WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Shar Pei 0:00:04.280 --> 0:00:06.800 Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. Fin'd shar Josh 0:00:06.880 --> 0:00:09.920 the shark Chuck shark. Jerry's here too, and we're just 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:14.840 paying around and this is short stuff. Is that off 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:16.560 the top of your head? Please tell me you don't 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:22.160 prescript these? No, not something that terrible. Okay, No, let's 0:00:22.120 --> 0:00:28.560 see like furiously scribbling. Now he's crossing it out. Uh, 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:31.639 you want to talk sharpay? Yeah? I do, I shar do. 0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:35.760 It sounds like you gotta stop. It sounds like and 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:38.600 I didn't look it up, but Sharpay's sounds wrong and 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:40.919 it just seems like the plural sharpay is probably sharpay. 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:44.159 That's what I take it as. Sure, okay, Yeah, and 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:47.680 it came from China originally the sharpay breed did. Yeah. 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:49.280 This is a dog, by the way, Yeah, we should 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:52.200 probably say that. I think every single person who's ever 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.040 been familiar with dogs is also familiar with sharp pay 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.760 because they're one of the most unique and unusual looking 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:03.440 dogs on the planet. Because they have huge, floppy, folding 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:07.440 skin flaps all over their head and neck and shoulders 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:10.800 that differentiates them from basically every other dog. They make 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:14.399 bloodhounds hang their jowls in shame. They have that many 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:17.760 folds and flaps of skin. That's right. Uh. And by 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:20.319 the way, this comes from Patty Rasmussen and how stuff 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:23.120 Works dot com. And you said it came from China 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:26.480 originally the breed uh. And in Chinese that translates to 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:31.520 translates to sand skin. The plural of translated is translate 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:36.480 to sand skin. Uh. And a fully grown Sharpei is 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:38.560 you know. They're they're pretty big, between forty five and 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:42.920 sixty pounds a couple of feet tall. Uh. Those folds, 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:46.360 like you said, are unmistakable. Uh. They're kind of light 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:49.880 brownish in color, although they can be apparently up to 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:53.000 seventeen different shades and different colors. Yeah. They also have 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:57.880 a really prominent, big stout muzzle too that really fits them. 0:01:57.880 --> 0:01:59.960 It seems appropriate to the rest of their body size, 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:03.040 but it's also unique. But you only notice the muzzle 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.760 after you notice all the skin folds. And then after 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:08.440 you notice the muzzle, you'll notice they have these tiny, little, 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:11.880 kind of soft eyes that are made even softer by 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:14.919 the huge flaps and folds of skin hanging around them. 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:18.359 They just kind of have this sweet, kind of droopy 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:20.959 look about them that makes you want to just come 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:26.360 up and you know. Yeah, and as we'll see here 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:28.839 in a few minutes, those all the skin action around 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:31.079 the eyes can cause a lot of problems sadly. Yeah, yeah, 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:33.440 that's the problem. Is like it's super cute and super 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:39.639 sweet with the dogs, like please call the police. Uh, 0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:43.239 so let's talk about these folds. They actually uh interviewed 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:48.200 for this article, Patty Rasmussen interviewed Dr Kirsten Lynn blad 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:53.200 Toe of Uppsala University in Sweden. That's some pretty good digging, 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:58.680 yeah for sure. And uh apparently doctor doctor Lynn blad 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.920 Toe knows all about these folds and where they come from. 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:07.680 And it comes from something called hia lauronin and this 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:10.680 is like a gel. It's described as a gel around 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:14.120 the cells and the skin and Sharpay's just have a 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:17.640 lot of this stuff accumulating basically in the skin. Yeah, 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:20.560 and that may sound familiar to you if you, uh 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:24.720 and have anything like a skincare regime, because hyaluronic acid 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:26.520 is having a real moment right now and has for 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:30.640 a few years. Yeah, but this is the actual stuff 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:34.520 that that is that kind of pads and makes um 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:38.320 the cells kind of floppy and elastic and gives them 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:43.200 kind of buoyancy and bountinus and vibrancy and youth and 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.920 um cover girl and all that stuff, and all of it, 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:50.680 all of it is produced at bottom by the hyaluronic 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:54.920 acid syntheses two gene. And it turns out that Sharpei 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:58.760 dogs no chuck. Now that I was about to say, 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:06.840 I think Sharpay's work work. So um. The sharp Pays 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:12.800 have hyaluronic senta's two jeans basically on steroids. That's right, 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.920 And so you're getting way too much accumulation of it, 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:18.520 and it's that's what produces the wrinkles. It's really they 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:21.360 figured it out. And this is the kind of thing 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:26.440 that sharp Pay lovers love. They buy these dogs for 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:30.160 a lot of money. And uh, if you want to know, 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:32.120 I guess, well, maybe we'll take a break and we'll 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:35.120 tell you a little bit about the breed. And what 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:59.360 they're like is dogs. Stop? Stop? What are they like? Josh? 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:03.479 You got h sharp as that's true, each one more 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:07.760 cuddly than the last. Uh. No, I have one momo 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.000 and she is in no way sharp Pay, although she is. 