Talk to me about Shih Tzu's

[PleaseStop]

I've never had a dog before, only cats. After a lot of online research, these are my favourite - so can anyone who has one please tell me warts and all what they are like.

The downside is he needs a lot of grooming to keep his fur bear and tidy, and he thinks he’s a lot bigger and tougher than he actually is 🤔
The plus side, he was house trained in next to no time, he doesn’t moult, and he’s very in tune with my non verbal autistic 6 year old (dog is 4, son is 6), he barks when my son tries to open the front door (he doesn’t do it when anyone else does), and seems to know somehow when my son is on the verge of doing something and starts to bark. He’s more cat like than a dog too actually, he likes to jump up onto small surfaces to lie precariously on 🤔

*Fur neat, not bear 🙄

I have a female chihuahua she is perfect.
Not yappy, fine with other dogs and a total lap dog.
Very lazy, loves a sleep and a cuddle always next to me as she loves people.
Really well behaved and clever.
I wouldn't ever get a small male dog again I think they tend to have more territorial traits so like to mark and are more yappy with other dogs.

Lhasa's are a very similar breed, but again not all of them "fit the bill" in terms of how they behave. I've two, first one is a typical Lhasa. Very stubborn, no recall, fussy eater. But very quiet, loves people and other dogs. Lhasa number two is a pain in the ass! He barks and growls constantly, would go for another dog if he had the opportunity (always on lead). He makes our holidays very difficult due to his behaviour. But, he plays...whereas our other Lhasa doesn't and is incredibly loving.

This is so interesting, we have a Shih Tzu X her mother is a terrier. She looks like a terrier in the body but you can see elements of the Shih Tzu in her face. She is SO nervous
, always running around whining at every little noise, barks at everyone and everything. The barking drives me nuts and I find it embarrassing on walks when she’s winding up other dogs and their owners.

I love them. Affectionate with a bit of sass. Great company around the house.
Agree about the stubbornness and the sitting down when they've walked far enough thank you very much!
And the muddy nose when they've been digging...
Didn't find ours yappy or barky at all.
The grooming you just need to stay on top of - ours loved a pamper.

I have a five yr old ex breeder who I was fostering but kept. My other dog is a lurcher so I thought I was safe with a toy fluffy dog! When she arrived she was terrified of men, not housetrained, knew no commands and was terrified of walks. It took six months and she is the best funniest most cuddly and bravest dog ever. She can walk for miles, throws herself round the park with total abandon and is loved by every dog she meets. I often wonder at the insistence on socialisation for puppies as she had none of that, being in a puppy farm, yet is so calm and unfazed by anything. Obv I kept her, she and ted are partners in crime. Long live miss Amy Santiago!

Bizarrely she actually looks like Amy Santiago! The best dog in the whole world is a Maltese x Shih Tzu! He lives just over the road from us and he is perfect. Calm friendly beautiful and funny. I am obsessed with him and my neighbours seem rather scared.

We have a Maltese/poodle cross. He is over ten and still as playful and affectionate as a puppy. He loves people, especially children. He has never bitten anyone but has warning growled a couple of times when a grandchild who had been carrying him around tried to pick him up again.

He has a poodle type coat and does not shed. He gets groomed about every two months. He is smart and obedient unless I am trying to get him out in the rain!

He is quite happy in a two bedroom apartment.

We have a shiatsu x bichon frise
He wasn’t t too bad to toilet train-he’s first dog we’ve had so nothing to compare him against. He has the sweetest nature amd is very affectionate.
Touching wood as he’s almost 9 but he”s never had any health issues.
As others have said, the grooming can be a downside
, he gets groomed about every 8 weeks

This is my old playmate, was 15 when taken from us. Yes very stubborn but ours was super affectionate and not particularly barky or timid. Don't underestimate the amount of grooming a Shih Tzu requires. God, it's been four years and I still miss him so very much every single day

@JudgeRindersMinder

We have a shiatsu x bichon frise He wasn’t t too bad to toilet train-he’s first dog we’ve had so nothing to compare him against. He has the sweetest nature amd is very affectionate. Touching wood as he’s almost 9 but he”s never had any health issues. As others have said, the grooming can be a downside , he gets groomed about every 8 weeks

A Shih Tzu x Bichon Frise?? Does he not have insane barking fits?!

