Help!!! My shih tzu's coat is very short!!!

Mia is a 4 mo registered purebred shih tzu, but she doesn't quite look like her sibling's. Her fur has always been short all over and VERY short and smooth around her face and head. I have pics of her but not sure how to add them in this message. I am trying to see if anyone has any suggestions about what may be wrong with her. If you think you might me able to help, please email me and I will gladly send you the pics so you can see exactly what I'm talking about. Any suggestions will be taken into consideration. Please help! Thank You :? [/img]

 

Here's a link to Mia's picture

Here's alink to Mia's pic so everyone can see what I'm talking about. Thanks! http://www.dogster.com/?164988 I hope this link works out for everyone.

 

My guess is that your shih tzu is not all shih tzu. Papers don't necessarily mean anything, as they can be faked. It's possible for a female to have a litter of puppies that have more than one father, and that may have happened with the litter your puppy came from. Mom may have been intentionally bred to one dog, but had an accidental breeding with a different dog, and the litter is mixed.

I would first have the puppy looked over by a different breeder, preferably one who has a sterling reputation, and if they concur that the pup is not pure shih tzu, I'd contact who ever sold you the pup and demand an adjustment on whatever price you paid.

If they want to get nasty about it, DNA testing will show if your puppy has the parents they claim it does. And a complaint to the AKC would most likely result in their being suspended, and their dogs papers could be revoked.

 

I really don't think you puppy is a Shih tzu. If you do a search on Dogster.com of Shih Tzu, you will see they have a much flatter nose. You puppy looks lik it was mixed with a cocker spaniel.

I agree with Shineillusion.. I would definetly have this investigated.

 

Thanks for the replies

I know I probably shouldnt have done it. But, I bought her from pet store. They gave me paperwork on her with the kennels contact number. I have contacted both the breeder and the pet store and I keep getting the run around. Nither want to take the blame. The pet store says they bought them from a breeder and the papers say shih tzu so she MUST be a shih tzu, and if I have any problems to contact the breeder. The breeder says she is shih tzu and she'd never seen this before all her siblings look just like momma but she says the daddy was the same way when she got him. But his hair finally grew in except for his head and snout. She says Mia is what is called a smooth coated shih tzu I've never heard of them before. So I don't who to believe. I love Mia dearly and I don't want to give her back, but I feel soooo cheated. I don't know what to do. I also spoke to another breeder and she said it's possible that she could be prapsos. A shih tzu with a genetic defect causeing her hair not to grow, longer nose and longer back. I'm so confused, even if I sued I don't know who sue?! This is getting so frustrating!

 

I know how you feel. My little one is a pet store pup and all her "papers" say she's a pom-a-poo. Which we thought would be great then she wouldn't shed everywhere.... yeah... there's no poodle in my dog... at all. Its like a giant pom. So I wouldn't be too suprised if your shih tzu isn't a shih tzu at all. I would push the issue too. We moved before we had a chance to investigate about my little one. Find a reputable breeder who's willing to back you up and confront the pet store owner. If anything they should give you some money back or store credit. If they refuse to do anything call Better Business and file a complaint. I'm sorry that your little one didn't end up being the little one you wanted, but she's still a cutie. Here's Maya's page so you can see what we mean by the lack of poodle http://www.dogster.com/pet_page.php?j=t&i=32047

 

She is very cute she does look like she may have spaniel or chihuahua in her as you can tell she is not pure breed.

As shine mentioned Papers can be faked and falsified, This is another reason why not to buy for a petstore.
I would say since you love her to bits and hopefully you have no intentions of breeding from her in the future then i would just leave it at that as you can be sure these puppies have come from a puppymill or backyard breeder.

Again she is very cute..

Mike

 

thanks for the comments

Thanks for the comments everyone, I'll keep everyone posted on our search. and to respond to the message above, yes I do plan on letting her have one litter but not for breeding purposes. My mother has a male pom poo and we want them to have pups for others in our family. I don't want to sell them but give them as gifts for those who helped me through some really hard times and I think Mia would probably benefit from haveing some babies of her own. Maybe they will calm her down!!! LOL I can always hope. She is wired ALL the time yeah I know she's only a baby but I think the hyper characteristics are going to stick. Also I found out that the breeder also breeds chihuahua's, shih tzu's, yorkie's, and Cavalier Spaniel's. So yeah I think your right. I do know she is really tiny. She weigh's 1 lb 11 oz right now and she just turned 4 months old. Oh yeah now the breeder says she is an Imperial Shih tzu. LOL She's supposed to look like a shih tzu but get no bigger than 5 lbs max. Where's the shih tzu? LOL

 

Let me get this straight, even though your dog doesn't conform to the breed standard and could possibly have a genetic defect, you're going to breed her anyways?

First of all you don't even know the history of your dog, suppose there are genetic defects down the line like diabetes, heart disease or something along that line? If you think she's too energetic then that trait could possibly be passed down to her pups too and to top it off your going to be breeding possibly shih tzt x pomeranian x poodle?
Honestly friends/family may want puppies now but puppies are work and sometimes people back out of agreements, would you be willing to keep all of the puppies if your family didn't want them?

If you want to get people presents how about a watch or something, puppies are living things and shouldn't be thought of as a commodity that you can just gie away because someone helped you out.

Oh and breeding her just once won't settle her down!

 

REPLY to The possibility of breeding

Yes I've thought about letting her have a litter. If they have problems then I will deal with that when it comes. Iam not going to sell her pups so honestly why would that matter. If you have a pure bred then you would sell her pups basically for breeding and carrying on the genes of the mother and father. I am purely thinking of breeding her for my own enjoyment yes that may sound a little selfish but I would like for my baby to have babies too. Why should it only be the pretty or perfect ones to have babies. Besides I never said for sure I would breed her it's a possibility. She's only 4 months old right now. Also I did not post the original message about breeding. I asked for help in determining what to do about being misled about a "papered" shih tzu that i did not think was pure blooded and believed she was when I got her at 7 weeks old from a pet store, and yes at that time she did look like a shih tzu , just not anymore. I believe that everyone has a right to voice their opinion. Just please do so in a respectful manner. I did not reply to start arguements. Just a little help about the above question. Thank You

 

CCFMomma, I think your little puppy is the most adorable thing I have ever seen! Pure bred or not. She does look a bit spaniel but then again, my dog has lhasa apso and shih tzu mix and he has curly hair. Curly hair can be a trait that shitzu's sometimes get. It disqualifies them for being show dogs, but doesn't mean anything else.

As for breeding her, do what you want. I have a dog that we bought from a woman (we never buy from pet stores as they are dishonest and mistreat animals) who breeds to specific mixes. Owen is a shih tzu lhasa apso mix and has no health problems. She breeds her puppies with other mixes as well because she believes (as do I) that some breeds mixed together produce VERY adorable puppies. I think as long as you take care of your dogs and love them and give them the treatment they need you will be fine.

I wouldn't listen to anyone else. If you are going to breed the puppies and take excellent care of them then it's no one else's business.

 

Oh, and also? I have another dog who we aren't sure what breed he is. When we first got him, he was EXTREMELY hyper and just would never calm down. Now, he is about 9 months old and has calmed quite a bit. It took some time, but he has calmed down. He is not as calm as my other dog, but calmer than before. I think some dogs just take some maturing. Also, their environment can effect their personality. So, I wouldn't worry.

 

Leleanne, Please do not come onto the boards and tell people that if they want to breed they dog to go ahead and do it and not too listen to people.

Breeding should not be taking lightly and alot of reasearch should be done before doing so.
I do not believe in crossbreeding dogs or any animal.

Unless you can answer yes to all the following then you should not breed.

Know of any whelping problems related to that breed.

Is your dog vaccinated, wormed, health checked.

Do you have the money for all the check ups during the pregnancy and aftercare for the Dam and her litter.

The funds to deal with a C-Section if the dam needs it and knowing when its the best thing to do.

Got the room and money to look after the Dam and her litter.

Correct age of the bitch before breeding.

How long a bitches cycle is.

All genetic problems which can cause problems during the pregnancy and during whelping.

