I'm not sure if this is in the right place, apologies if it is. My neighbours in 6 weeks will have a new addition to their family. Since me and Maxine pretty much share Sadie, she wanted one for her older children to enjoy and also for her younger children to learn responsibilty because I pretty much took over with Sadie Lol. Their friend has just had a litter of Shih Tzu's so as a friend, neighbour and dog sharer I thought I'd help them with their research and I thought where else better to go So Shih Tzu owners, past and present...what are they typically like? I need to know what they are like with children, cats and other dogs, I know all dogs are different but I just need a typical overview. Thanks
Hi, i may not be much help but i'll try. Oscar is our little shih, he has been doing puppy classes he is socialising well. He loves walks and meeting people and other dogs. Absolutely adores children gets very excited but never jumps up. Very friendly. He loves our 3 cats, they are not so keen on him lol. He has tried to get a little fruity with the cats, which has been a little worrying. We are currently trying a series of training to get him to "leave it" hopefully when he gets the habit of leaving treats or other items it will then be able to relate to the moggies too. He has not been aggressive to the cats only ever playful, then again apart from the odd tap on his nose they haven't been aggressive to him. Oscar is my first shih, but he has settled in well to family life. There are alot of sites where you can find advice on dog breeds. They say shih's can be stubborn, yes he has his moments. We used a site called.... all small dog breeds .com we found it very useful. Hope it helps you
Oh thank you, See their cat is part Bengal so he acts like a dog, he's been done but has only ever known Sadie, when he met Benjie he ran up a tree and the fire service had to come out and as Louie was his size when he met him, they clashed, Louie wanted to play, Prince wanted to sleep. So the cat may need some work, depends on the cat I suppose. It's great to know they are good with kids though, well yours at least. I will use the site and pass it on, thank you
My shih-tzu loves cats too, sadly the cat does not love him lol there has been occasions when she is latched on to the dogs neck, and the dog sits or stands there wagging her tale lol. (but the cat doesnt bite her hard, no blood is ever drawn.)