Miniature Shitzu
Everything you need to know about the miniature shitzu
The miniature shitzu is actually a smaller version of the larger, regular-sized shitzu. This is quite a tiny dog because the regular-sized shitzu is only about ten inches tall and weighs only 10 to 16 pounds. The miniature shitzu is even smaller than the regular shitzu. Many breeders won’t even breed miniature shitzus because of a number of factors that make this section of the shitzu breed even more difficult to handle.
Although most dogs are bred by crossing strong dogs with other good, strong specimens of the same breed, the miniature shitzu is bred by crossing weaker shitzus with other weak shitzus. This is what has led to the miniature shitzu’s existence, although the American Kennel Club does not recognize the miniature shitzu as a separate breed.
All in all, owning the regular-sized shitzu is just as fun as owning the miniature version, and you’ll get dogs with fewer health problems. Shitzus are one of the most popular toy breeds because people just love the long, flowing hair. Shitzus are very energetic dogs, as are most toy breeds. They tend to be very high strung, although you can let them burn plenty of energy off by allowing them plenty of time to run around outside. If you don’t allow this time to run, then you may find your new pet to be up to no good. This breed of dog often gets into trouble if it doesn’t have enough time to expend its energy through pursuits that are actually allowed.
One thing some shitzu owners often complain about is the amount of barking this breed does. These dogs tend to bark at every single noise, whether you heard it or not. This behavior can easily be trained out though, especially if you use a spray bottle of water every time the dog barks at a tiny noise.
If your shitzu is the family pet, then you may want to seriously consider cutting all that long hair. If you just can’t bear to do it, then you will have to do several things daily to make sure the dog’s hair doesn’t get all tangled and matted. Shitzus with long hair are very high maintenance dogs unless you keep that hair trimmed.
Most shitzus make great family dogs, although they are not for families with small children. They do, however, get along very well with older children, who may enjoy the responsibility of brushing the dog’s hair every single day. The shitzu was originally bred to be a companion dog for Chinese royalty, so being friendly is literally bred into this dog’s genes.
The only really bad thing about shitzus is that they can be hard to train. This especially applies to housebreaking. The shitzu is ranked toward the bottom of Stanley Coren’s The Intelligence of Dogs, which means this breed of dog is not very trainable. However, with a lot of patience and persistence, you can train the shitzu to do what you want it to do.