True Gem Chinese Shar Pei is located in St Croix Falls, Wisconsin. My name is Cheryl Zaic and my husband is Jim Zaic. We have been devoted to the Chinese Shar Pei breed ever since acquiring our first Shar Pei dog from a humane society in Minnesota. Buster came into our lives back when we knew nothing about Shar Pei and he came with almost every conceivable problem a Shar Pei could have. Not knowing any better, we took Buster to a veterinarian who had no experience or practical working knowledge of the Shar Pei breed. And because of this, we spent a lot of money on some very unnecessary procedures and surgeries, on the advise of this veterinarian. Not know to us, there was an excellent Shar Pei veterinarian just a short drive away who could have answered all our questions correctly and saved us an enormous amount of money. But this unique and wonderful black horsecoat Shar Pei enriched our lives in many other ways and made such a huge impression on us with his incredible personality that we chose to get another Chinese Shar Pei when Buster died.       

Our next Shar Pei was a beautiful fawn sable, brushcoat female that we named Lola.  Lola was the most intelligent dog I had ever been around at that point, and I had grown up with dogs from the time I was only a year old. Lola excelled in obedience training. In later years, even after no practice or training for five years, Lola still remembered all of her obedience training commands and hand signals. Lola received a qualifying score at a sanctioned match held by the Shar Pei club that I had joined. Lola also had some health problems that we did not understand and were never made aware of, despite being purchased from a breeder. But at this point, at least we were in the very capable hands of a veterinarian who is considered an expert on Shar Pei. This is when I started to understand the differences between a backyard breeder and a knowledgeable, reputable breeder. And I started researching and learning about the various problems that a Shar Pei can have.

Shar Pei are addictive and one just doesn't seem to be enough.  So with Lola being properly spayed and our only intention being to bring another pet into our home, we decided to add a little Shar Pei boy to our family. We were totally charmed by a small silver sable boy that we named "Q" – and for all of you Star Trek fans, the answer is Yes. Q was incredibly handsome in my view and I was convinced by some Shar Pei club members to show him at a local Miniature show. This is when I began to learn and understand about conformation and what is correct and what is considered a fault in the show ring.  Well, Q did very well at the show and suddenly I was "hooked" on showing and learning as much as possible about the Chinese Shar Pei breed.

I made the decision that if I was actually going to show Shar Pei and some day breed and produce litters, I wanted to understand the hereditary problems and learn how to avoid them in a breeding program. So I spent several years just showing and learning about pedigrees and the various Shar Pei lines before I ever had my first litter. Through showing my dogs at AKC and Miniature Shar Pei dog shows, I became acquainted with and later good friends with some very knowledgeable, experienced, and reputable Shar Pei breeders. From these contacts and talking with many different Shar Pei breeders at the various dog shows that I went to, I learned about the various lines that should be avoided in order to produce healthy pups. None of this type of information will ever be found in any book.  I also learned about the conformation, structure, and movement that is necessary for a champion dog.

My goal became, and still remains, to produce healthy pups, and educate new Shar Pei owners so that people won't have to experience what I did with my first Shar Pei. And of course genetics being what it is, there is no guarantee when dealing with recessive hereditary problems.  But the risk factors can be greatly reduced and providing information to Shar Pei owners will inform them of the problems, if any, that they may encounter. 

If you are able to visit our home and our dogs, you would be very welcomed. But remember that our house belongs to our dogs. We do not have wall-to-wall carpeting or fancy furniture. Our dogs live in every area of our home and enjoy lounging on the furniture. So there is dog hair and when it rains or the snow melts, there are muddy paw prints on the floor. It is unavoidable. The dogs also know when it is dinner time and they don't care if you got home late from work and haven't had a chance to unwind.  It's Dinner Time!! Somebody is visiting?? Too bad – It's Dinner Time!! 

We have a sign hanging in our front entry that says it all:

Our home is maintained
For the comfort and security
Of our Dogs.
If you don't like that,
Please go away.               

But if you are interested in seeing and visiting Chinese Shar Pei in various sizes, colors and coat lengths, and if you are interested in experiencing their remarkable personalities and finding out what these dogs are all about, then please come and visit our home. Please dress very casually and expect to take home some hair and possibly some paw prints on your clothes. And don't take your shoes off when you come into the house – your socks will just get dirty. I guess that if I'm ever able to teach ALL of my dogs to wipe their feet before they come into the house, then I might ask visitor to remove their shoes before entering.