Shih
Tzu
History
The
Shih Tzu comes by his regal attitude quite honestly,
for he was developed as a favored pet
of Chinese emperors of the Manchu Dynasty from
the middle of the 19th Century. But his history begins
centuries earlier, as one of Tibet's "lion
dogs," an exclusive group of dogs bred by
Buddhist monks that includes the Lhasa Apso and
Tibetan Spaniel.The
Shih Tzu (whose name means “lion”)
is reputed to have been the oldest and smallest
variety of the Tibetan “holy dogs” and
bears some similarity to other Tibetan breeds.
For much of the long and illustrious history of
China, the breeding of the small “Lion Dog” was
a favorite pastime of succeeding imperial rulers.
In 1908, the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader,
sent some small dogs of Shih Tzu type to Tzu Hsi,
Dowager Empress of the Manchu Dynasty. The Empress
was a renowned breeder of Pekingese and added the
Shih Tzu to her interests. At this time, three
types of dogs were bred as palace companions with
little difference in type but with different coat
length. Tzu Hsi closely supervised the initial
Shih Tzu breeding to maintain breed characteristics
separate from the Pekingese, but after her death
that same year, breeding practices became sloppy
and cross-breedings with Pekingese and Pugs probably
occurred. The Manchu Dynasty perished in 1912 when Tzu's
successor abdicated to revolutionary forces that
eventually established the Communist government
in China. Many of the royal dogs were slaughtered
during the stormy months that followed.
Shih
Tzu found their way west to England when Lady
Brownrigg discovered the breed in Peking in
1930. Originally classified as "Apsos," the
Shih Tzu was ruled a separate breed by The Kennel
Club by 1935.
Many of the
early American Shih Tzu enthusiasts were
military people who bought their Shih Tzu in
England and Scandinavia and returned to the United
States
with them when they were stationed stateside
again. The American Kennel Club accepted
the Shih Tzu into the Miscellaneous Class in 1955.
The breed was not recognized by the AKC until 1969,
so those first imported dogs were often registered
as and crossbred with Lhasa Apsos. AKC requires
six generations of pure breeding after an outcross
to establish a breed as unsullied, so the early
Lhasa crosses in this country and a deliberate
cross with Pekingese in England in 1952 delayed
US recognition.
The lavish double coat is the breed's crowning
glory. A well-groomed Shih Tzu in natural coat
is a picture of perky elegance with flowing tresses
framing an impish face and body hair brushing the
floor. Pet Shih Tzus often have their hair trimmed
so it does not drag, but at ringside, the dogs
often sit on velvet or satin pillows or are carried
in exhibitor's arms to keep their coats off dusty
floors.
The Shih Tzu coat can be any color or mixture,
although the Dowager Empress preferred honey gold
with the Buddhist white splash on the forehead.
Many Shih Tzu are white with colored markings.
This
popularity and the dog's convenient size have
led to two serious
threats to the Shih Tzu's
integrity — puppy mill production and crossbreeding
with Toy Poodles to produce the Shih-poo. Fuzzy
Shih-Tzu puppies are often found in pet stores,
and Shih-poos are favorites of mass production
kennels that have several small breeds.
If you want a Shih-Tzu, check out the breed standard
before buying. This word-picture of the breed will
help you decide if the pups or adults you are looking
at are true representatives of the breed.
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