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:12.240 She's too, so I guess she's, you know, from the 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:17.479 same homeland to an extent um. Yeah. Uh so the 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:22.960 Sharpay is apparently a it's a good dog if you're 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:27.880 looking for a loyal dog that doesn't really play well 0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:31.400 with other dogs and doesn't like strangers. That seems to 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:35.239 be one of the big tenants of the sharp Pay breed. Yeah, 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.160 it is a big tenant. And you know, I'm sure 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.320 we'll hear for from sharp Sharpay owners that will either 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:42.600 kind of verify this or tell us like we've got 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:44.920 it all wrong because their dog is nothing like this. 0:05:45.560 --> 0:05:48.960 But one thing you're gonna want to be accustomed to 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:52.920 and up for is maybe a little more vet care 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:57.680 than you would your average mutt street dog because Sharpay, 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:00.599 because of the unique situation with the h as to gene, 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:03.520 there can be a lot of Um, there's sort of 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:05.760 a host of problems that can happen to the sharp 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:07.520 by Yeah, and a lot of them have to do 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:10.520 with the eyes. Yeah. Well yeah, and it's it ultimately 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.159 goes back to the skin folds. Like so the eyes 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:15.760 themselves can have all sorts of problems. But if you 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:17.400 really kind of look into it, it seems to be 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:21.640 from skin pressing up against the eyes, um, coming in 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:25.400 contact with the eyes, um, there's one where the dog 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:28.480 can actually go blind from the skin just pressing on 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:33.240 his or her retina for so long. Um that there's 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:36.800 also like, like, because they have that kind of sand skin, 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:40.600 it's kind of you know, course, a fold of that 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:45.080 turned inward onto their cornea over probably a very brief 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:47.240 amount of time is going to damage their cornea. And 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:50.080 that's another um issue you can have, so just from 0:06:50.120 --> 0:06:52.760 skin coming in contact with the eyes, but they also 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:55.800 have other stuff that like the eyes themselves can just 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:58.880 be kind of weaker in sturdy um. And that's just 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:03.400 one very common, widespread problem that sharp Pays have. They 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.200 also have a lot of genetic disorders too, and again 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:09.640 it has to do with hyaluronic acid. Oh is the 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:11.640 is the fever disease linked to that too? That's what 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.160 I That's what I took it as. Yeah, okay, oh, 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.120 let's see that the study does link that gene um. 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:20.320 It is called periodic fever disease. They sometimes even call 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:25.760 it familiar familial Sharpai fever. And it seems to just 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:29.760 come out of nowhere. The dog will get feverish, feverish 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:33.960 and sort of listless and uh yeah, apparently that high 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:38.360 alert high a laurinon cheese is to blame for this 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:43.600 periodic disease as well as some like autoimmune issues. Yeah. Um. 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:47.680 And then there's also sharp pay auto inflammatory disease or 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:52.920 spade with an eye, and it has all sorts of 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:59.320 stuff in addition to fever, arthritis, dermatitis, ear infections, organ infections. Um, 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:02.360 just a whole host of problems. And again it has 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:04.960 to do with that mutation that you know leads to 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:08.080 these skin flaps that's been selected to for more and 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:13.640 more over generations and generations of Sharpay's. Um. I guess 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:16.000 the breeders had no idea that they were also selecting 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:21.560 for the most genetically unsound of the bunch too. As 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:25.720 far as this disorder, this autoimmune disorder goes, Yeah, it's 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:31.480 sort of like the bulldogs having like trouble breeding even 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:34.600 they've been bred so their noses have been bred so 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.960 smashed up against their face. I remember reading that that 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:42.360 long ago chuck that um. I believe in the nineteenth century, 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:46.080 the bulldogs had a reputation like pit pulls have today, 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:49.880 that they were brutal, vicious dogs, and there was a 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.760 big public outcry about them as a breed to basically 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:57.760 just destroy the entire breed, and uh, to avoid that 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:02.440 bulldog breeders bread them. They started selecting them to be 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:07.640 way more mellow, way less physically capable of like violence, um, 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:10.400 and just generally nicer and happier. And so we have 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:13.679 the bulldog today which basically no way resembles the bulldog 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:18.000 of the nineteenth century. Interesting, we should do something on 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:20.040 the pitbull at some point too, because those were nanny dogs. 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:23.360 Pit bulls are great. I love those dogs. I've had 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:26.679 those dogs. Uh. So as far as the sharpay being 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:29.360 a good dog in the house, like you said, they 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:33.360 are very loyal, so they're great in that aspect. The A. K. C. 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.679 Says that, you know, the puppies might be better if 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:40.240 you have older kids, so they might be a little rambunctious. Uh, 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:43.280 they're really smart. They're pretty independent, but they are loyal. 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:47.240 I think initially they were hunters and guard dogs, so 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:49.920 you know they're gonna take some training. They do suggest 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:53.840 obedience training, uh, and that they typically aren't great with 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:57.160 other dogs and strangers. So it's it sounds like one 0:09:57.200 --> 0:09:59.280 of those breeds where you you know, you kind of 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:01.680 got your hands full. If you're a sharpay lover. I'm 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.760 sure that you know what you're getting into, but they 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:08.160 sound like they're not the easiest dog to have. No, 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:10.319 but I have a feeling that if you are a 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:13.960 sharp a lover, you don't care and love them entirely. 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:17.720 So that's exactly they're interesting looking animals. I will say that, yeah, 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:20.080 you did a call out for sharp pay owners, so 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:22.560 I want to second that if you have a sharp pay, 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:24.720 tell us all about your dog. We want to hear. 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:27.800 Please do And in the meantime, we're just gonna say 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:33.520 that short stuff is out. Stuff you Should Know is 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:36.400 a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.720 Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:41.640 or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.