Since the Shih Tzu breed first became known to the western world there has been a variety of colors. The first and second prize winners at the Shanghai Kennel Club Show of May 30, 1930 were all black in color. These two solid black Shih Tzu were probably among the first Shih Tzu to ever appear in a western show ring. Their photographs can be seen in the China Journal June and August 1930 issues.
Black and white Shih Tzu was also frequently seen of the early days in the western world. Black and white Shih Tzu can still be “very” striking and are still a favorite of many Shih Tzu fanciers.
There are different opinions as to exactly what color was the favored color at the Imperial Palace. It has been said often that the golden-yellow, sometimes described as honey was the favorite color and only kept in the palace. There are countless entries in our passages of Shih Tzu history that tell us the Empress Dowager’s favorite Shih Tzu of all times was a solid black she called “Sea Otter.” There are also accounts that three of the Empress Dowager’s sleeve dogs were greyish-white.
The mention of solid white Shih Tzu in later standards reflect the fact that there was a leading French breed in Peking who had a large number of all-white Shih Tzu. There has always been questions as to whether or not it was probably more the westerners who appreciated the solid white, as the Chinese saw the color white as a color of mourning.
It would be safer to say and believe that since yellow was the imperial color, a fact readily known by the golden-yellow tiled roofs of the Peking Palace. Yellow dogs were also more lion-like in appearance. The word “Shih Tzu” means “Lion” in Chinese. The Chinese tried to breed the Shih Tzu to resemble the lion, at least it was their idea of what a Lion looked like.
The white blaze, collar, socks and tail-tip combine to create a highly prized ensemble.
It is most likely that westerners had a very difficult time acquiring the yellow-colored Shih Tzu since it was regarded as being so precious. Therefore, the first Shih Tzu to appear in the west were the black and white, grey and white, brindle and white and a few solid blacks. Very few of the precious yellow-colored Shih Tzu were first acquired by the westerners.
The same holds true for the very small sized Shih Tzu. The small size Shih Tzu, which were most likely the Imperial and Teacup Shih Tzu, as many of us commonly nickname them today, (the Shih Tzu under 9 pounds in weight) were not readily available for the westerners. The westerners had access mainly to the larger size Shih Tzu that the Imperial Palace had sent out as rejects of their breeding program. There were a few able to get hold of the very tiny Shih Tzu we now commonly nickname the Imperials and the Teacup size, but not many, as this was the favored and most treasured size of the Imperial Palace breedings. The smaller size in Shih Tzu was a major goal of the Imperial Palace breedings lead by Empress Dowager.
By: Connie Limon
Showing posts with label Shih Tzu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shih Tzu. Show all posts
9 Jun 2008
Shih Tzu Show Dog Judging For Coat Texture And Proper Handling
Proper coat texture of your show dog Shih Tzu will be checked during the show dog judge’s examination. Proper coat texture of a show dog Shih Tzu should be lustrous. A lustrous Shih Tzu show dog coat is achieved by good nutrition, and high quality grooming aids. Good coats are also passed down through lines of selectively breeding Shih Tzu with good coats. With the improvement in dog nutrition and grooming aids today, however, there is really no excuse for a show dog Shih Tzu not to have a proper coat texture. If you start with inherited proper coat texture and provide your Shih Tzu with high quality nutrition, the coat can further be enhanced by high quality grooming aids to present the ultimate in beauty by the time your Shih Tzu enters the show ring. One word of warning, however, be sure not to enter the ring with evidence of powder or chalk, or too much spray, you will likely put yourself out of the ring.
When the show dog judge is finished going over the Shih Tzu completely he might step away from the Shih Tzu and give it a final over-all side view look. This side view look helps a Shih Tzu show dog judge keep a complete picture in his mind that he will compare with the next Shih Tzu that is put up on the table.
If you are handling your Shih Tzu yourself this last look is highly important. You should remember to keep your Shih Tzu on its toes. The last thing you want is for the judge to take that last look and find your Shih Tzu sitting or in some other forbidden activity. Do not be constantly putting each single hair in place or placing your Shih Tzu’s feet in the right position. This would be seen as over-handling. If your Shih Tzu is not able to stand on its own, look alive and ready for the next command he is not trained and ready for the show ring. Training is done outside of the ring. Performance is required at the show.
By: Connie Limon
When the show dog judge is finished going over the Shih Tzu completely he might step away from the Shih Tzu and give it a final over-all side view look. This side view look helps a Shih Tzu show dog judge keep a complete picture in his mind that he will compare with the next Shih Tzu that is put up on the table.
If you are handling your Shih Tzu yourself this last look is highly important. You should remember to keep your Shih Tzu on its toes. The last thing you want is for the judge to take that last look and find your Shih Tzu sitting or in some other forbidden activity. Do not be constantly putting each single hair in place or placing your Shih Tzu’s feet in the right position. This would be seen as over-handling. If your Shih Tzu is not able to stand on its own, look alive and ready for the next command he is not trained and ready for the show ring. Training is done outside of the ring. Performance is required at the show.
By: Connie Limon
Shih Tzu - Submissive Urination/Sanitation
If your puppy gets excited and wets herself, especially when you have company or when you first arrive from being away from her, this is called "submissive urination." This kind of urination is different from breaks in house training. Puppies often outgrow the problem as they do not have good bladder control. The older dog that does this may be lacking self-esteem.
Although dogs do not have the intelligence like a human in some areas such as being spiteful and mis-behaving, they do have some psychological aspects to their behaviors.
