I am building this page to include Information on our guarantee, plus  General Care and Health facts and recommendations.

Feeding: What you choose to feed your pets is one of the most important decisions you can make. Please take this decision making very seriously.

Discuss with your Vet and trained professionals, research, and feel free to contact me for help also. It is wise to select a good food and stick with it.

If you make a change, make sure it is well thought out and gradual to avoid digestive stress to your dog. Dogs do best on a very consistent diet.

I free feed puppies & expecting or lactating moms. Other grown dogs are fed once in the morning and again at night with access to their food all night (out of convenience really). Some Shih Tzu will have a tendency to over eat if they get the chance...although this is rare.  Imperials, especially Teacup Imperials, sometimes need to be monitored to be sure they are eating enough to keep a healthy weight on because food often doesn't seem to be a big deal to them. Although they can get excited about being handfed cheese, hard boiled eggs, etc.; and of course they all love yummy canned food!

I keep my dogs supplied with raw hide chews...they love them (I just buy the natural color to avoid staining!)!!! Most of them also like small doggy cookies &  biscuits.

I recommend anything that Diamond makes, including Solid Gold, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Diamond Natural, etc. I suggest that you buy your food from high quality suppliers like Petsmart, Petco, and local veterinary supply stores with knowledgeable and helpful staff. I buy my food from Mitchell Veterinary Supply in Wichita's midtown. Grocery store, Walmart ("big box" retail) foods are NOT recommended. Feeding low quality food will void health guarantee!! 

Grooming:

Other pets: Over the years I have concluded that dogs are much happier if they have an animal companion in addition to their human family members.

They Have so much FUN playing together...and they still have someone to share their life & days with when the humans are away at work, school, movies, etc. I believe companions keep each other young at heart!!! Please consider having at least 2 pets if you are a pet owner.

They are hilarious to watch...you'll get double the laughs!!! Shih Tzu do great with other pets as long as they feel safe. We have a Brittany Spaniel and he does fantastic with out Tzu...and every Tzu loves him too! Our Brittany makes a great watch dog for our household and Shih Tzu!!! 

2 or more Shih Tzu together are adorable and loving playmates to each other.

Children: Most Shih Tzu love love love kids...and kids could do anything to a Shih Tzu...hang them upside down by one leg and the Shih Tzu will not mind one bit! In all of years of owning Shih Tzu, I have only had one that was intolerant of rough play by children...and we concluded that it was because he was the runt in a litter and had been picked on by his littermates ...and he would defend himself with them and then that behavior seemed to be duplicated with children. Other than that one dog, Max, long ago passed away from natural causes, I have never worried for a second about any Shih Tzu biting or even growling in the slightest way. So my theory, is beware of runts that have been picked on as they can develop a defensive complex. There is a lot of research about runts on the internet. By the way, Imperials are not "runts"...and If we ever have "runt" it is never allowed to be picked on by littermates...and Imps are never allowed to be picked on either by standard size littermates. Honestly though, since Max's litter in the 90's, I have never witnessed littermates causing a smaller Tzu to display defensive behavior.  I believe that any Shih Tzu produced by me will be fantastic with children. On the other hand, I must say that children must be supervised and taught to be careful so not to injure their pet. And no one in the in the household, should ever strike, throw, drop or tease a Shih Tzu. Teasing and rough play that encourages improper behavior or fear in a Shih Tzu should never be tolerated. Our Shih Tzu are bred to be pampered love bugs!

Dangers:

1. Dog attacks: If attacked by a larger dog, Shih Tzu are very vulnerable to being shaken to death. Years ago, a large dog in my former neighborhood grabbed one of my Shih Tzu from under the backyard fence and pulled it under before my son could jump the fence and wrestle it away. We rushed our Tzu to the vet really knowing it was too late...and it was. Be very protective of your Shih Tzu, especially puppies and Imperials. Big, aggressive dogs can surprise you!
2. A friend of mine had her grown children and their Tzu over for the weekend. Another visiting dog, a hunting dog of some kind, normally friendly...surprised everyone when he got aggressive over a child's fast food meal and bit the Tzu in the head causing the Tzu to have an eye to bulge out from the pressure of the bite...the eye had to be removed by a vet. I have had 2 Shih Tzu over the years have an eye come out. Neither one happened while we were home and we never knew what exactly happened. (Although we suspect the first happened because the dog did not like rain...and got caught out in rain and ran up the deck fast hitting his eye against a step hard. He had a telltale contusion above his eye. The 2nd one we thing was maybe hitting our brick outdoor fireplace in super speed running play...another telltale contusion.) The first time happened in 2003 and the vet removed the eye.  The last one happened about a year ago, and my new vet, Dr. Rick Cox at Conway Springs Veterinary Clinic was able to save the eye!! The dog has limited vision in the eye, but it looks completely normal. I think some vets are more likely to remove an eye than others...and of course sometimes there is nothing that can be done. This is a rare occurrence in Shih Tzu, but can happen, and always very unexpectedly, due to normal Shih Tzu head structure & the structure of their eye sockets/optic nerves. All dogs do fine without vision, although this is heartbreaking for the pet owner.
3. I have heard of Shih Tzu drowning in backyard pools. Although mine seem to be able to swim well...I am sure they would be in trouble if they were unsupervised in a pool without a way to climb out from a shallow step. Many Tzu  love to swim with their owners.
4. Dropping a Shih Tzu, especially an Imperial of any size...and most certainly a Teacup Imperial is likely to cause injury. Don't panic if it's an accident...seek medical attention if the dog seems to have gotten dazed or appears to have an injury of any kind. Most of the time they will be fine, just be cautious. Dropping a pet down from even a child's waist level to the ground can surprisingly break or sprain a foot with just a wrong landing (just like with fluke injuries in humans)...not a fun injury as the dog has to be confined for weeks and weeks to keep the dog from running and walking around, allowing the foot to heal s l o w l y ! Be careful!!
5. Poisoning:
6. Dewclaws/toenails:
7. Groomers:
8. Strangling:
9. Choking:
10. Vaccines:
11. Severe matting: