Dog breed standards come and go. Beauty of a Shih Tzu is in the eyes of the beholder. To try and measure your Shih Tzu against an imaginary yardstick such as a breed standard, does little for you or your dog. Your Shih Tzu may not be a show dog champion. This does not mean your Shih Tzu is any less of a family member, any less than a Shih Tzu, or that the breeder who bred your Shih Tzu is some horrible person for not producing Shih Tzu to exact breed standard measurements.

On the other hand, if your Shih Tzu is a champion show dog, this does not mean he is not a genetic time bomb waiting to explode. The Shih Tzu may be a perfect show dog specimen and be a champion in all regards. However, the health of that Shih Tzu may turn out to be something less than desirable and the lifespan may not be as long as you as a pet owner would like it to be. The status of a perfect show dog champion does not mean the Shih Tzu is in perfect health or will live any longer than the Shih Tzu who does not meet any of the breed standards for the show ring. In fact, you may find it to be just the opposite.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Good health starts with genetics. Good and/or bad health is hidden from the eyes of a show ring audience and judge. Good health has nothing whatsoever to do with an AKC breed standard or an AKC registration certificate.

A pet owner trying to choose a pet for their family needs to look further than beauty and a breed standard. Pet owners want good health and long life with their pets. It is wonderful when you find this all in one package, and horrifyingly disappointing when your beautiful show dog champion Shih Tzu is laid to rest before the age of five when the lifespan of a Shih Tzu is expected to be 15 years or more.

When people are breeding specifically for the show ring, they are looking for those qualities that match the AKC breed standard. These qualities are concerned most with perfect conformation in appearance to meet that AKC standard. When they talk of breeding for the betterment of the breed, they are referring to the AKC breed standard, not the health of that Shih Tzu and its offspring.

This standard has changed many times over the course of the history of the Shih Tzu and from country to country. It involves the outer appearance of the Shih Tzu. The Shih Tzu must be within a certain weight limit. The Shih Tzu must stand to a certain height and be a certain length. The Shih Tzus head must be this or that. The eyes cannot show eye white. The eyes must be a certain distance apart from each other. Rear movement must be this or that.

The assets and physical attributes that Shih Tzu pet owners usually concentrate on are somewhat different and more practical. Most pet owners want a sweet, loving Shih Tzu to spend time with, a long, long time, as long as possible.