Group A: Basic Colours Basic coloured Shar Pei have black or charcoal pigmentation (i.e skin, nose, tongue, mouth/flews and footpads).
Cream: These Shar Pei usually have a darker shading (apricot) on their dorsal line, ears and hocks and include light and dark cream.
Fawn: Is the most common Shar Pei colour and can include Light Fawn, Dark Fawn and Red Fawn.
Red: Shades of Red may vary from red to mahogany to chestnut red.
Brown: Is often confused with chocolate. Brown Shar Pei will have black pigmentation - chocolates are dilute.
Sable: Sable is one of the most difficult colour classifications in the Shar Pei. A TRUE sable will have a lacing of black hairs over a lighter ground colour (not white). The coat colour is uniform over the body, neck, head and legs. A true sable does not have a lighter butterfly pattern on the chest nor Doberman points on the head. Legs are laced evenly. A saddle pattern is also not a true sable.
Silver: These dogs are a light even silver with a charcoal mask. They cast a platinum shade, light like a cream but without the darker dorsal stripe.
Black: Most black Shar Pei have grey, red, silver, brown or chocolate shadings.
Group B: Dilute Colours Dilute Shar Pei have no black (charcoal) pigmentation and no black hairs anywhere on their bodies. The skin, nose and nails are self coloured - conforming to the coat colour of the dog (i.e. cream dilute dogs will have pinkish noses and skin, chocolate dogs will have chocolate noses, etc
Apricot: A distinct apricot colour ranging in shade from light to dark apricot.
Blue: Brush coat blues are usually very dark blue and horse coat blues will usually be a light silvery blue.
Chocolate: Often this colour is confused with brown. Chocolate Shar Pei can not have any black pigmentation. Noses, etc. are chocolate coloured and tongues are lavender.
Cream: The same as basic cream colour but without black pigmentation.
Isabella: These Shar Pei have a dusty rose colour coat with pale blue masking and shading and lavender tongues. The ears and dorsal line may be darker.
Lilac: A chocolately blue dilute colour giving the appearance of purple. Again, the colour is darker in brush coats than in horse coats. (Lilac is the same colour as a Weimaraner) Always found in dilute only.
5-Point Red (Red Dilute): The "5 points" are nose, eyes, skin, foodpads and anus. These dogs are a distinct deep red fawn varying to a dark red colour.
Sable (Dilute): A lacing of dark coloured (not black) hair over a lighter coloured ground colour (not white). The coat colour is uniform in the body, neck, head and legs. A true Sable does not have a lighter butterfly pattern on the chest nor Doberman points on the head. Legs are laced evenly. A saddle pattern is also not a true Sable.
Silver (Dilute): Silvers include blue, grey and taupe. Noses are slate and tongues lavender. This is a bluish/silverish smokey colour with very little variation.
Group C: Not a Solid Colour Shar Pei that are not a solid colour are generally referred to as Flowered Shar Pei. This will include all Shar Pei that have colour markings (i.e. spots, patches, etc.). This does not include the shading often seen on Shar Pei (the darker hairs on the back, lighter under the tails or rustiness/ashy shine on black Shar Pei).
Coats
There is a big variation in Shar Pei coat lengths, but we generally refer to three coat lengths:
Horse Coat (very short coat)
Brush Coat (Longer than horse coat but shorter than 2.5 cm)