My Shih Tzu is a dream. Calm, friendly, excellent with kids, cuddly, loving. He doesn't shed fur or moult and goes to the groomers every 8 weeks. He was easy to house train. He's 9 and a very easy dog.

PleaseStop have you considered a Havanese? Similar size but a better face (not flat faced so none of the potential problems ) Lovely soft coats (need clipping). My brother has one and he's a fantastic little dog.. huge , cuddly, daft oprsonality in a little body. He toilet trained quickly and is quite obedient (unless he sees a goat.. he chases goats!)

I know 9 of them. I think they are low energy lap dogs who are mild mannered. I find them boring. Most of them are scared of other dogs. They are a bit like big cats with good recall.

We have two SHih-Tzu. My first was a long time ago and since her we've usually had two, normally one older and one youngster. Older one usually housetrains the younger - very useful. This time when older one had to be PTS we said we wouldn't get another but our groomer contacted us and asked if we could take an urgent rescue. He's turned out to be the best dog I've had in my life. He's scared of men - terrified when he arrived. He wet himself in fear when my husband raised a voice (not to him) but he's over that now. He still won't respond to many men but at least he doesn't try to bite them anymore. He's cuddly, friendly, playful and just the best dog I've ever had.

Our other girlie is a barker - at everything - a leaf, a cat, a person - anything that moves outside our house. But she's soooo loveable.

They're house-trained, eat well, get brushed almost daily and go to the groomer every 6 weeks. I love the breed but I concede they're not the easiest to keep. Their teeth go wonky (expensive dental treatments at the vet), they get skin problems (very expensive treatments at the vet) and if you're not very careful and observant they can easily get eye ulcers (one ulcer took us over £1000 in claims because in the end the eye had to be removed).

But I wouldn't lose our two for the world.

Honestly, you're going to encounter unexpected issues no matter what dog you go from, and whether you adopt or go to a breeder for a lil' pup. Breed type will give you a general idea of your dog's underlying drives (for instance - whether they are scent-driven, if they're likely to be friendly towards kids, etc.), but it really doesn't guarantee anything.

I walk a Shih Tzu mix and he's such a dude. I love him. He's gentle, loving, affectionate, but with a big lion personality. He's not yappy at all. Alert barks a bit at home, can be a bit barky with certain men or things he's unsure of, but generally a fun, playful, happy, sweet little guy.

I also used to have a Lhasa Apso x Maltese mix, who was awesome. Grumpy old man personality, but so loving and loyal too.

There are so many young dogs coming into shelters right now purely because people purchased them during lockdown and their circumstances have now changed. I totally get your reservations (I had the same worries before adopting my dog), though. But the benefit of adopting a teenage/adult dog would be that you can see what that dog's personality is like and skip the housetraining part. It's really worth a look. Especially since you're not 100% sure what breed to get. Mixed breeds can be awesome (and I personally prefer them, even though my dog is purebred!)

*no matter what dog you go FOR ;)

@SimplySteveRedux you’ve heard him then? Sorry about that 😳

[quote JudgeRindersMinder]@SimplySteveRedux you’ve heard him then? Sorry about that 😳[/quote]
Haha, brilliant.

Just get a poodle. 😍

We have a shihtzu.

She's 4 and she's just great! She doesn't do what she's told right away mind you, but I have kids abd am well used to having to ask twice!

She sleeps for hours and hours a day and gives me a look if she is wakened before she's ready!

She loves her daily walks, but not as much as our other dog loves them! (Not a shihtzu) she gets on well with the other family dog and she adores every member of our family, happily sleeping on anyone.

She is a bossy girl though. If I dare to go in the car or to the shop without her she is standing like a pitbull in the doorway when I return, she howls at me as if asking where the hell have you been without me?

And she snores louder than DH.

But we absolutely love her cheeky bold personality, she reminds me of a teenage girl who takes no nonsense!

She takes herself off to other rooms for naps if we are making too much noise. Her favourite spot is the end of my bed, so if we're making dinner and the fan is on and the radio etc, she'll just slope off to the bedroom for a nap in peace!

She loves playing with her toys and regularly brings them to you to tug with her. She just brilliant. No bad temper. She growls low if ds (17 and should know better) tries to lift her when she's asleep, but apart from that we have never seen any bad temper out of her.

I have a shih tzu, he's lovely. A bit barky if you ignore him but doesn't bark much really. He loves other dogs, children, walks, his toys, cuddles, although prefers to be right next to you rather than on your lap. Reasonably easy to toilet train.