New to the forum

[Mercedes55]

Hi

I'm new to the forum and new to Shih Tzu's too. Don't have a puppy right now but am in the process of trying to find one. At the moment we have a 13yr old chocolate labrador, a small parrot and a few hens. Was going to try and get a puppy over the Summer holidays but now my son, wife and our granddaughter are moving in with us for awhile, so felt perhaps it would be best to wait as it seems from what I have read that a puppy is going to be a lot of work.

Lyn

[sujay]

Hi Lyn and welcome to Whispers, it's great to have you here.

It sounds like you have your hands very full at the minute, so agree with you about waiting a bit before you find your fur baby. They are certainly hard work, but well worth it in the end, and a shih tzu makes a lovely contribution to the family. I can see a lot of mischief happening when you have a shih tzu puppy and chocolate lab together! You won't have a minutes peace with them both, but it will be so much fun as well.

We are very friendly so if you have any questions just ask away and someone will soon be along to help.

[simbalove]

Hi Lyn and welcome and yes puppies are a lot of work but they are great fun as well and your granddaughter would probably have a whale of a time with it

Looking forward to getting to know you Love Lesley xxxxx

[Mercedes55]

I did phone a breeder who I was told had some puppies just to let her know that I wasn't quite ready to have one at the moment as I wasn't sure if she was waiting for me to phone and I don't like to be unreliable.

Seems her puppies are now 18wks old as she waits till they are 16wks old to see which ones are worth keeping to show. I have no idea if this is how other breeders do things. She said the puppies are well socialised and she has the mother, grandmother and great grandfather, or something like that. Kind of made me think that being a bit older that it might be easier to take on as by that age housetraining might be easier as it would be able to go longer between loo breaks.

She is now on holiday for 2wks, so by the time she gets back the puppies will be 5mths old. Maybe someone on here would be kind enough to let me know what they think as I'm a bit clueless with this breed, despite having read "Shih Tzu for Dummies"

Lyn

[sands-62]

I did phone a breeder who I was told had some puppies just to let her know that I wasn't quite ready to have one at the moment as I wasn't sure if she was waiting for me to phone and I don't like to be unreliable.

Seems her puppies are now 18wks old as she waits till they are 16wks old to see which ones are worth keeping to show. I have no idea if this is how other breeders do things. She said the puppies are well socialised and she has the mother, grandmother and great grandfather, or something like that. Kind of made me think that being a bit older that it might be easier to take on as by that age housetraining might be easier as it would be able to go longer between loo breaks.

She is now on holiday for 2wks, so by the time she gets back the puppies will be 5mths old. Maybe someone on here would be kind enough to let me know what they think as I'm a bit clueless with this breed, despite having read "Shih Tzu for Dummies"

Hi Lyn and welcome from me and my two girls Mali & Tasha. I have experience of both ages.When I got Mali who is 5yrs she was 8 weeks old and found her very easy to housetrain. Tasha was 15 weeks old when we got her (now 3 1/2 yrs) and although we were told she was house trained , house trained she was not, and I always said I would not get one at that age again as it took a lot to train her. I also feel that when they get to 5months old they may be picking up other sibblings habits which could be hard to break. I must add this is only my experience with my two. I would agree that while you have a lot going on at the minute it probably is wise to wait a bit. But we are all besotted with the breed on here and there are a lot of experienced owners who can offer lots of advice.

[Mercedes55]

I hadn't thought of her picking up back habits from her siblings, but yes I am sure you are right. We got our current labrador when she was 8wks old and although she was a bit slow to housetrain she wasn't old enough to have picked up any bad habits. It is very hard looking at the puppies available and not just rushing out and getting one!

Can I ask did you crate train your dogs? I know when we got our dog people didn't use crates, but they do seem to make sense, but I have no idea what size one would buy for a Shih Tzu.

I'm also keen on feeding the raw food diet but once again not really clued up on it regarding this breed.

Lyn

[sands-62]

I hadn't thought of her picking up back habits from her siblings, but yes I am sure you are right. We got our current labrador when she was 8wks old and although she was a bit slow to housetrain she wasn't old enough to have picked up any bad habits. It is very hard looking at the puppies available and not just rushing out and getting one!

Can I ask did you crate train your dogs? I know when we got our dog people didn't use crates, but they do seem to make sense, but I have no idea what size one would buy for a Shih Tzu.

I'm also keen on feeding the raw food diet but once again not really clued up on it regarding this breed.

Lyn

I have never used a crate although when my girls used to go to the groomers (I groom them myself now) they used to be put in one while the other one was being groomed. Personally I am not a fan of them. I have some thing about them feeling trapped -silly I know- until about 6 months ago they used to sleep in the utility room,with a baby monitor so we could hear if they wanted to go out or something was wrong. They now sleep with us in our room and they literally run into their beds at night, it is so funny to watch them. They're are so much happier that way. They have an igloo each and they cosy up in fact very often swap around.

