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Our, Amyloidosis, Shar-pei Swollen Hock Syndrome, Familial Shar-pei Fever Experience.

Let me begin by saying these conditions are in all lines ,but how we go about breeding our dogs is where we are able to control the frequency of there occurrence. I believe that as breeders we owe it to our dogs to be cautious , vigilant and informed about new information relative to our breed and dogs in general. These conditions have been around since the first imports to the United States. We can make the difference! 

We lost Rippley a.k.a. Taiyattangs Educating Rita to Amyloiosis in October,1998 she went into complete renal failure. I sit here remembering her with tears in my eyes as she was a sweet little angel with so much love to give, her life was all to short. Earlier that year we had to put down one of our other dogs we bred with temperament problems and he Congo Red tested positive for Amyloidosis. He was Rippley's nephew, Lance a.k.a. MINGTIME Chin Lee. Lance never showed any signs but my vet noted that he may have lived another year before he went into kidney failure. He was out of my own Dynasty Red Carpet Suprise x Taiyattangs Ice Tea. Rippley was a gem she came to us in the Summer of 1994 she was 18 months old. I had recently lost my first Shar-pei and was devastated by the loss and contacted Rippley's breeder and was told she was available under certain terms and conditions. We went down to see her and thought she was lovely we were told her bite was off but not to worry that was not a big deal and it was easily remedied with good breeding. We bought her home on the condition she got along with our puppy Flame out of our first Shar-pei Cuddles. She came to live with us and all was well between her and Flame. We were told she had been returned by the previous owner because of a conflict between her and the previous owners Doberman puppies. Unfortunately we later found out that was not all involved in her return.

After collecting her we moved into our new home and she settled in well. Rippley was a happy dog always willing to please. After about a month of owning her she had her first Fever episode. It began late one evening while we were watching the telly she seemed uncomfortable and didn't seem to want to settle. She kept looking for something. I let her out to use the bathroom but she didn't do anything and wanted back in, then she started drinking allot of water she was at the dish for about 20 minute just drinking but I was watching her as she was acting strange. When she stopped I noticed she was shivering, I was at a loss it was August and very warm in the house. She then went upstairs as if to bed, I followed her and then noticed her right hock joint area was swollen and she did not want to move. I took her temperature and it was at 107 degrees Fahrenheit. I was confused and did not know what to do. I was on the phone with the breeder and they told me to give her an infant aspirin, let her rest it off she would be fine. The episode only lasted 2.5 hours and she was back to her normal self. These episodes continued for 4.5 years until her death.

Unfortunately not allot was known about this disease when I first got her. A seminar held by the Midland Shar-pei Club with Dr Linda Tintle as the guess speaker shed some light on the issue and help me figure out what was happening to Rippley. I believe that this disease is inherited and anyone suspecting there dog as having it should contact an experienced Shar-pei breeder and find out more or visit some of the many website dedicated to The Shar-pei and its health.

For more information about Rippley, Lance or just to chat Shar-pei drop us an Email