BLACK IS AN EASY COLOR,SHIH-TZUS ARE BORN BLACK AND STAY THAT WAY. THEY HAVE A BLACK NOSE, PADS, EYE RIMS, & LIPS. INFACT ALL COLORS EXCEPT "LIVER & BLUE" HAVE BLACK PIGMENT ON THIER FACE.
BLACK AND WHITE IS SOMETIMES REFERED TO AS A "PARTY COLOR" THERE IS SPOTS ON THE DOG.(THERE IS SOMETIMES A THIRD COLOR)THREE COLORS ARE NOW LISTED AS "ALTERNATIVE COLORS" AND ARE EXCEPTED BY AKC FOR SHOWS. THESE ARE A FAIRLY RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE STANDARD COLORS
(SEE BELOW)
BLUE SHIH-TZUS CAN BE VARIOUS COLORS. THERE ARE CREAM BLUES,(A LIGHT GOLD,OR "BLOND" ) GRAY COLOR BLUES (WICH IS CALL BLUE) & BRINDLE BLUES. THESE DOGS HAVE BLUE (OR REALY A LIGHT GRAY) PIGMENT ON THIER FACES. THEY ALSO HAVE DELUTE (LIGHT COLOR) EYES, USUALLY BLUE/GRAY.THE SKIN SOMETIMES HAS A PURPLE,OR VERY LIGHT GRAY HUE. MANY BUYERS HAVE BEEN FOOLED INTO GETTING A SILVER OR BLACK SHIH-TZU. THERE IS NO VERY DARK GRAY NOSES.IF IT LOOKS BLACK IT USUALLY ISTHE NOSE WILL SOME TIMES FIRST BE PINK AND CHANGE TO GRAY, BLACK NOSES WILL NOT GET LIGHTER DELUTE MEANS THE BLACK COLOR IS DELUTED,BECOMING A LIGHTER VARIATION.
AGAIN A "PARTY DOG" OR SPOTTED DOG, WITH BLUE(GRAY) AND WHITE SPOTS. THE THING YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION TO IS THE LIGHT GRAY FACIAL PIGMENT,PADS.&LIGHT DELUTE EYES.
A BRINDLE COLOR IS 3 OR 4 COLOR HAIRS MIXED TOGETHER TO MAKE UP A SOLID COLOR COAT. USUALLY BEING TAN, BROWN, BLACK OR SILVER. IF THERE IS A RED COLOR IN THE MIX THE COLOR OF THE DOG IS SOMETIMES CALLED SABLE, OR MINK". IT IS STILL A BRINDLE.THE NAME JUST SOUNDS MORE ENTICING.
AGAIN A SPOTTED DOG, WITH THE COLOR MIX & WHITE SPOTS. BRINDLE COLOR SHIH-TZUS ARE DIFFRENT THEN A MARBLE COLOR.WHEN A MARBLED SHIH-TZU IS SHAVED YOU WOULD ACTUALLY SEE STRPES OF COLOR.SOMETHING YOU COULD SEE ON A BOXER OR PIT-BULL FOR EXAMPLE.2 COLORS,NOT MIXED COLORS.MARBLED WILL OFTEN STILL BE CALLED BRINDLE.
THE GOLDEN COLOR SOME TIMES CALLED TAN, CREAM, WHEATEN, CHAMPAGNE, ICE CICLE, OR GOLDEN (AS WITH A RETREVER). THERE ARE DIFFRENT SHADES OF THE COLOR BUT ALL ARE COMSIDERED GOLD.ALOT OF TIMES THE COLOR WILL LIGHTEN WITH AGE. REMEMBER THESE NAMES ARE USED TO ENTICE THE BUYER.
AGAIN THE DOG WILL HAVE SPOTS,USUALLY WHITE AS THE BASE COLOR AND GOLDAS THE SPOTS.
