Color and Size

Colors

An Explanation of the many colors of our RARE colored pack and of their offspring.


Pigment

Our dogs were first selected for temperament as pets – our objective was to find the best dogs suited for our family. Next – I was intrigued by color! The beautiful fur of a rare all-white Shih Tzu, or of a solid mocha fur color, or the creamy whites, are what we have been striving to produce at Premier Shih Tzu. Our “Simba” carries for all of these traits, while he is a liver with mocha fur – his mother was a blue cream, and his father was a solid liver with chocolate fur. “Elsa,” one of our gorgeous puppies – has exquisite coloring. Her skin pigment is Isabella, which has purplish/lavender hues, and her fur is mixed in color or parti, with a rosey gunmetal hue and white, while her eyes are a striking blue.


Fur color

Our program specialize in what many consider the rare colors of the Shih Tzu, Blue, Lavender and Isabella, and well as Livers - all of which are dilute genes. The color of a Shih Tzu is determined by the color found on the skin pigmentation of the nose, eye rims, and foot pads. All of our breeding dogs carry the blue gene and solid white fur coat gene. Please note, according to the AKC (American Kennel Club) the color of the fur has nothing to do with how a color is determined and registered. Blue colored Shih Tzu (our “Candido”) have blue pigment, and can also have light blue or grey eyes – which I find striking. The lavender or Isabella colored Shih Tzu (our “Nahla” and “Princess”) are double dilute, carrying both the dilute for Liver as well as blue, and usually have beautiful amber/hazel eyes .


Size

Our dogs come from long lines of tiny Shih Tzu stock. The smaller Shih Tzu, or Imperials (5-9 lbs), were the ones who walked the floors of the Imperial Palaces in China. We produce the tiny toys - 4-5 lbs, up to the 9 lb. Imperials. I have always been drawn to the toy breeds in dogs, and after extensive research, I chose the Imperial Shih Tzu. The AKC states that the standard Shih Tzu weight is from 9-16 lbs. But we like the smaller versions that are just as healthy as their larger counterparts.



Examples of pigment and fur color

Liver with mocha fur

SIMBA

Blue with solid white fur

CANDIDO

Blue with cream fur

BUSTER / BOLT


Lavender/Lilac with cream and white fur

NAHLA

Lavender with Solid white fur

OLAF

Lavender/Lilac with rosey blonde fur

PRINCESS


Isabella with white and rose
gunmetal fur

ELSA