SHIH TZU...

The American Kennel Club Standard For Shih Tzu
General Appearance


The Shih Tzu is a sturdy, lively, alert toy dog with long flowing double
coat. Befitting his noble Chinese ancestry as a highly valued, prized
companion and palace pet, the Shih Tzu is proud of bearing, has a
distinctively arrogant carriage with head well up and tail curved over
the back. Although there has always been considerable size variation,
the Shih Tzu must be compact, solid, carrying good weight and
substance.

Even though a toy dog, the Shih Tzu must be subject
to the same requirements of soundness and structure prescribed for all
breeds, and any deviation from the ideal described in the standard
should be penalized to the extent of the deviation. Structural faults
common to all breeds are as undesirable in the Shih Tzu as in any other
breed, regardless of whether or not such faults are specifically
mentioned in the standard.

Size, Proportion, Substance

Size
- Ideally, height at withers is 9 to 10½ inches; but, not less than 8
inches nor more than 11 inches. Ideally, weight of mature dogs, 9 to 16
pounds.

Proportion - Length between
withers and root of tail is slightly longer than height at withers. The
Shih Tzu must never be so high stationed as to appear leggy, nor so low
stationed as to appear dumpy or squatty.

Substance - Regardless of size, the Shih Tzu is always compact, solid and carries good weight and substance.

Head

Head
- Round, broad, wide between eyes, its size in balance with the overall
size of dog being neither too large nor too small. Fault: Narrow head,
close-set eyes.

Expression - Warm,
sweet, wide-eyed, friendly and trusting. An overall well-balanced and
pleasant expression supersedes the importance of individual parts.

Care should be taken to look and examine well beyond the hair to
determine if what is seen is the actual head and expression rather than an image created by grooming technique.

Eyes
- Large, round, not prominent, placed well apart, looking straight
ahead. Very dark. Lighter on liver pigmented dogs and blue pigmented
dogs. Fault: Small, close-set or light eyes; excessive eye white.

Ears - Large, set slightly below crown of skull; heavily coated.

Skull - Domed.

Stop - There is a definite stop.

Muzzle
- Square, short, unwrinkled, with good cushioning, set no lower than
bottom eye rim; never downturned. Ideally, no longer than 1 inch from
tip of nose to stop, although length may vary slightly in relation to
overall size of dog. Front of muzzle should be flat; lower lip and chin
not protruding and definitely never receding. Fault: Snipiness, lack of
definite stop.

Nose - Nostrils are broad, wide, and open.

Pigmentation
- Nose, lips, eye rims are black on all colors, except liver on liver
pigmented dogs and blue on blue pigmented dogs. Fault: Pink on nose,
lips, or eye rims.

Bite - Undershot. Jaw
is broad and wide. A missing tooth or slightly misaligned teeth should
not be too severely penalized. Teeth and tongue should not show when
mouth is closed. Fault: Overshot bite.

Neck, Topline, Body

Of utmost importance is an overall well-balanced dog with no exaggerated features.

Neck
- Well set-on flowing smoothly into shoulders; of sufficient length to
permit natural high head carriage and in balance with height and length
of dog.

Topline - Level.

Body -Short-coupled and sturdy with no waist or tuck-up. The Shih Tzu is slightly longer than tall. Fault: Legginess.

Chest
-Broad and deep with good spring-of-rib, however, not barrel-chested.
Depth of ribcage should extend to just below elbow. Distance from elbow
to withers is a little greater than from elbow to ground.

Croup - Flat.

Tail
- Set on high, heavily plumed, carried in curve well over back. Too
loose, too tight, too flat, or too low set a tail is undesirable and
should be penalized to extent of deviation.

Forequarters

Shoulders - Well-angulated, well laid-back, well laid-in, fitting smoothly into body.

Legs - Straight, well-boned, muscular, set well-apart and under chest, with elbows set close to body.

Pasterns - Strong, perpendicular.

Dewclaws - May be removed.

Feet - Firm, well-padded, point straight ahead.

Hindquarters

Angulation of hindquarters should be in balance with forequarters.

Legs - Well-boned, muscular, and straight when viewed from rear with well-bent stifles, not close set but in line with forequarters.

Hocks - Well let down, perpendicular. Fault: Hyperextension of hocks.
Dewclaws - May be removed.

Feet - Firm, well-padded, point straight ahead.

Coat

Coat
- Luxurious, double-coated, dense, long, and flowing. Slight wave
permissible. Hair on top of head is tied up. Fault: Sparse coat, single
coat, curly coat.

Trimming - Feet, bottom of coat, and anus may be done for neatness and to facilitate movement. Fault: Excessive trimming.