The best time during a dogs cycle to have her to the male.

The gestation period of the bitch.

Know What to do if something goes wrong.

Know when there is something wrong with the Dam during and after her pregnancy.

Know the first signs of pre eclampsia.

Knowing the signs of pyometra.

Know if the Dam is actually pregnant or having a phantom ( false ) pregnancy.

Being able to cull any puppies that are born wth severe defects e.g Cleft pallate, Hair lip, Water on the brain, Limbs missing.

Could you deal with losing your baby girl just because you wanted a litter of puppies because your felt it was the right thing to do.

I Breed pedigree German Shepherds and i can tell you that if there is a chance of something going wrong then you can bet your life it will.

So please do not come on these boards telling people its ok for them to breed as it is not.
As this can cause someone that knows nothing about the dogs background or health or breeding to go ahead only to find it was them that caused the death of there Dog.

This dog has been bought at a petstore so them nor the owner knows anything about these dogs or there background.
These puppies in my opinion have come from backyard breeders so there fore will tell new owners the biggest pile of horse muck just to make themselves look good.

Mike


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:shock: :shock: I tried...I really did!!!!!

Its EVERYBODYS business

Using the National Council's numbers from 1997 and estimating the number of operating shelters in the United States to be 3,500 (the exact number of animal shelters operating in the United States does not exist), here are the statistics:

Of the 1,000 shelters that replied to the National Council's survey, 4.3 million animals were handled.
In 1997 roughly 64% of the total number of animals that entered shelters were euthanized -- approximately 2.7 million animals in just these 1,000 shelters.These animals may have been put down due to overcrowding, but may have been sick, aggressive, injured, or suffered something else.
56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanized. More cats are euthanized than dogs because they are more likely to enter a shelter without any owner identification.
Only 15% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter animal shelters are reunited with their owners.
25% of dogs and 24% of cats that enter animal shelters are adopted.
It is from these numbers that we estimated what is occurring nationwide. It is widely accepted that 9.6 million animals are euthanized annually in the United States.

http://www.americanhumane.org/site/Page ... euthanasia


No-one...not even excellent reputable breeders can gaurantee, 100% a long healthy, happy life for every puppy produced....no-one can gaurantee that not one puppy will end up one of the 9.6 million...and thats just the US....can you even comprehend that? And do you know why its everyones business, because many of us are the ones that rescue these throw away, neglected and abused pets, I pay for all my rescues...OTHER PEOPLES SELFISHNESS AND IGNORANCE from my own pocket...People really should have to pass a basic intelligence test to breed.

 

So you wouldn't buy from a pet store because they're dishonest and mistreat animals, but you would tell someone that you don't even know that it's ok to breed their dog?

(CCFmomma - I mean no offence by the following statement. It's not directed to you, just an anology as to why saying that could be detrimental)

For all you know an owner that you tell it's ok to breed their dog could be someone that's just in it for money, picks up two dogs from the street, does no health tests with their dogs and doesn't even take their puppies to be checked by a vet.

 

Wow, okay... first of all I wasn't trying to be rude and apologize if it came off that way. Second of all, How do I know if the person wanting to breed their dog knows anything about it? I don't. I was just assuming that she did. And my statement was meant to say that if you take EXCELLENT care of animals and know exactly what you are doing, go ahead and breed! That's all I was saying. I guess i didn't go into enough detail. I suppose I shouldn't have assumed that someone who says they are going to breed their dogs knows nothing about it.

I understand that these boards are to educate people and help them, but what I don't understand is why it's okay to make someone who is asking for help feel stupid. Again, I apologize if my post came off as rude as it was not intended to be. But the post before mine even existed came off very condescending. Assuming someone doesn't know much about a topic and making them feel stupid because of it is wrong to me. Just because someone doesn't know much about it doesn't make them STUPID. Saying they should have to pass an intelligence test is being extremely condescending.

You have to assume that people are not unintelligent, just UNINFORMED. So, the moderator has informed everyone on this board of the proper way to breed. Thank you. But saying it in a way that's condescending or rude to me is not acceptable. I am sorry if I am guilty of this.

That's all i have to say.