Dogs
of various sizes, shapes, and colors have been bred in China for
centuries.
Records substantiate the existence of short, square,
“under
the table” dogs from at least 1000 B.C. By piecing together
historical
facts and documented records, it is possible to some extent
to
follow the development in China of the breeding of dogs likely to be the
ancestors of the present-day Shih Tzu.
The
ancestry of the Shih Tzu is rather obscure, but it is probable that
the
breed is primarily of Tibetan origin. The history of the "Tibetan
Lion
Dogs” is interwoven with the tenets of Buddhism, which originated in
India. The lion was closely associated with Buddhism, but the lion was
not indigenous to China, so the Chinese and the Tibetan lamas bred their
toy dogs to resemble lions. The Shih Tzu (whose name means “lion”)
is reputed to have been the oldest and smallest variety of the Tibetan
“holy dogs” and bears some similarity to other Tibetan breeds. For
much of the long and illustrious history of China, the breeding of the
small “Lion Dog” was a favorite pastime of succeeding imperial
rulers. Prior to A.D. 624, documents show that small dogs were exported
from Malta, Turkey, Greece, and Persia as gifts to the ruling Chinese
emperors. It is likely that the first small Tibetan Lion Dogs from which
the Shih Tzu is probably descended came to China during the Qing
(Ch’ing) Dynasty (1644-62) as tributes from the Grand Lamas to the
Chinese Imperial Court, and that the Chinese interbred these Tibetan
dogs with the early western imports and with the Pug and the Pekingese.
The
existence of the Shih Tzu as we know it today is owed to the Dowager
Empress Cixi (T’zu Hsi), whose kennel of Pugs, Pekingese, and Shih Tzu
was world renowned. Although she carefully supervised the kennel during
her lifetime and attempted to keep the three imperial breeds separate,
the actual breeding was carried out by palace eunuchs who secretly
crossed the breeds to reduce size and produce unusual and desirable
markings. After her death in 1908, the kennels were dispersed and palace
breeding became haphazard. Some breeding was still practiced by private
individuals and specimens were exhibited, but the dogs were almost
impossible to acquire. So far as is known, the breed became extinct in
China
after
the Communist revolution.
Seven
dogs and seven bitches comprise the gene pool of all existing
Shih
Tzu. These fourteen include the Pekingese dog used in an
admitted
cross in England in 1952--a cross which caused considerable trouble, as
it was done by a newcomer to the breed and reported after the fact. The
other foundation dogs included three Shih Tzu imported from China that
became the foundation of the Taishan kennel of Lady Brownrigg in England
and eight additional imports to England between 1933 and 1959. Three
other Shih Tzu were imported into Norway from China in 1932 by Mrs.
Henrick Kauffman, including a bitch that was the only Shih Tzu bred in
the Imperial Palace to reach the Western world.
Returning
military personnel brought some of the first Shih Tzu into
the
United States during the late 1940s and 1950s and began breeding
programs.
The unique beauty and outstanding temperament of this
''new”
breed quickly found favor with the fancy. From the first day
of
formal AKC recognition (Sept. 1, 1969), the Shih Tzu catapulted
from
a relatively unknown breed to one of the most glamorous and
popular
of all canine companions.
Bailley's
Blog - Bailley was diagnosed with Cushing's
in November of 2014. We lost Bailley 8/15/17
This
is a record of our journey and how I chose to treat her. It is my hope
others will find comfort and answers.
