From a breed standard point of view, something is wrong with the Chinese Shar-Pei’s conformation in the photo either above or at the side (depending upon whether you’re on a computer or a phone). Can you spot it?

The same problem shows up in the dog below:

 

And in the Shar-Pei that follows:

Let’s come at this from a different direction. What do you see in common among all three dogs that is incorrect for the breed?

While spotted pink tongue is a major fault in the breed, the correct answer here is that all three Shar-Pei have solid pink tongues, a disqualification according to the breed’s AKC standard.

We should mention that if a dog is stressed because of, say, heat, his or her tongue color may lighten. Care should also be taken not to confuse dilute pigmentation with a pink tongue, and while tongue colors in this breed should conform to the general pigmentation of the dog, a spotted pink tongue and a solid pink tongue are problematic.

For a correct tongue, the eleven week old baby below has a good start! Shar-Pei are supposed to have a solid pigmented tongue that ranges in color from a pale lavender to a blue-black tongue, and usually, the darker the coat color, the darker the tongue color will be. A cream dilute, for example, should have a light lavender mouth and tongue color.

Top photo of a Shar-Pei by Ray Soares