History
The Shih Tzu has been around for a long time. The Shih Tzu was bred to sit around the palace of the Emperor of China and bark when people or animals approached: this is allegedly to alert people to the presence of unwanted visitors. It is believed that this ornamental breed was created by breeding the Bei-jing gou (Pekingese) with a Tibetan dog breed, the Lhasa Apso. Recent DNA analysis confirms that this is one of the oldest breeds of dog. The Shih Tzu is also known as the Chinese/Tibetan Lion Dog or the Chrysanthemum Dog. It is called the chrysanthemum dog because its face looks very much like the flower. In 1994, the Shih Tzu became the 12th most popular breed of dog in the AKC's 139 breeds with more than 37,000 new individuals. [1]

Standards
The Imperial Shih Tzu or Shih Tzu breed or lion dog is characterized by its long, flowing double coat; sturdy build; intelligence; and a friendly, lively attitude. In breeding all coat colors are allowed. The Shih Tzu's hair can be styled either in a short summer cut, or kept long as is compulsory for conformation shows. Although Shih Tzu owners do not generally find fur on furniture or cloths, they do shed small amounts of fur and are a hypoallergenic pet. The shedded hairs are usually trapped in the Shih Tzu's dense undercoat until the Shih Tzu starts to do activities that involve a lot of movement (e.g. running around.)

The AKC Shih Tzu breed standard calls for the dog to have a short snout, large eyes, and a palm-like tail that waves above its torso. The ideal Shih Tzu to some is height at withers is 9 to 10 1/2 inches. The dog should stand no less than 8 inches and not more than 11 inches tall. The Shih Tzu should never be so high stationed as to appear leggy, nor so low stationed as to appear dumpy or squatty. Regardless of size or gender, the Shih Tzu should always be solid and compact, and carry good weight and substance for its size range.

James E. Mumford described the breed in an American Shih Tzu magazine, giving a picture of the versatile character of the Shih Tzu: "Nobody knows how the Ancient Eunuchs managed to mix together…And now here comes the recipe: A dash of lion, several teaspoons of rabbit, a couple of ounces of domestic cat, one part court jester, a dash of ballerina, a pinch of old man (Chinese), a bit of beggar, a tablespoon of monkey, one part baby seal, a dash of teddy bear and the rest dogs of Tibetan and Chinese origin."

Breed variations
When the Dowager Empress took over control of the breeding of Imperials from the Temple Eunuchs she changed the Eunuchs preferred size range of 3-7 pounds dogs to 7-10 pound range. This change was not natural to the breed due to the gene called insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The genetic quirk, called a haplotype, is found in all small breeds and is the reason Imperials were so small in size. Due to its popularity the Shih Tzu has been a trend by many breeders of Shih Tzu to go back to the original and parent sizes of the breed. This practice is growing because of the demand for smaller easier to carry dogs the cidclub.com prefers the original variation of the breed Called " Imperial Shih Tzu 'or the “Chinese Imperial Dog. To this day The American Shih Tzu standard requires them to weigh 9 to 16 pounds which is much larger than the original the eunuchs preferred and larger than the Dowager Empress preferred.