[simbalove]

The breeder you have spoken to is doing what many shih tzu exhibitor breeders do who breed because they want another show prospect rather than breeding for profit and I think that these litters which are "run on" as they say in the shwo circles is a lot different to an older litter from someone breeding for profit who probably just have not sold! I am not sure what "bad habits" puppies pass to each other but I should imagine these puppies have been well handled and socialised - because the whole purpose of hanging on to them until they are old enough to be able to decide how good a show prospect they are means that the breeder will start their show training quite early with all the puppies so they are ready whichever one she keeps. On top of being handled and socialised, they will be used to being groomed and will walk on a lead. House training will also have been started though any pup moving from one home to another will need to learn where it is expected to go in its new surroundings.

This sort of puppy is a really good buy - it will have had the BEST of everything, have good bloodlines and you will no doubt have lifelong advice from its breeder. Granted you will have missed out on a couple of weeks of its puppyhood but it will probably had its vaccinations and also you will be having a puppy with no health problems.

As for the cage - it needs to be big enough for the dog to be able to lie out fully in it and get up and turn around. If the puppy is not being confined in it other than for bed you need at least a 24 inch one. This is a good size for in the car also. If the puppy needs to be in it for longer periods and you have the room then a bigger one will allow you to put a bed and puppy pad in there as well as leave water and toys in there for the puppy to play. I am not recommending putting a puppy in a cage for hours but if you have to go out it is one of the safest places a young puppy cna be put because if there is any chance of getting into trouble a shih tzu puppy will find it

[Mercedes55]

Makes a lot of sense, thank you. The breeder was recommended by the Shih Tzu Club so I am sure she has done all the right things with her puppies and she seemed very nice

Thanks for the tips on the crate.

Lyn

[sujay]

I am going back a lot of years, but my poodle pup was from a show litter and they had kept several to decide which ones to show. The only reason they got rid of mine was because he was going to be just over the height for a toy poodle so would be no good for showing. All I can say is I never had a bit of trouble from him. He was a few weeks older when we had him, but as Lesley says he had had the best of everything and was brilliantly socialised from the start. He was totally housetrained within a week believe it or not as all the hard work had already been done for me.

Also you will be able to go back to the breeder for advice and help should you need it. The breeder sounds like they really know the breed and have the best interests of dog and prospective owners at heart which is what you want.

As for the crate, I have never used one, but there is always someone at home with Simba as my Mum is housebound, and if everyone is out, we are somewhere Simba can come with us so it isn't a problem. My dogs have always had a bed upstairs in the same room as me, and it hasn't been a problem at all.

Hope that helps.

[simbalove]

Makes a lot of sense, thank you. The breeder was recommended by the Shih Tzu Club so I am sure she has done all the right things with her puppies and she seemed very nice

Thanks for the tips on the crate.

Lyn

You have done exactly the right thing - contacting the Shih Tzu Club so why even contemplate anything else?? If you had asked me about buying a puppy I would have put you in touch with the breed club puppy coordinators for that exact reason. This person will be known to Shih Tzu club. The litter will have been bred for the breeder to have a new show puppy and will have had the best of everything. The bitch would have had the best of everything prior to giving birth. The puppy will have a good pedigree and probably a great body and coat. This breeder is not worried about taking a risk in having her pups left with her as she makes her mind up about which one she prefers to keep for showing - she is not in it for the money and I can tell you that she will be on hand for the life of the dog to give you advice and encouragement. Just out of interest what is her name? xxxxx

[sands-62]

When we bought Tasha I knew which breeder I wanted to go to and we were very lucky that she had good quality puppies available at the time we were looking for one, although she has never shown her dogs, and a little older than I preferred.
Tasha's Grand father on the Sire's side is Ch Santosha Santorini and her Grand mother on the Dams side is Ch Santosha Stromboli. Even so Tasha would not be considered a good example for showing - sorry Tash- as one of her eyes has a little more white than should be for showing, not that I wanted other than a nice quality pet. All that said we didn't pay the earth for her. I do know that some Shih Tzu's from show kennels are about the £700 mark, but of course if they are for a pet only you may find they will reduce them a little. I would also not consider getting a puppy how ever they are toilet trained in the colder months even at an older age there will still be a few mishaps as their bladder cannot be matured enough to hold on for too long at such a young age, together with the change of a different household to what he/she has been used to.

[simbalove]

The toilet training is the same whatever time of year as a puppy's bladder is not under control properly for at least 8 months.
I hope you meant that Santosha Stromboli was a grandfather on the dam's side cos he's a boy ??

