shihtzu2009

The Shih Tzu’s coat for the show rings requires extra care.  Some show people actually keep their Shih Tzu confined and caged to preserve the coat, or they wrap the coat or oil it.  Those who do keep their show Shih Tzu confined and caged pay a price in loss of muscle tone in their dogs.  Not all show people practice these methods for preserving their Shih Tzu’s long show dog coats.  It is also a myth that all show people do not allow their show Shih Tzu to go for long walks, to play and just in general to lead a normal life.  For those who do allow their show Shih Tzu do lead a normal life keeping the coat glamorous requires a lot of extra effort, and much more grooming than for the pet Shih Tzu. 

Coconut oil is considered helpful as a means of preserving the coat of a show dog Shih Tzu.  If you do oil the show dog Shih Tzu coat you must remove the oil completely before each show.  If you do not remove all the oil the coat appear limp and feel wrong.  It can also be uncomfortable to be around a Shih Tzu that has been oiled.  There are good oils on the market, however, that do not have this effect on the coat and it may be worth trying them if the Shih Tzu’s coat seems to need it.  Wrapping the coat in tissue paper protects the Shih Tzu’s coat, but you lose some of the pleasure of seeing your dog in full coat with his hair flowing as he moves.  I do think this is a beautiful, beautiful sight of the show dog Shih Tzu.  The tissue wrapping sort of reminds me of the days when women ran around the house for house with their hair in curlers. 

Probably the best thing to do if you are just starting out taking care of your Shih Tzu show dog’s coat is to experiment with different methods of preserving the coat until you find what works best for your dog.  Much the same type of procedures a pet owner must go through, although a lot more intense and time consuming as the Shih Tzu show do requires so much more in the way of grooming. 

One thing is for certain if you start out with “bad hair” it is virtually impossible to make it good enough for the show ring.  When purchasing your show potential Shih Tzu it is wise to study the lines to find out which have good hair in their genes.  This way you can just continue to keep it looking good. 

The topknot and whiskers also need very special attention on the show dog Shih Tzu.  The white whiskers on a parti-colored Shih Tzu must be really, really white to look good.  It seems this is especially true for the black and white Shih Tzu.   

Some older methods of keeping the whiskers white was to wash them at least once a day with a solution of boracic powder, a teaspoon to a pint of water.  This mixture is wiped into the whiskers, being careful to get none in the eyes and then rinsed away.  One of the keys to keeping whiskers white is above all to dry them immediately and keep them dry.  An older method of drying them was to work in some fuller’s earth or talcum powder, brushing this out and repeating until the hair was absolutely dry.  If you allow the Shih Tzu to dry his own whiskers he will rub and rub until dry doing nothing but harm to the length of the coat.  Another problem you run into with all this washing is that the hair becomes dry and brittle.  You will need to dress the whiskers with a little coat conditioner from time to time. 

A method of preserving the hair of the topknot is to use several bands along the length of the hair to hold it to the back of the head.  You can also plait the hair to achieve the same purpose.  Use neither of these methods just before a show as both methods will cause kinks in the coat of which you do not want. 

It is always wise to review the rules of the American Kennel Club about the use of oils and conditioners on the coat of a show dog.  Any substance used to alter the natural color, texture or body of the coat is usually prohibited.

There is more than one area of the Shih Tzu that is considered in terms of “breeding to the AKC Shih Tzu Standard.  I have been on Shih Tzu Puppies for sale websites in which they will state:  “We breed to the AKC standard.”  We do not breed “imperial or teacup” Shih Tzu.  Our Shih Tzu weighs 9 to 16 pounds.  They do not weigh below the AKC standard of 9 pounds.  And they will go on to say:  “My goodness, why in this world would anyone want to steer away from the AKC Shih Tzu standard.”  If you take a quick look at the pictures of some of the Shih Tzu they are breeding from you will see rather quickly that most of them have excessive eye white (which shows very plainly in the picture).  Excessive eye white is not breeding Shih Tzu to the AKC standards.  There should be very little if almost no eye white at all showing on a perfect example of an AKC standard Shih Tzu.  You might have the right weight there, but if the rest of the standard is missing, “you are not breeding Shih Tzu to the AKC standard.” 

If you are truly breeding to the AKC standard you must also produce the Shih Tzu AKC standard in all other areas besides “weight.” 

The following is a description of all else you must include in your Shih Tzu breeding program while breeding for the AKC standard: 

General Appearance: 

• Sturdy
• Lively
• Alert
• Long Flowing Double Coat
• Compact, solid, carrying good weight and substance.

Size: 

• Height at withers is 9 to 10 ½ inches, but not less than 8 inches or more than 11 inches.
• Ideal weight of mature dogs 9 to 16 pounds
• Length between withers and root of tail is slightly longer than height at withers.
• Shih Tzu must never be so high stationed as to appear leggy or so low stationed as to appear dumpy or squatty.

