All About the Imperial Shih Tzu
No commentsThe origin of Shih Tzu emerges to be interwoven in the mystery of prodigies of China and Tibet. There are several theories propounded by different anthropologists. One theory suggests that the Manchu dynasty was the origination of the modern Shih Tzu.
Many contemporary theorists argue that the contemporary form of Imperial Shih Tzu was evolved from Tibetan sleeve dogs. American Kennel Club (AKC) classifies the standard type of Shih Tzu, while it is commonly referred to as ‘Imperial size’ or ‘Teacup size’.
The Chinese Empresses Dowager in the Imperial Palace of China got a hold of small Shih Tzu’s in the six, seven, and eight pound sizes. However, the larger sizes were discarded in these early days of breeding in the palace. Either the larger sized Shih Tzu dogs were sold out in the underground market or killed. The smaller ones, on the other hand, were kept with utmost care and were presented as a honor to the diplomats and considered as the most crucial bequest from the Empresses.
The tiny Imperial Shih Tzu is raised for quality, health and temperament. As defined by AKC, Imperial Shih Tzu features a short back, straight legs and baby doll face with tiny button nose on elegant head along with a cute and affectionate expression. The puppies may be available in different colors like chocolate, red, mahogany, liver, blue and other colors. Typically, the puppies may come in gorgeous coats, round eyes, soft little bodies and elegant heads. At the time of breeding, special care needs to be taken while selecting mating partners in order to properly breed the best personality, health and temperament in the offspring.
Most commonly, the temperament of Imperial Shih Tzu is defined as nice and sweet. The major temperamental characters of this breed are jovial, spunky and enduring. They are marked by their royal affability, daring attitude and an occasional aggressiveness. Quite commonly, they are so tender in temperate that it makes them appear very friendly without any potential complexities. During patient training, their response is quite remarkable. The Shih Tzu is alert type of dog that prefers to bark outside, but commonly found calm and quite within the house.
There is a huge market for the Imperial Shih Tzu. But many individuals and families have a preference for the Imperial Shih Tzu because of its small size. These types of dogs are easy to carry. Many tiny Imperial Shih Tzu owners take their dogs almost everywhere. Owners tend to treat these elite little dogs like treasures or extraordinary beautiful jewels. They are so small that they may require hand feeding and they need daily additional nutritional supplements also.
Quite naturally you cannot purchase a Shih Tzu for the price of most other breeds. The price is settled depending on various factors like breeding pair, gender, color, markings and size. If you are ready to pay $2500, you might be able to buy a beautiful teacup Imperial Shih Tzu that tip the scales at a whopping full grown size of six pounds or less.
On the other hand, the price of a regular Imperial Shih Tzu starts out at $1000 and its size varies from six pounds to nine pounds at adulthood. For a standard Shih Tzu, over nine pounds full grown, the price may start at a mere $500.
Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 2:47 am and is filed under Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
