Newbie from SE London

[Purdy Bear]

Hi everyone, this is my first post in the forum, so let me introduce myself.

I am a 46 year old women, who has dogs the most of my life. My current dog is a Cairn X with we think he maybe a Shih Tzu or Staffie or a bit or everything. LOL! He looks like a large black Westie with a cork screw tail. He has lovely soft fur that turns wirey when not brushed.

Heres my little chap posing as usual:



He began my love of the small breeds, as his my first little one.

Due to back problems and other things going on, I've decided my next dog will be a little one, as then I can walk them, pick them up at the vets and so on. I love lap cuddles on the sofa, training and general dog love like that.

I've given myself five years to do the research on the breeds, the Shih Tzu being the top of the list just to see if Im a suitable person. My dog doesnt like other dogs, so until he departs for Rainbow Bridge I wont even think of getting another and his only 9 so hopefully here for years to come.

I have read a few books about Shih Tzus but need to find out more from owners. A lot of books only discuss the good parts of a breed, never the nitty gritty stuff like behaviour, health etc that one needs to know before committing yourself as an owner.

You Tube is my best buddy and Iv found lots of resources on there (Winnie The Tzu, and other channels) where owners discuss keeping Shih Tzu. I know this sounds weird but I just love to watch them walking from behind, its the flick of the little paws, it just melts the heart.

Anyway I hope to learn loads from you all.

Thanks

Purdy.

[sujay]

Hi Purdy and welcome to the forum, it's great to have you here. Your current fur baby is gorgeous and he has a lovely look on his face. You sound like the ideal Shih Tzu owner to me, and you are doing your homework, which is a good thing to see. So many people just rush into getting a dog and then find it is totally the wrong type of dog for them.

A shih tzu loves all the attention you give him, and will love nothing more than sitting with you for cuddles. They are real people dogs and relish in human company. People take them for daft little balls of fluff, but let me assure you they are very intelligent and have a very clever brain under all that cuteness. Just sit and watch them working things out for themselves and you can almost see the cogs turning inside their heads!

As you can see there is loads of information on this site and if you have any specific questions just ask away and someone will soon be along to help you. We all love the breed and are totally besotted by their antics. There is only one word of advice I can give you and that is to be careful because one is never enough, and you will soon be wanting more than one which means double the mischief, but life is never dull with a Shih Tzu around!