Head: 

• Round
• Broad
• Wide between eyes
• The size of the head should be in balance with the overall size of dog being neither too large nor too small
• Fault:  Narrow head, close-set eyes
• Expression:  Warm, sweet, wide-eyes, friendly and trusting.
• Eyes:  Large, round, not prominent, place well apart, looking straight ahead.  Very Dark.  Lighter on liver pigmented dogs and blue pigmented dogs.  Fault:  Small, close-set or light eyes, excessive eye white.
• Ears:  Large, set slightly below crown of skull; heavily coated.
• Skull:  Domed.  Stop – There is a definite stop.
• Muzzle – Square, short, unwrinkled, with good cushioning, set no lower than bottom eye rim, never down turned.  Ideally no longer than 1 inch from tip of nose to stop, although length may vary slightly in relation to overall size of dog.  Front of muzzle should be flat, lower lip and chin not protruding and definitely never receding.  Fault:  Snippiness, lack of definite stop.
• Nose:  Nostrils are broad, wide and open.  Pigmentation:  Nose, lips, eye rims are black on all colors, except liver on liver pigmented dogs and blue on blue pigmented dogs.  Fault:  Pink on nose, lips or eye rims. 
• Bite:  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.
• Neck, topline, body:  Of utmost important is an overall well-balanced dog with no exaggerated features.
• Neck:  Well set-on flowing smoothly into shoulders; of sufficient length to permit natural high head carriage and in balance with height and length of dog.
• Topline:  Level. 
• Body:  Short-coupled and sturdy with no waist or tuck-up.  The Shih Tzu is slight longer than tall.  Fault:  Legginess. 
• Chest:  Broad and deep with good spring-of-rib, however, not barrel-chested.  Depth of ribcage should extend to just below elbow.  Distance from elbow to withers is a littler greater than from elbow to ground.
• Croup:  Flat
• Tail:  Set on high, heavily plumed, carried in curve well over back.  Too loose, too tight, too flat, or too low set a tail is undesirable and should be penalized to extent of deviation.
• Forequarters:  Shoulders:  Well-angulated, well laid-back, well laid-in, fitting smoothly into body.
• Legs:  Straight, well boned, muscular, set well-apart and under chest, with elbows set close to body.
• Pasterns:  Strong, perpendicular.
• Dewclaws:  May be removed.
• Feet:  Firm, well-added, point straight ahead.
• Hindquarters:  Angulation of hindquarters should be in balance with forequarters. 
• Legs:  Well-boned, muscular and straight when viewed from rear with well-bent stifles, not close set but in line with forequarters.
• Hocks:  Well let down, perpendicular.  Fault:  Hyperextension of hocks. 
• Dewclaws:  May be removed. 
• Feet:  Firm, well-padded, pointed straight head.
• Coat:  Luxurious, double-coated, dense, long, and flowing, slight wave permissible.  Hair on top of head is tied up.  Fault:  Sparse coat, single coat, curly coat.
• Trimming:  Feet, bottom of coat, and anus may be done for neatness and to facilitate movement.  Fault:  Excessive trimming.
• Color and Markings:  All are permissible and to be considered equally.
• Gait:  The Shih Tzu moves straight and must be shown at its own natural speed.  Smooth, flowing, effortless movement with good front reach and equally strong rear drive, level topline, naturally high head carriage, and tail carried in gentle curve over back.
• Temperament:  Outgoing, happy, affectionate, friendly and trusting towards all.

Next time you run upon a Shih Tzu salesperson or Shih Tzu website who tells you they are breeding to the AKC standard, because they have Shih Tzu who are not Teacups or Imperials and who are 9 to 16 pounds, check to see if all the above is true also.  If it is, then you can conclude they are breeding Shih Tzu to the AKC standard. 

If you find deviation from the above then you can conclude that Shih Tzu salesperson or website is not breeding to the AKC standard regardless of their “size of Shih Tzu being 9 to 16 pounds.”  People who breed to the AKC standard means they are producing Shih Tzu with all the above attributes, not just the right weight. 

Sources:  American Kennel Club Shih Tzu Breed Standard

If you have never gone to a Shih Tzu or any breed dog show you might wonder exactly what the judge will be doing. 

The judge will look into the mouth of the Shih Tzu or other dog breed to check for the correct number of teeth and the bite.  I mean after all, do you ever see a winning Miss
America with no front teeth?  The same holds true for Shih Tzu and other dog breeds in the show ring.  Missing teeth is a disqualification in many of the breeds. 

He will also check a male to be sure he has two testicles.  A missing testicle is a disqualification. 

During this inspection the judge will feel various parts of the Shih Tzu or other breed of dog, searching out the angles of the shoulders and hips, the head and ribs.  This is especially true with the heavily-coated breeds like the Shih Tzu.  You can’t tell exactly what the structure of a heavily-coated Shih Tzu is without hands-on examinations.  Some of the smaller breeds are examined on a raised table.  If you see a handler lift the Shih Tzu or other dog breed from the table to the ground with one hand under the chin and the other hand using the tail, they do this to avoid messing up the Shih Tzu’s hairstyle.  It is not uncomfortable for the dog at all. 

The hands-on examination tells the judge a lot about the Shih Tzu or other dog breed, however, seeing the Shih Tzu move tells him even more.  This is called “gaiting.”  The judge will determine how the Shih Tzu move around the ring, whether it be all together or one at a time, up and down or around and around.  There are a lot of variations in how the judge performs the gaiting.  The judge wants to see the Shih Tzu move from the rear, from the front and from the side.  The judge has an experienced eye and seeing different views of the Shih Tzu in motion reveals different things. 

In the AKC and UKC rings, all Shih Tzu or dog breeds are shown at a trot.  In
England and some other countries dogs and the Shih Tzu are often walked around the ring.  There are many different handler “styles” when gaiting a Shih Tzu show dog. 

After examining and moving all the Shih Tzu, the judge might just point to the winners, or he might place the winning Shih Tzu at the front of the line and have them all go around the ring one more time before pointing to the winning Shih Tzu. 

How does the judge make a decision?  He considers how closely each Shih Tzu comes to its own breed standard.  There are many, many aspects to the Shih Tzu breed standard in which the Shih Tzu must pass in order to win in the show ring. 

When you first start going to shows try to consider them as an exploration of new activities.  Think more about how you feel about the sport in general.  Notate the sport’s good and bad aspects and not so much about your hopes to win once you get into the ring.  The absolute best part about Shih Tzu dog shows is doing something with your Shih Tzu.