LIVER IS SEVERAL COLORS,AND IS GROUPED AS THE COLORS OF RED, CHOCOLATE OR CREAM. THE NOSE, LIPS, EYE RIMS, AND PADS ON THE FEET WILL BE THE COLOR OF THE HAIR.DON'T GET DISTRACTED BY FANCY NAMES.CREAM, BLOND, CHAMPAGNE, WHEATEN,GOLDEN,ICECICLE ARE ALL THE SAME.THEY WILL HAVE A PINKY SKIN TONE NOSE. CHOCOLATES HAVE SHADES TOO. RICH CHOC., DARK CHOC.,. MILK CHOC., ARE ALL SHADE VARIATIONS.ONLY PAST LITTERS CAN GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE ADULT COAT. AND REMEMBER THE UNDER COAT IS USUALLY LIGHTER THEN THE HAIR.THIS MAKE A BIG DIFFRENCE IF THE DOG IS CUT. REDS ALSO HAVE VARIATIONS AS DESCRIBED BELOW.
LIVER & WHITE HAS ONE OF THE THREE LIVER COLORS AND WHITE.
FOR REDS-BURGANDY,FIRE ENGINE RED,NEONRED,MAHOGANY,FLAME,ORANGE,ARE ALL NAMES TO ENTICE. RED COMES IN A VARIATION OF SHADES & THE CATCHY NAMES ARE NOT IMPORTANT.THE ADULT HAIR IS ALWAYS DIFFRENT THEN THE PUPPY COAT. PAST LITTERS OF THE TWO PARENTS WILL GIVE YOU A BETTER IDEA OF THE VIBRANCY OF YOUR PUPPIES ADULT COAT. MY REDS OFTEN ARE DARKER AS AN ADULT THEN A PUP.AGAIN THE UNDER COAT WILL BE LIGHTER SOME TIMES CREAMY LOOKING. THE DIFFRENCE OF RED & RED LIVER IS THE NOSE. IF IT IS A PINKY RED,THEN IT IS A LIVER, BLACK IT'S A RED.
AGAIN RED & WHITE IS RED WITH WHITE SPOTS.SOME TIMES WHITE IS THE DOMINENT COLOR.THE SHIH-TZU WILL HAVE A BLACK NOSE, LIPS, EYERIMS,& PADS.
SILVER IS ANOTHER TRICKY COLOR. SOME BREEDERS WILL EVEN TRY TO PASS THEM ON AS BLUES. THEY ARE BORN BLACK SOMETIMES A VERY DARK GRAY,AND THE COAT WILL TURN SILVER (A LIGHT GRAY COLOR) WITH AGE. THIS CAN TAKE AT LEAST 1 YEAR USUALLY 2. THIS CHANGE USUALLY STARTS AT THE BACK LEGS AND SLOWLY SPREAD. ONLY BY SEEING THE PARENTS CAN YOU ASSUME WHAT WILL BE EXPECTED WITH THE ADULT COAT.THE UNDER COAT IS A LIGHT GRAY.
THE SILVER AND WHITE ARE AGAIN SPOTS.THE SILVER AGAIN WILL BE BLACK OR VERY DARK GRAY AND FADE OR LIGHTEN WITH AGE.USUALLY THE WHITE COLOR IS THE DOMINANT COLOR.SILVER IS SOMETIMES REFERED TO AS PLATINUM.
THESE COLORS ARE A RECENT ADDITION TO THE STANDARD COLORS CALLED ALTERNATIVE COLORS.THESE COLOR COMBINATIONS ARE JUST AS ACCEPTED BY A.K.C. AS THE STANDARD COLORS.
THESE ARE THE " PARTY COLORS" .
FOR AN EXAMPLE-POODLES ARE OFTEN REFFERED TO AS PARTY COLORED, IF THEY DO NOT HAVE A SOLID COLOR COAT.
THE WORD PARTY JUST REFERS TO THE FACT THAT THERE ARE MORE THEN ONE COLOR MIXED TOGETHER IN THE SHIH-TZUS COAT.
WHITE IS ANOTHER NEW ADDITION.PLEASE BE CAREFULL WHEN BUYING A WHITE SHIH-TZU. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A WHITE LIVER.THE DOG SHOULD HAVE A BLACK NOSE ETC. IF IT HAS A LIVER NOSE THERE SHOULD BE SOME HINT OF A CREAM COLOR SOMEWHERE, USUALLY ON THE EARS OR TAIL.
