SHIH TZU

The Shih Tzu is an extremely old race of dogs (the first found data envelope they date from year 1,000 a. C.) original of China. There is no an opinion generalized on his origin, but usually one occurs like acceptable that descends from the similar tibetanos dogs Lhasa Apso.

Like the Lhasa Apso, the Shih-Tzu is a race ligature in certain way with the Buddhist religion; the Chinese raised and polished their dogs so that they seemed in certain from Leon way, animal that does not exist in China. Even the name of the race, “Shih-Tzu”, means “Dog lion”, something that also usually attributes itself to the strong and deep bark of these animal, and to its tendency to bark to the strangers and to gruñir before the minimum provocation. Partly by this, the always kind Shih-Tzu was very appreciated in China like guard dogs.

In century XVII the history of the Shih Tzu begins. Dalai Lama, wanting to fill of gifts to the Chinese emperor, gave some units to him of this race. Finishing century XIX, Ts'eu-hi, empress who was the grandmother of the last emperor, she was a great admirer of the Shih Tzu and for that reason he had more of a hundred and specialized caretakers. When in 1908 the empress died, the Shih Tzu underwent a hard blow. At the beginning of the Thirties, it began to introduce itself in houses of Chinese notables, leaving his ivory tower. And then it received some names: lhassa lemon dog, tibetano poodle, etc. and in 1934 was based the Peking Kennel Club. In 1937, the invasion of China by the Japaneses was the reason of the disappearance of the Shih Tzu in China, its country of origin. But, luckily, the European already had been become fond of to this race, that in 1955 began to extend by the USA.

Shortly after their appearance, the Shih-Tzu replaced the Lhasa Apso like the favorite noble dogs and emperors. The travellers who during that one time visited the Eastern country brought the fashion from these small and hairy dogs to Europe and, later, America, where they caused a strong impression. In the modern era, the fashion of the Shih-Tzu disappeared gradually, and after the communist revolution the race of dogs was considered extinct in China, although already it had pierced deep in the West.

All the genetic inheritance of the Shih-Tzu comes from seven pairs of dogs, one of them pequinés, that thanks to the effort of several historians could have been identified