Help me choose....a little dog

[Springermum1350]

My parents are looking for a dog. A little one. They have asked for my help in doing this.

So far I have been looking at the following....

Lhasa apso
Shiranian
Shih Tuz
Or a shih Tuz and bichon cross

Opinions please?????

[Shortandsweet20]

Have they looked at local rescues?

What kind of dog are they looking for?

[Springermum1350]

No rescues they had a bad experience with that before. So that is not even an option.

Just a dog the size of the ones listed above.

[Springermum1350]

Just wondered if anyone had any of these or had any experience with them

[FarrowandBallAche]

What on earth is a shiranian?

[Roseberrry]

What are they looking for apart from size?

[noddingoff]

I'd rather go for a purebreed rather than a designer mix with a made-up name like "Shiranian". Granted the Pom or Bichon might alleviate some of the potential brachycephalic problems contributed by the Shih Tzu parent, but the downside is that the breeders of designers crossbreeds practically always know little and care even less about the health of the pups they produce. They typically use cheap cast-off poor quality examples of the parent breeds, bung them together, make up a name for their new designer crossbreed then flog the pups on Gumtree for a nice tax free profit. Then put the bitch in pup again and again to keep churning out litters. They won't tell you this- they'll say they only wanted one litter from their darling and mumble sone vague crap about "the pup is a crossbreed so it'll be healthier". At least if you buy a KC registered purebred you know that there are some rules in place to protect the bitch from this.

[noddingoff]

Shih tzu and Lhasa Apsos..both brachycephalic so both crap teeth and prone to eye ulcers. Otherwise not usually too bad. Look at the parents and pick ones with the biggest nostrils and least sticky-out eyes you can find. Avoid bandy legged ones as I've seen some with severe joint problems...get a pup from parents with the straightest front legs when viewed from the front that you can. Both breeds need a lot of grooming care.

[puggymummy1]

I have a pug and a pug/lhasa cross (mad mongrel). I think a pug is perfect for an older couple. Lhasas are a bit bonkers. They are like little guard dogs and are always alert. They like to dig and climb and think they're tough. They also have a penchant for carrying around soft toys.

[notagiraffe]

What about a sausage dog? They are so sweet tempered.

[Peaceandloveeveryone]

Have a look at some of the dog threads active now, I was really hoping that these would demonstrate why buying a pedigree dog from a breeder doesn't guarantee anything. Shame they won't consider a rescue, lots of lovely little dogs needing homes as their owners have died or gone in to care.

[Sunnyshores]

Why do they want a little dog? Restricted room in home? Less walks? Shorter walks? It doesnt always follow beacuse theyre small that theyre easier to look after.

Try the kennel club breed selector online.

[Justyou]

We have a Lhasa and he's amazing, so gentle with the kids and was really easy to train although I know that's not always the case.
He Is like a little guard dog though and barks if someone is outside or he can hear one of the kids walking around at night but as soon as he knows we are aware of the person he stops- he doesn't make a noise at all through the night once we have gone up so I think it must be just to let us know somethings going on.

[chipsandpeas]

my mums lhaso is brilliant lovely wee dog, she has had teeth removed but as mentioned it can be a problem in the breed
shes stubborn but was easily trained and loves attention and will bark at you if you dont pay her any attention when u go into the house

when she was going to get a dog she wanted a smaller one as shes old and couldnt cope with a big strong dog so going to a rescue was out as she wanted a puppy so we found a breeder locally, saw the parents and got all the papers

[Peaceandloveeveryone]

Lots of rescues have puppies in case anyone else is reading this and thinking about it

[Floralnomad]

Have you looked at Italian greyhounds

[Sunnyshores]

Italian grehounds are beautiful little dogs, but extremely energetic and prone to jumping high fences. Depends what sort of lifestyle OPs parents have as to what dog will fit in.

[Floralnomad]

There is an Italian greyhound living a few doors away from me ,about 18 months old ,very quiet ,calm and not remotely lively ,but then I also live next door to the worlds laziest spaniel - must be something calming in the air here .

[TrionicLettuce]

There is an Italian greyhound living a few doors away from me ,about 18 months old ,very quiet ,calm and not remotely lively

That is definitely not the norm!! Lovely little dogs but they're usually like little whippets on speed

This is more the norm for Iggies......

[Floralnomad]

This one is owned by a dr ,perhaps they feed it diazepam !

[MissBeaHaving]

Our little fella DDog2 is a French Bulldog he's a cheeky little character with a huge personality,never a dull day with him but you need to do careful research on the breeders as there are some who care more about the money than the breed .
Friend has a pug who is lovely,great personality & temperament.
Family member has a westie,another fab little dog.

[Thankfulforeveryday]

I've got a shih tzu and a Lhasa apso.
I obviously love them both but...
The shih tzu is my secret favourite. Easier to train, hardly ever barks. Walks off lead fine. She's just not very loving whereas the Lhasa would sit on your lap all day if she could. She (the Lhasa) definitely is the top dog. Barks so much as someone sneezing outside the front door. Very possessive of me in particular. And is a pain on the lead, I've struggled to train her as easily as the shih tzu. Neither have had any health problems as yet, both are 4. It sounds like I don't like the Lhasa but I completely do. Everyone falls in love with her when they met her.

[puggymummy1]

I just re read my post and it sounds as though I was favouring my pug over my lhasa/pug cross. The lhasa cross is a fab little guy, walks for miles in all weathers, no health issues, very clever and loving but reactive to most other dogs. I think the pug temperament is suited to everyone including older people.

[Springermum1350]

Thanks everyone. The problem they had with a rescue was a grey hound so that would be a huge no no. They are leaning towards a shih Tuz.

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

As a child we had shitzus, three in total. Never had any health problems with any of them apart from all of them were diagnosed with heart murmurs fairly young. However they first one lived until 13yo, next one 12yo and mum currently has a 14yo. They all had to go on frusimide at some point but not till later on......maybe about 10yo. Mums current one hasn't been able to walk very far for the last 3 years but seems quite happy. They're not related.

No tooth or eye problems and mum hasn't insured any of them and no vets bills apart from the frusimide medicstion.

They take a lot of brushing even when cut fairly short.