly I think you can get 'healthy' pekes and over bred ones much like you can with other breeds (I'm thinking the bulging pug eyes and the GSD slope) and with careful selecting you can find someone who cares about the health of the animal as well as it's aesthetic. Although this too is only my perception of the aforementioned breeds and I could be talking rubbish too and all dogs have some health problem associated with the breed :)
emmabeth
Posts: 8894
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:24 pm
Location: West Midlands
Contact:

Re: Pekingese

Post by emmabeth »

I think the best thing to do is find some Peke breeders/exhibitors who will effectively let you come round and 'road test' their dogs so you get an idea what living with a Peke would be like.

I love having a long coated breed (tibetan terrier) but if his coat ever looks like its stopping him doing something, we hack it off shorter - hes never shaved down but in summer when he swims I lop about 4" off all round so hes more buoyant and quicker to dry.

If your mum likes the small dog with a big coat look, how about one of the small spitzs, I had a consult the other day with two of the smallest German Spitzs and they were very attractive little dogs (I might have gone a bit giddy adn said 'omg its so floofy i might die'... ), TONS of coat but a proper pointy nose and sufficient ground clearance that they'd accompany you anywhere.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Post Reply