Among the most popular breeds of dog is the Shih Tzu. Gentle, yet energetic and fun, these dogs crave the companionship of their families and have a tameness that lends them to lives as family pets.
Originating in China, the Shih Tzu is a breed with a long history; they are known to have been kept as pets at least as far back as 600 AD, where they were a popular pet. The name Shih Tzu is Chinese for “lion dog”, though the breed is also known by other names, including the Chrysanthemum Dog, the Chinese Lion Dog and the Lhasa Lion Dog. The breed achieved official recognition as a toy dog from the American Kennel Club in 1969 and has since become one of the more popular toy breeds.
Historically the favored pets of the Chinese aristocracy, the modern Shih Tzu is a mix of the descendents of the original Tibetan and Chinese lines. There are even those who hold the belief that it was a Shih Tzu that accompanied the Buddha on his wanderings. The breed nearly became extinct in 1949 near the end of the Chinese Civil War, but has fortunately managed to rebound from this event, allowing people all over the world to enjoy the company of these dogs as family pets.
The Shih Tzu is a toy breed, so they are very small dogs in any case. They are always solidly built dogs with a small stature. Average adults are in the range of eight to eleven inches tall and weight somewhere between nine and sixteen pounds. The breed has a characteristic elongated build and has an average lifespan of between eleven and fifteen years. The dog is often said to have a chrysanthemum face because of the way that the fur on their faces grows, with dark, round, wide set eyes. The breed also features a squared off, short muzzle with a distinctive underbite and pendant shaped ears which are covered with the same thick double coat which covers their entire body.
The mild temperament of the breed makes them excellent pets; these dogs have a very low level of natural aggression and can live in homes of almost any size. The Shih Tzu is a wonderful choice as a pet dog for single people, families with or without children and even as companion animals for the elderly. They are intelligent and relatively easy to train, being naturally well behaved and loving dogs which like nothing more than cuddling with their families.
There are distinctive traits which set the Shih Tzu apart; they are gentle and entertaining dogs who seem to be almost born to be companion animals.
