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How to weigh pros and cons

6K views 52 replies 13 participants last post by  Vita 
We have had shih tzu as a 2nd dog for over 30 years. Recently my daughter got a pup, he is now about 5 months old and is housebroken and rarely barks. He is totally trustworthy yet but does very well and rarely has an accident. Now he will bark when she leaves her room for a bit as she has spoiled him to be like her baby but for me he is quiet all day while she is t work, I take him out about every 4 hours while she is gone and it works well. My neighbor also has one and last year she got a house bunny. the two get along fine. Shih tzu don't require very much exercise though they enjoy a short walk and play. I am very pleased with this lil guy and am thinking of getting a 2nd one, though I think my standard poodle would be jealous as he thinks he is a lap dog.
 
Shih Tzu’s have definitely been on my list. My main problem with them is that I have some of the similar concerns plus a couple more. Although I find them adorable I want to try and stay away from brachycephalic breeds. I also know some can be very vocal and actually pretty nasty. Of course I would find a breeder that breeds for temperament so the meanness would not be a concern but I have hesitation about their intelligence level. I’m looking for a breed that tends to be a little sharper. They seem to be comparable to pugs in that regard and I think it would be fun to have something different, even though they are very lovable. It’s possible with how this is going they can always be added back to my list.
I have yet to meet a snarly shih tzu though I'm sure they can be out there. I've had 3 now. And my friend got one some 30 years ago for her then 4 year old son, all were from good breeders and all were super friendly. Our lil guy has not met a stranger two or 4 legged. LOL He is really a love bug. We got our 1st when my daughters were 6 and 4, and my niece had a infant. She was totally trust worthy and of course she was gently handled. Lil but tuff. Our 1st was difficult to housebreak but it turned out she just didn't like being separated from the family and when we allowed her to sleep in the bedrooms with either child she never had any more accidents. Yes they are a brachycephalic breed but not bad at all. I never had a problem with them like with my boxer. The larger the breed the more noticeable it being a brachy breed as they have more exercise needs.
 
curlflooffan..your right on..often a breed becomes popular and the unscrupulous breeder comes into the picture and the breed goes downhill. When I had my 1st shih tzu 35 years ago they were all quiet dogs with smallish jaws, and nicely set teeth. My first one never chewed, bit nor barked. Today though you need to be much more careful who you buy from. The one we have now my daughter purchased. He is 5 months old and is housebroken though he goes out often being a small guy at 7 lbs, his bladder pretty small , as is the case with any small dog. So far he is doing quite well and knows basics, sit, down, speak on command. He is pretty quiet too, he goes out at 5:30 eats and is back to sleep, its now 7 am and I'll probably take him out again around 10ish since my daughter is at work. so for now he is on a 4 hour schedule, except he sleeps thru the night, 8:30-5:30. Sometimes I forget he is in the house, lol I hope he stays this way.
Now I love my poodle though grooming is more intense as he grows a thick cot, so I must trim him every 2-3 weeks or a full groom at 4 weeks, if I want him looking tip top. My poodle though is a standard and was a lot more dog to train and I've had many from the little to GSD and rottweilers. However now at 3 I have a good companion. So I would say whatever breed OP goes for, it will be work, you will have to train it to tolerate your bunny, so you don't want a high prey driven dog. It will be a lot of work I think to have a puppy any puppy behave well with a rabbit . As I said before I have a neighbor now who has a bunny and a shih tzu, who get along fine together, the dog is older and doesn't have any prey drive. Sadly my poodle would snack on the bunny in play, he loves to retrieve.
 
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