Breed: Shih Tzu
DOB: 2004
Sex: Spayed female
Weight: 4.5 pounds
Foster home: Julie
095-09
Minnow badly needed a dental and with all the blood work and x-rays, she has quite a hefty veterinary bill. Please consider making a donation to help us pay for a greedy breeder’s blunder. And please research the breed of any puppy you might consider purchasing from a breeder and please research the breeder, too!
We are accepting applications for Minnow but we will not consider any home with young children because she is so fragile. Minnow has provisional balance so she will need to be carried up and down stairs. She is demanding for a lap to lie in and does not like to be kept in a crate or in any enclosure or room where the humans are absent. We will also require that an adopter have a patient and understanding dog groomer (a name and phone number will need to be provided) because Minnow is not very cooperative for her grooming.
E-mail julemson@wmol.com if you have any specific questions!
What does Minnow think about “Toy” or “Imperial” Shih Tzus?
Many people are drawn to the Shih Tzu breed. According to the breed standard the temperament of a Shih Tzu is described, "As the sole purpose of the Shih Tzu is that of a companion and house pet, it is essential that its temperament be outgoing, happy, affectionate, friendly and trusting towards all. " It is unfortunate that some people are now trying to produce Shih Tzus that are much smaller than the breed has typically been and some of the pups resulting from this are a medical and temperamental disaster.
Hopefully you are not one of those people who purchased one of these supposedly “Toy” or “Imperial” Shih Tzus that are less than 9 pounds – and often advertised as 3-5 pounds. These pups are priced at anywhere from $1000 up to $2500! If you are one of those people, hopefully you were lucky enough to get a healthy dog and lucky enough to get a dog that will not have a shorter life span or lucky enough to get one without excessive medical and physical issues that are not typical of the breed standard Shih Tzus. For those of us who are advocates of the established breed of Shih Tzus, it is depressing to meet a fragile little dog like Minnow who acts like a senior dog rather than having the expected playful and happy attitude of most Shih Tzus.
Minnow is only 5 pounds. She was likely bred to be one of these small undersized Shih Tzus. The problem for Minnow is that she has multiple physical problems. Both of Minnow’s knees are luxated, her hips are badly displayed, she has a roach back, she has a scoliosis with concurrent arthritis of her neck and finally, she has stenotic nares. Minnow has an unsteady gait and often loses her balance. Because of her tendency to walk into or fall into things, she received an untreatable injury to her left eye, which required surgery to have it removed.
Can any of her genetic problems be corrected? Surgery could be done to correct her knees, hips and nares but most vets would not want to take a chance on performing these painful surgeries on such a small and fragile little dog. Chiropractic treatments will help to manage her condition but because of her age, it is too late for them to correct the scoliosis.
So, according to the breed description of a Shih Tzu, does Minnow appear to be “… a sturdy, lively, alert toy dog…compact, solid, carrying good weight and substance.”? Not even close!!! Her foster mom thinks it is cruel to breed dogs that may result in puppies like poor Minnow. Not only does Minnow have a sub-standard quality of life, but also the humans that fall in love with her are going to have heartache and expense that should not happen if it could be avoided with careful and responsible breeding!
Links to terms and conditions:
BREED STANDARD:
http://shihtzu.org/Info/standard.asp
IMPERIAL SHIH TZU:
http://64.37.122.206/Info/imperial.asp?menu=Info
http://www.americanshihtzuclub.org/imperial
http://www.allshihtzu.com/Miniature_Imperial_Dogs.html
LUXATING PATELLA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxating_patella
HIP DYSPLASIA:
http://pets.aol.com/articles/petfinder/_a/an-introduction-to-canine-hip-dysplasia/20060712113809990001
http://dogs.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Canine_Hip_Dysplasia
ROACH BACK:
http://www.shawlein.com/The_Standard/04_The_Back/The_Back.html
SCOLIOSIS:
http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dog-health/scoliosis.aspx
STENOTIC NARES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenotic_nares
Minnow
