BE MENTALLY PREPARED to deal with the parts of the Shih Tzu that might be most challenging to judge: do not fear getting into and under the coat to find the structure. Getting under the coat is especially important when examining the head. Round is the first word to remember as you examine the head; it should be broad, and rounded from side to side as well as from stop to occiput. The head should be in balance with the overall size of the dog. There may be a ‘bubble’ of hair over the forehead; it is your job to use your hand in that area to learn whether it is rounded, as desired. Check whether that bubble is obscuring the fact that the dog does not have enough ‘stop’. Theremay be a towering topknot, but you should put your fingers through it at the base and determine the shape and size of the head. We are losing the nice big head that should be a hallmark of the breed. Remember that narrow heads are a fault, so find and reward the proper heads when possible. Round is also a key word for Shih Tzu eyes, which are additionally supposed to be large but not prominent, very dark, and placed well apart. The cor- rect eyes are vital to the warm, sweet,
friendly expression that is a part of the essence of the breed. Almost always when I see a Shih Tzu expression that is not instantly ‘warm and sweet’, it is because of the placement of the eyes or because there is too much white showing in the eye. BE PREPARED to use your hands to feel for straight front legs, tight elbows and depth of chest, angles of shoulders. Move back to spring of rib, length of loin, set of tail, angulation of rear legs, etc. Remember that the Shih Tzu should not have a ‘waist’; it is a sturdy, compact dog with good sub- stance and little tuck-up. BE PREPARED to evaluate the topline when the dog is moving. A good handler may be able to show a level topline when the dog is on the exam table but the true test is whether that smooth, level topline is seen when the dog is moving. I see too many Shih Tzu with a sloping croup and resulting low tail set; these affect the topline and the overall balance of the dog. BEPREPARED to reward a ShihTzu with the proper head and expression even if it does not have the currently faddish towering topknot. Higher is not better! The topknot should help
to frame the face and enhance the expression; it should not resemble a palm tree or a show-girl headdress. In fact, the too-tall topknot can actually distort the profile and thereby hide some of the virtues of the dog. There should be enough length of neck to “permit natural head carriage...in balance with the height and length of the dog”, but not so much that the dog resembles a giraffe rather than the ‘overall well-balanced dog with no exaggerated features” that our standard describes. BE PREPARED to consider equally dogs that fall within our size range; do not fall into the pattern of reward- ing only small Shih Tzu. Any dog within the 9 to 10 1/2 inches and 9 to 16 pounds must be evaluated equally; overall balanceandproportion iswhat is important. BE PREPARED to enjoy your time with Shih Tzu. Temperament is im- portant. Do not reward a dog that is shy or aggressive. When you ap- proach a friendly Shih Tzu puppy and see that wagging tail, it will make you smile. Enjoy your experiences in the ring with this lovely breed!
“BE PREPARED to enjoy your time with Shih Tzu. TEMPERAMENT IS IMPORTANT. DO NOT REWARD A DOG THAT IS SHY OR AGGRESSIVE. WHEN YOU APPROACH A FRIENDLY SHIH TZU PUPPY AND SEE THAT
WAGGING TAIL, IT WILL MAKE YOU SMILE. Enjoy your experiences in the ring with this lovely breed!”
44 • T op N otch T oys , A pril 2019
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