Shih tzu outside?

I've never had a Shih tzu before, but my family really wants a Shih tzu. My concern is that I have allergies, and I'm not certain that I will be able to tolerate an indoor pet ( I have heard that Shih tzus are non-shedding). We live in a warm climate. Can those of you who are more knowledgeable than I tell me if a Shih tzu would be miserable if it had to become an outdoor dog? We have a nice fenced yard with a covered porch and lots of shade. We would, of course, bring the dog inside if the weather was bad. Would we be irresponsible/cruel to make a Shih tzu live outdoors? I don't want to get a dog who will be miserable if I can't tolerate him indoors? Thanks for suggestions or advice!

 

Well, I'm no expert.. but, my impression of a shih tzu is that is has 'lap dog' qualities. I don't think a shih tzu would be happy being outside full-time, they are very people oriented.

This is an excerpt from www.dogbreedinfo.com

"Playful and lively, this affectionate little dog needs to be with people and are generally good with other pets."

A little shih tzu wouldn't be happy outside without his/her family :cry:

I'm not sure what (if any) dogs are good to be outside all the time ~ maybe you can do a search on the internet and see what you find out. The website I provided above is great too, you may want to look there too

Good luck!

 

Or rather than trying to find dogs who can live outdoors, why not try to find a low-allergy dog you can keep inside with you? Maybe a miniature poodle, or even a maltese- both are low-allergy dogs. There was another post on this not too long ago- maybe you could do a search here. Good luck!

 

Thanks. You are confirming what I suspected. Because I have such bad allergies, I am hesitant about getting a puppy, but I hate to be the mean mom who won't let her kids have a pet, you know? So, I am willing to TRY to get a puppy, but I am trying to find a breed who is both hypoallergenic AND won't be miserable if he has to move outdoors. Of course, he would still get lots of attention and love from my kids and me, but I don't want to make the wrong decision and make a dog miserable if I start getting sick. :idea:

 

No small dog should have to stay outdoors. They love to be next to their owners practicly all the time. This is one reason why people get a dog. A shitzu needs alot of coat care too. To have him be outside most of the time he would have sticks and all sorts of things stuck in his coat. I believe they come from the orient and used to only be owned by royalty. They love to be pampered. any of the dogs that don't shed need alot of coat care. Non shedding is something I love. I would gladly have a poodle, malt, yorkie shitzu any day. Most people with allergies don't have problems with poodles. Possibly even the poo mixes. They love to snuggle up to you while sleeping at night, or your kids. They would love it.

 

I hear this all the time, and unfortunately, it isn't easy to answer simply because it is highly dependent on the person.

Technically, there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic or allergy free dog. To explain:

All dogs shed, from hardly noticeable amounts, to A LOT. Shedding isn't necessarily what triggers the allergies, it is the dander (and EVERY dog has/produces dander). There are breeds that produce very little dander, and those breeds that produce small amounts of dander are deemed "good for allergy sufferers." Basically, the lower the dander, the better, for people with allergies. Now that is NOT to say that a low dander dog will not cause allergy problems...every person reacts differently. But *most* allergy sufferers do better with low dander breeds.

To get an idea of how you might react to certain low dander breeds, I would suggest that you spend some significant time (a few minutes will not do) with a few dog breeds that interest you. Really get up close and personal with them, and see how you react (if you do at all). Usually, but not always, that is a good indicator of how well you would do with that particular breed.

To view pictures and other information concerning various low dander dog breeds, take a look at this link:
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/allergy.htm

To answer you question on whether a shih-tzu would be happy as an outdoor dog...no, I do not believe he/she would be. Like the other posts have said, shih-tzus are VERY people oriented and thrive on constant and close interaction with their human family. They are very much lap dogs. I believe that most dog breeds would not do well, and/or be very unhappy as an outdoor dog. But that's my opinion! :wink:

Hopefully some of that info. helped!

Best of luck on your search,
Kristi

 

I also have bad allergies and did a lot of searching for information about allergies and pets before I decided on my dog (maltipoo). I would like to say that I believe that you can have a dog inside w/ your allergies, mine are TERRIBLE. I am allergic to EVERYTHING, my husband acuses me of being allergic to water. :lol: To find info I went to a internet search engine and typed in "good pets for allergy suffers" or something like that and found lots of info, but the site PooGirl recommended is one of the best. It will bring up a list of all of the dogs that are the best potentially for allergy suffers. It gives lots of good information, such as temperment, about each potentially good breed. I believe that shih tzus are okay for allergy suffers, or a shih-poo, if you like the shih tzu you might like them too. There are added benefits, in my opinion to adding the poo to the mix. In the shih tzu case I would believe that the poodle would add to the trainability, just my opinion of course. My mother-in-law has a shih tzu, very well trained and behaved dog. Her dog she has now does not bother me, but she previously had a shih tzu that I could not be around because of my allergies, every single dog is different. If you do decide to get an indoor dog, and you can--you just might have to search for the right dog and possibly handle several from different breeders before you find one that won't bother you.
I have to bathe Romeo about once a week so that his allergies don't bother me. Also, a big allergy trigger can be saliva. Although Romeo does not bother my allergies, when we first got him he slept w/ me and I would wake up and he made it up to my pillow and licked me--lots, my eyes swole shut and it looked like I got into a bar fight. lol, so just be careful :lol:

Hope I helped somehow. Sorry if I rambled.

 

Dear MGMom....
Welcome to the board! As far as allergies, I'll tell you what I know personally. I am DEATHLY allergic to dogs (and I end up in the E.R. with cats). I always knew there were some dogs that were worse than others, but just didn't know which....Come to find out there are dogs with HAIR and dogs with FUR. It's the ones with Fur that I'm allergic too. I didn't do much research (other than always told that poodles were good for allergies) but one day a friend brought her shih tzu puppy for me to see.. and low-and-behold I didn't have any allergic reactions to him. I played with him for THREE HOURS! :idea: And, believe me, that means alot if you realized how bad my allergies are/were. So the search was on for me to find a shih tzu..... Long story short, I ended up with a ShihPoo (Shih Tzu and Poodle mix) which I like even better!! And my allergies have never bothered me one time with Bailey! \/
So, you might still want to think of a shih tzu (or even a ShihPoo! hehe) - but as an indoor dog. I agree with what everyone said -- they are definitely not the type for being outside. The link above that babyshihpoo provided is a great resource on allergies and dogs! [-o< Do you have the chance to visit/play with a shih tzu?? You might want to try that.... cuz it totallyyyyyyyyyyy worked for me!

 

My cousin is very allergic to dogs but seems to be able to tolerate Yorkies, Shih-Tzus and Poodle fine. After her Yorkie passed away she went out and got a Poodle.
If you want to be sure that you won't have a problem maybe you could contact a few breeders and go and visit and see if your allergies act up around the breeds your interested in. If you explain your situation to the breeder I'm sure they would be more than willing to help you out.
I would have to recommend against getting one if you are going to have to keep it outdoors though.

 

Good point about the hair and fur issue MonsterBailey...VERY true!!! :idea:

 

Thanks so much for the replies. I had heard that Shih Tzus are better with allergies, but I was still worried that it might not work out ( and if the choice came between me and the dog, my kids would definitely choose the dog!) I see I have a bunch more work to do before we can make a decision. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I sort of suspected what you said about Shih tzus being miserable outside. I was just trying to come up with a back up plan in case my allergies got the best of me.