American teacher and composer, James Mumsford, famously described the Shih Tzu this way: “Nobody knows how the ancient eunuchs managed to mix together: a dash of lion, several teaspoons of rabbit, a couple of ounces of domestic cat, one part court jester, a dash of ballerina, a pinch of old man, a bit of beggar, a tablespoon of monkey, one part baby seal, a dash of teddy bear, and, for the rest, dogs of Tibetan and Chinese origin.”

This lighthearted intro is a segue to a more serious topic. The Shih Tzu is a marvelous breed, and to encourage substandard breeders by purchasing an “imperial” or “teacup” Shih Tzu is nothing less than cruel. Depending upon the blood lines or the nature of the breeding (outcross, linebred, etc), there can be small Shih Tzus, and oversized Shih Tzus, but dedicated heritage breeders breed for soundness, not a marketing scheme to sell puppies that don’t conform to the breed standard.  Substandard Shih Tzu “breeders” claim that their tiny puppies have the “imperial” gene but there is no evidence that such a gene exists. Teacup puppies are the result of breeding the tiniest dog in a litter to another tiny dog, and such dogs often have health problems that include calcium deficiency impacting vital internal organs that can lead to liver failure or heart disease.  Tea cup Shih Tzus can have breathing and eating problems, but this is dismissed by such breeders. One page defending the “imperial size” writes,”[Imperial Shih Tzus] are small because the breeders have carefully selected their breeding dogs to have smaller lines.  They are small because we want them small.” 

And therein lies the problem.

The AKC recognizes only one size of the Shih Tzu, but a Google search on “Imperial Shih Tzu” brings up 447,000 results. Don’t be fooled. Don’t let friends or family be fooled.

Shih Tzu by puci from puciPetPortraits
http://www.darlenepucilloart.com/pet-portraits.html
https://www.etsy.com/shop/puciPetPortraits