You will know the Shih Tzu dog by many names ? the Pekinese, The Lion Dog, The Chrysanthemum dog and so on.

The name ‘Pekinese’ was given to this dog because it was first found in Peking when monks gifted this breed of dogs to the Emperor of China way back in the 17th Century. ‘A rose by any name would smell as sweet’ ? as Shakespeare said ? no matter what name you use for this dog you will find it a very sweet and friendly dog.

The Shih Tzu was for a long time known as a royal dog in China where it stayed protected from the world for two centuries (17th to 19th Century). True to its name, this dog really moves like a king or emperor. While the Shih Tzu’s are world famous for being friendly and adaptive to anyone in the home ? whether this is an animal or human being ? they are also known for their acute stubbornness when they are pushed into doing something that has not been coaxed out of them.

The Shih Tzu needs very little from you other than love. To keep your Shih Tzu happy, allow it to sleep on your lap, pamper it as often as you can and talk to it all the time. Grooming this dog needs special attention because of its long coat. You need to have it brushed with a hard brush to prevent matting of hair and remove the dust that accumulates on it. You need two separate types of combs ? one long toothed for the overall coat on the body and another shorter and denser for the hair around the face and feet.

Watch out for separation anxiety signs in this dog if you leave it for too long alone. These dogs need your presence and love constantly. Other then this aspect, they are not pretentious about anything.

People who live with Shih Tzus find these dogs completely adorable. They have a lot of spunk for their size and they carry themselves with great dignity and aplomb. This is one reason why many people call them royal dogs.

They indeed look like royalty when they move around. Temperamentally, the Shih Tzu is very warm and happy type of dog. They hanker for attention and hate it when it is stolen from them. This is one reason why these dogs do not live too well with small children, as they tend to consider them competition for the owner’s love and can become aggressive.

They are very playful when they are young and seem to have a mind of their own. You will need to train your Shih Tzu very early in life or you could have major problems in handling it later on when it becomes an adult. The key to making a Shih Tzu the perfect pet is to have them trained very early in their life. Once they are trained, you could possibly have the best pet on this earth.