Both Santorini and Stromboli were lovely dogs from lines I love

[sands-62]

The toilet training is the same whatever time of year as a puppy's bladder is not under control properly for at least 8 months.
I hope you meant that Santosha Stromboli was a grandfather on the dam's side cos he's a boy ??

Sorry yes I do mean Stromboli the grand father on the dams side. As to the toilet training I was referring to the winter weather when it is blooming cold out there waiting for action lol. As it was when I got Tasha in January and me being determined to wait for however long it takes for her to perform.

[simbalove]

oh I know I have been there myself

[Famke]

Santosha Stroboli is also in Javari's lines!!!!!

Oh and btw, Javari has been entered in the Shih Tzu Breed database of the kennel club.......

[Mercedes55]

The toilet training is the same whatever time of year as a puppy's bladder is not under control properly for at least 8 months.
I hope you meant that Santosha Stromboli was a grandfather on the dam's side cos he's a boy ??

Sorry yes I do mean Stromboli the grand father on the dams side. As to the toilet training I was referring to the winter weather when it is blooming cold out there waiting for action lol. As it was when I got Tasha in January and me being determined to wait for however long it takes for her to perform.

I can't remember where I read it but on one site it said toilet training a puppy is easier in the Winter as the puppy won't want to be out in the garden any longer than necessary.

Lyn

[Famke]

Mmmm, I am not so shure that is true. When there is snow mine won't come in as he loves the stuff and when there is rain he won't go out as he hates it. Very hard to toilettrain then!

[Mercedes55]

The breeder who I hope to buy from was due home from her holiday yesterday. I have phoned her numerous times, but no reply. I've been very good the past 2wks and kept myself busy learning everything I feel I need to know, but now I am just desperate to find out if the puppy is still available, but by the same token I don't want to appear to be pestering the poor woman either. I'm hoping she may be back today, after that I don't know what else I can do

Lyn

[sujay]

Just keep trying and she will pick up your call. Fingers crossed you get to hear from her today and soon have your lovely pup.

[sands-62]

The breeder who I hope to buy from was due home from her holiday yesterday. I have phoned her numerous times, but no reply. I've been very good the past 2wks and kept myself busy learning everything I feel I need to know, but now I am just desperate to find out if the puppy is still available, but by the same token I don't want to appear to be pestering the poor woman either. I'm hoping she may be back today, after that I don't know what else I can do

Lyn

It may be that the holiday was ending yesterday and wouldn't get home until today if maybe she was holidaying abroad. I know how you must feel it is frustrating. If she still has the puppy she will be glad someone still wants her. I wonder who was looking after the puppies while she was away, that they couldn't have picked up the phone or at least rung you to let you know that they had received a message from you.? Hopefully there will be an answer today. Fingers crossed.
Carol xxx

[Mercedes55]

From what we talked about on the phone she was definitely holidaying in this country and taking the dogs and pups with her, however yes it is possible she might be away till today as 2wks doesn't always mean exactly that. It would have been nice with it being the weekend to have sorted something out as I know a new puppy, whatever age they are, will need time to settle in.

Lyn

[sands-62]

From what we talked about on the phone she was definitely holidaying in this country and taking the dogs and pups with her, however yes it is possible she might be away till today as 2wks doesn't always mean exactly that. It would have been nice with it being the weekend to have sorted something out as I know a new puppy, whatever age they are, will need time to settle in.

Lyn

Oh my goodness me I would not take all my dogs however many she has on holiday with me. I love my girls more than anyone else loves their dogs, if it was one dog, maybe but not pups even at 5mths I am not sure anyone else would want them either. Maybe they have a holiday home that could be different. Ah well keep us updated.

[Mercedes55]

I think she mentioned a caravan, not sure if it's one they take with them or a static one, but I guess if you have your own place like that it's not too hard to take pets with you. We've not had a holiday since we got our labrador so have no experience of taking dogs away with us versus leaving them in kennels. My sister has a couple of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and she leaves them a lot in kennels and they just love it, apparently.

Lyn

[sands-62]

I think she mentioned a caravan, not sure if it's one they take with them or a static one, but I guess if you have your own place like that it's not too hard to take pets with you. We've not had a holiday since we got our labrador so have no experience of taking dogs away with us versus leaving them in kennels. My sister has a couple of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and she leaves them a lot in kennels and they just love it, apparently.

Lyn

I must admit my girls love it at their kennels, not the most salubrious ones but they well cared for and they never resist going. In fact they go straight into the kennel they always go into and forget I am waiting for a cuddle and tell them I love them and we won't be long etc. They alays come back scruffy ans o the first thing I do is bath them, which is why I cannot have them in long coat, I did it once and Tasha was badly matted after only 12 days I had to take her to the groomers the very next day. Nowadays I wash and clip them myself -much more convenient too. I do think it is good for all when they go to kennels. They come back a bit more socialised too. They will be going again next month just for a few nights.

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