In a case such as this it helps if the owner will try to become deliberately less threatening. Avoid directly staring at your dog. Kneel down closer to his level rather than standing over him and encourage your dog to come to you rather than reaching out to get her. Your tone of voice should be soft and coaxing. Never, never punish a dog for submissive urination. Your dog is already submitting to you, "over-submitting," and you want to try and reverse some of this.
If any of your guests or family members have been agressive with your shih tzu, protect him and ask that they not approach him because of this problem of submissive urination you are experiencing with him.
It might be helpful to invite a cooperative friend or family member to sit on the floor and quietly talk with you. At first, ignore the shih tzu. If your shih tzu has not urinated at this point have the friend or family member speak a few words very quietly and gently to the dog, but from a distance. If the dog still does well, repeat the exercise the next day. If things still continue to go well, ask your friend or family member to pay just a bit more attention to your shih tzu and get just a little bit closer to him. Continue having these sessions, gradually increasing the visitor's and your contact with the dog. If the dog urinates, backtrack and reduce the time spent. As the dog matures submissive urination should get better and as the shih tzu learns he does not have to be extremely submissive to you.
Tips On Sanitation:
The best way to pick up and dispose of dog feces in an urban area is to scoop it up with one of the many pooper scoopers available and put it in a freezer type bag, then tie it closed or simply flush it down your sewer system. With small dogs such as the shih tzu the stools are small and even smaller and less if you use a good quality dog food like HealthyPetNet Life's Abundance All Natural Dog food and treats. If you are out walking, you can carry along paper towels, or a hand full of toilet paper to do the actual picking up (and you probably want to keep some plastic gloves handy for this purpose as well). Carry along some hand sanitizer to clean your hands afterwards. There are commercial products you can purchase, or you can use freezer bags or the bag your newspaper comes in. In some areas there may be rules against putting feces in your trash. In this case, you can flush it down your sewer system or....after you have tied it in the freezer bag and placed it in another sturdy trash bag, this should be enough to keep the odor away and use a good quality dog food like HealthyPetNet Life's Abundance All Natural Dog Food to keep the smell of feces down. That way, your garbage pick-up people will be less likely to complain if the odor is contained appropriately. Remember to wash your hands many, many times throughout the day when you live with pets and use hand sanitizers. Always wash your hands before you eat or do anything with mouth or nose contact. I keep hand sanitizer in the pumps out all over the place so that I can quickly pump a scoop in my hands and then as soon as possible I also wash my hands with a good anti-bacterial soap for at least two minutes each time, scrubbing under my nails and up on my wrists. You should advise all children in a household with pets to do the same.
By: Connie Limon
Although dogs do not have the intelligence like a human in some areas such as being spiteful and mis-behaving, they do have some psychological aspects to their behaviors.
In a case such as this it helps if the owner will try to become deliberately less threatening. Avoid directly staring at your dog. Kneel down closer to his level rather than standing over him and encourage your dog to come to you rather than reaching out to get her. Your tone of voice should be soft and coaxing. Never, never punish a dog for submissive urination. Your dog is already submitting to you, "over-submitting," and you want to try and reverse some of this.
If any of your guests or family members have been agressive with your shih tzu, protect him and ask that they not approach him because of this problem of submissive urination you are experiencing with him.
It might be helpful to invite a cooperative friend or family member to sit on the floor and quietly talk with you. At first, ignore the shih tzu. If your shih tzu has not urinated at this point have the friend or family member speak a few words very quietly and gently to the dog, but from a distance. If the dog still does well, repeat the exercise the next day. If things still continue to go well, ask your friend or family member to pay just a bit more attention to your shih tzu and get just a little bit closer to him. Continue having these sessions, gradually increasing the visitor's and your contact with the dog. If the dog urinates, backtrack and reduce the time spent. As the dog matures submissive urination should get better and as the shih tzu learns he does not have to be extremely submissive to you.
Tips On Sanitation:
The best way to pick up and dispose of dog feces in an urban area is to scoop it up with one of the many pooper scoopers available and put it in a freezer type bag, then tie it closed or simply flush it down your sewer system. With small dogs such as the shih tzu the stools are small and even smaller and less if you use a good quality dog food like HealthyPetNet Life's Abundance All Natural Dog food and treats. If you are out walking, you can carry along paper towels, or a hand full of toilet paper to do the actual picking up (and you probably want to keep some plastic gloves handy for this purpose as well). Carry along some hand sanitizer to clean your hands afterwards. There are commercial products you can purchase, or you can use freezer bags or the bag your newspaper comes in. In some areas there may be rules against putting feces in your trash. In this case, you can flush it down your sewer system or....after you have tied it in the freezer bag and placed it in another sturdy trash bag, this should be enough to keep the odor away and use a good quality dog food like HealthyPetNet Life's Abundance All Natural Dog Food to keep the smell of feces down. That way, your garbage pick-up people will be less likely to complain if the odor is contained appropriately. Remember to wash your hands many, many times throughout the day when you live with pets and use hand sanitizers. Always wash your hands before you eat or do anything with mouth or nose contact. I keep hand sanitizer in the pumps out all over the place so that I can quickly pump a scoop in my hands and then as soon as possible I also wash my hands with a good anti-bacterial soap for at least two minutes each time, scrubbing under my nails and up on my wrists. You should advise all children in a household with pets to do the same.
By: Connie Limon
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