IF THE SHIH-TZU HAS LIGHT EYES AND A PINKISH NOSE THIS IS NOT EXOTIC AND COULD SPELL TROUBLE. I'VE BEEN TOLD THERE COULD BE GENETIC DEFECTS IN THESE PUPPIES. BLUE EYES ARE ONLY EXCEPTED IN BLUE DOGS IN THE AKC RING.
BLACK MARKINGS REFER TO THE BLACK ON THE END OF THE TAIL, OR THE BOTTOM OF THE EARS.THIS IS REFERED TO AS TIPS.SHIH-TZUS CAN ALSO HAVE TIPS ON THIER BODY.TO EXPLAIN THIS SIMPLY, ITS IS LIKE A PERSONS DIED HAIR HAS GROWN OUT AND YOU CAN SEE A BLACK ROOT COLOR. THIS IS A
THIN BAND OF BLACK THAT GROWS OUT AND SHOWS UP AS THE TIPS OF THE HAIR, OR THE ENDS OF THE HAIR. THEY ARE ONLYY SEEN AT THE ENDS BECAUSE THE HAIR IS LAYERED OVER ITSELF UNTILL IT RECHES THE CENTER OF THE BACK. THEREFORE YOU CAN ONLY SEE THE END OF THE HAIR LAYERS."TIPS."
THE BLACK MASK IS SIMPLY THE MUSTACH,CHIN, AND HAIR BROUGHT UP TO TOP KNOT IS BLACK. THIS IS MOST COMMONLY SEEN ON REDS, GOLDS,WHHITES, AND BRINDLES.LIVERS DO NOT HAVE BLACK MASKS NOR DOES A BLUE.
- THE AMERICAN SHIH-TZU CLUB IS A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB
- AMERICAN SHIH-TZU CLUB- ESTABLISHED 1963
- The AKC Shih-tzu Breed Standard
- The ASTC is the official guardian of the Shih-tzu breed standard, witch describes the ideal specimen of the breed and is used by both dog show judges and breeders to determine the quality of an individual breed.
- The ASTC believes that any Shih-tzu which is not a good representation of the breed according to the standard should not be bred and that the sole goal of breeding should be to improve the breed.
Remember that in most countries the Shih-tzu is not shown in the toy group, but in the Non-Sporting group. The AKC breed standard states that the ideal weight for the Shih-tzu is 9 to 16 pounds.
There is no such thing as an officially recognized "Imperial",or "Teacup",or Stained Glass" Shih-tzu in the United States or abroad.
Very tiny Shih-tzus are often small and have health problems. Those who are breeding very tiny Shih-tzus and charging premium prices for them are breeding to make money, not to better the breed. The best advice for someone determined to have a really tiny dog is to consider another breed.
One of the finest attributes of a shih-tzu is that it is solid and sturdy, despite its relatively small size, and ethical breeders work to keep it that way.
--Ideal, height
Ideally the height at the withers should be 9 to 10 1/2 inches, but not less then 8, or more then 11. the weight should be 9 to 16lbs. for mature dogs.
the length between withers and root of tail is slightly longer than the height at the withers. the Shih-tzu must never be so high stationed to appear leggy, nor so low stationed to appear dumpy or squatty.
The Shih-tzu standard states that all colors and markings are permissible and are to be considered equally in judging the breed.
This includes the seldom seen livers and blues(which have brown or blue pigment and lighter color eyes)
Decades ago a small group of breeders insisted that gold and white was the preferred color for the breed. This fueled an effort to breed for gold and whites,and led to the virtual disappearance of many other colors from the show ring. Today many breeders would love to have more solid blacks, black masked , black and whites, platinum silver and whites with black tipping's; but these colors are recessive and it has become very difficult to find quality dogs that are genetically capable of producing them. In a breeding program, blacks and black and whites are especially valued for their ability to improve pigment, and the more unusual colors stand out in the show ring.
Nos, lips,eye rims, and pads are black on all colors except on liver pigmented or blue pigmented dogs. Fault: pink on nose, lips, or eye rims.
Luxurious double-coated, dense, long and flowing. A slight wave is permissible. Fault Sparse coat, single coat, curly coat.
Undershot. Jaw is broad and wide. A missing tooth or slightly misaligned teeth should not be too severely penalized. Teeth and tongue should not show when mouth is closed. Fault: overshot bite.
